What did he just say?
Shen Yuan stared blankly at the other person. "Back to the capital?"
"Why are you so surprised?" Chen Qing said with a smile, "I heard that you casually mentioned on the ship that you would be returning to the capital to visit your elders at the end of the year."
"No, no, no, no!" Shen Yuan waved his hands repeatedly, "I was just joking. How could I dare to go back to the capital now?"
Putting aside the fact that he learned so many secret techniques from Chen Qing's forces here, and whether they would let him go or not, even if they did let him go, he wouldn't dare to go directly back to the capital. His own family couldn't protect him at all. With what he had now, those powerful families would surely devour him alive!
He never even considered returning to Beijing to rise to prominence. If he hadn't shown off in front of those elders, things would have been fine, but now that he'd already put on airs, going back to Beijing would be suicidal.
My situation is not like those ordinary versions who have received a little inheritance and mastered a top-level technique. In that case, if I went back, I might still have a chance to make a deal with some top-level families through the Shen Family's mediation. In return, the top-level families would promise the Shen Family some resources, and I would marry into one of the families.
This approach is completely unworkable for him. He knows very well how valuable what he possesses is—something that could cause an earthquake in the world of magic. No single family can monopolize it. If he goes to the capital, the only outcome will be that the top families forcibly extract the intelligence and divide up the secrets!
"Hey," Chen Qing waved his hand in response to Shen Yuan's panic, "If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. As the ancients said, 'To return home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night.' Since you've already shown off in front of everyone, wouldn't it be a pity not to go back at least once?"
Shen Yuan immediately gave a wry smile, "Is the master here to tease me?"
"No, no." Chen Qing shook his head. "I'm here to give you a task."
"A mission?" Shen Yuan was taken aback. "You really want me to go back to the capital?"
"Hey, don't be nervous." Chen Qing smiled and pressed the other person's shoulder to sit down, "You're our Heaven Academy's ace now, I wouldn't betray you."
Shen Yuan: "."
That's hard to say.
"You've read the secret history, so you should know why array masters couldn't become mainstream before, right?"
"Hmm," Shen Yuan nodded, "The cost of constructing arrays is too low for array masters, but the magical energy they utilize is enormous. There simply isn't enough energy in the world to sustain a large number of array masters, which is why this tradition cannot be carried forward."
"But our Lord has established a Divine Path system with a stable source of energy, which is why He can support us."
Chen Qing nodded. The Principal God of the Divine Path system can transform faith into enormous energy, but even so, it is extremely difficult for him to maintain the Yin-Yang Academy. The fundamental reason is that the world is in a low-version limitation, individual power is too weak, and spiritual energy is scarce, which makes it too costly to cultivate Second Tier sorcerers ahead of time.
Jiangnan's academic system is now completely advanced, but what it needs is a larger energy space to complete the sorcerer reform, which is one of the main reasons why he wants to open up the ancient world.
However, before that, he had to master many of the basics of the first version. Otherwise, once the Dragon Palace Inheritance was released, other families could catch up quickly once they adapted to the initial stage. The millennia-old accumulated foundation of sorcerers was not wasted. Chen Qing's setting did not allow the situation where the basic spells of the first stage would become useless instantly. Only those trashy studios would do such a thing.
"You've been in charge of resource distribution at the academy, so you should know very well that even for our unique Divine Path Style, maintaining it is quite difficult, isn't it?"
Shen Yuan nodded in agreement. That was true. Energy shortage had always been the biggest complaint from all the branches of the Yin-Yang Academy. Now, all the project teams needed energy to conduct experiments, which was why the Heaven Academy was criticized the most. It produced nothing but consumed the academy's greatest amount of energy.
Why doesn't Yin-Yang Academy open branches in other prefectures? Instead, it forces students from all over to travel long distances to Liuzhou to study. Is it to solidify Liuzhou's status?
Of course not!
It's only because the mountains, rivers, and Underworld of the seven continents of Jiangnan are all working together that the academy can barely have enough magical energy. Even with the expansion of enrollment this year, it will probably be difficult enough, let alone opening branch academies.
It has to be affordable!
"Is my lord sending me to the capital related to my lack of skill?"
"There is some connection." Chen Qing nodded and said, " The Dragon Palace is about to open. Once the ancient gates open, if it cannot be suppressed, the spiritual energy in the world will surge, and the power of demons who are born with the ability to cultivate will greatly increase. On the other hand, the human race, because those who can cultivate are always the top elites, will definitely have their current balance broken in the changes, and the human world will be in great chaos!"
Shen Yuan was taken aback. Was the matter he was about to be involved in really that grand? It actually involved chaos in the human world.
"Of course, we can't control what happens in the world, but Jiangnan is under my rule, and I guarantee that no matter how chaotic things get, the people of Jiangnan will not be persecuted." Chen Qing patted Shen Yuan on the shoulder as he spoke, "But this requires some groundwork!"
"My lord, what is the foundation you're referring to?" Shen Yuan asked blankly, feeling Chen Qing's hand was rather heavy. Could he really handle such a big matter?
"A top-tier technique, treasured and cherished by our family for millennia!!"
"Forehead?"
--
When news of Lu Ming's death reached the capital, it caused an earthquake-like uproar. Countless aristocratic families were thrown into chaos by the news, and the royal family immediately blocked its spread.
After all, whether it was the First Duke plotting to murder court officials or the news that he was beaten to death by a prefect of Liuzhou, it was news that would cause the court to lose face.
With the Duke of Qin representing immense power and interests, his confirmed death could trigger a reshuffling and restructuring of the entire power structure. Families that were once staunch supporters of the Duke of Duke of Qin have fallen into a deathly silence.
No one knew what they were thinking, but they all immediately shut themselves in their rooms, and the imperial family made no move. The entire capital was plunged into a turbulent and eerie atmosphere.
Of course, compared to the death of Duke Lu Ming of Duke of Qin, the news that Shen Yuan, a direct descendant of the Shen Family family, could Void Formation Drawing also caused a wave of turmoil in the sorcerer families. The game surrounding the Shen Family family began to brew immediately after several elders returned to the capital.
That afternoon, before dinner time, Shen Yan, having received the intelligence report, hurriedly returned home.
At this moment, the servants of the Shen Family family were busy preparing for the evening's family banquet. The reason for the banquet was that the eldest son, Shen Yu, had achieved a comprehensive evaluation of being among the top fifty in the Yin-Yang Academy's assessment. In his tenth year at the academy, he had finally earned the right to go out.
This is a very difficult step. Taking this step means that the child is qualified to be a candidate for school administrator. As long as there are no mistakes during the internship years, after returning to the academy for further study, he will be a preparatory school administrator.
The Great Jin, Third Rank imperial envoy, wielded immense power in the local areas. He not only had the authority to temporarily mobilize troops and review candidates for the imperial examinations, but also the power to evaluate the internships of aspiring sorcerers, thus influencing their future prospects. Furthermore, if he discovered a potential sorcerer among the candidates, he had the right to recommend them. This was a major means for many families to recruit external support!
The Shen Family has not had an academic official outside the capital for ten years. Although the patriarch Shen Yan received royal compensation and returned to the capital to serve as the Prefect of the Capital, which gives him considerable real power, he cannot extend his influence outside the capital. As a result, the Shen Family's development has hit a bottleneck. There are no capable second-generation descendants who can be trained to become academic officials. They can only hope that the third generation will live up to expectations and continue the family's fortune.
Now that Shen Yu has won this opportunity, the old men were so happy they almost fainted. They decorated the house with lanterns and streamers early in the morning, ready to celebrate. Although they didn't intend to hold a grand celebration, they still invited many friends to the feast.
Unexpectedly, just as the house was decorated with lanterns and filled with joy, the busy head of the household suddenly returned home with a heavy expression, scolding everyone to stop what they were doing!
" Steward Zhou, go immediately and stop all those invitations. If you can't stop them, go to their homes and apologize, informing them that the Shen Family family is not hosting a banquet today. Go now!!"
"Sir, what's wrong?"
In the backyard of the Shen Family, a beautiful woman dressed in gorgeous clothes hurried over and said, "On such a fine day, what are you doing, sir?"
"Hurry up and go!" Shen Yan glared at the old butler.
The old steward quickly obeyed, but the woman standing nearby immediately shouted, "Stop! Don't go!"
After scolding him, she quickly turned around and said, "Master, what are you doing? We invited all the well-connected families to this family banquet, and the invitations have already been sent out. Aren't you just offending people? Yu'er is already twenty. Her marriage was put on hold because you, Master, said to postpone it until Yu'er passed the assessment and her future was settled, so that we could talk to her about daughters from even higher-ranking families. We finally got our wish, and I even found someone and sent out invitations first thing this morning. How am I supposed to face you, Master?"
"Marriage?" Shen Yan frowned. "You didn't even tell me before you started looking for a marriage for Yu'er?"
"It's because you've been so busy these past Heavenly Capital, sir, that you haven't been home much. Of course, we'll discuss it with you once you get back."
"You—" Shen Yan sighed, "The eldest son isn't even married yet, how can you arrange a blind date for the second son?"
Upon hearing this, not only the woman but also the butler standing nearby were stunned.
"Master, what do you mean by this?" The woman's face darkened instantly. "Are you going to have the invitation taken back just because of this? Have you lost your mind? Who is Shen Yuan? Are you going to jeopardize Yu'er's future for him?"
"We have no choice but to stop it," Shen Yan said quietly, his eyes narrowed. "Something big has happened!"