" The Void Formation Drawing is actually in the basic magic treatise that Chen Qing distributed? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"
Upon arriving at the official hotel in Liuzhou, Shen Yuan, who hadn't dared to utter a single word the entire way, finally couldn't hold back any longer and exploded. He was practically going crazy. In his more than twenty years of life, he had never lost face so badly, especially in front of so many scions of prominent families. If word got back to him, he was afraid he would never be able to show his face again!
Faced with the questioning, Shen Xue was at a loss for words for the first time.
Because she never even considered that something everyone else knew, her own chosen one of heaven wouldn't know?
Why would various prominent families be willing to send their scions to Jiangnan at such a risk? Especially the families from the capital, many of whom sent their most favored direct descendants. Was it all just because of a single word from Chen Qing?
The reason they showed such sincerity is because they directly explained the principles of Void Formation Drawing, which are of utmost concern to the aristocratic families, in the basic text. This is the fundamental reason why all the sorcerer families fully supported Chen Qing in the court, and yet this guy... doesn't know that?
Shen Xue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This guy was so jealous of his older brother for getting ahead, yet she wasn't even willing to spend a little time to find out, and now he was blaming no one for telling him?
However, Shen Xue was initially incredulous at the reason why Shen Yuan was completely unaware of the situation, but later she began to understand it somewhat.
This guy's basic calculation skills are terrible. The first chapter of the Treatise on Array Formations already requires a high level of calculation ability, and the following two chapters require an understanding of the Heavenly Craftsmanship and the issued Elemental Period Tables before they can be understood. If you try to read them directly, they will be no different from a book written in heaven.
Shen Yu was a proud man who refused to admit his poor aptitude for mathematics and physics. He increasingly looked down on these miscellaneous subjects in public. Because of his status in the Shen Family, most of the children who did well in these subjects were those who had previously been of low status, so they naturally dared not show off.
He himself was unwilling to find out, and the family head and others probably assumed that everyone knew about it, without emphasizing it, which led to Shen Yu making such a blunder.
Thinking about the whole story, Shen Xue felt a mix of laughter and tears. Was this the future head of the Shen Family that her father was willing to sacrifice a precious spot to forcefully push forward?
This further strengthened Shen Xue's determination to pass the assessment and stay in Jiangnan.
The Shen Family has absolutely no future!!
"What an amazing place."
Murong Yunbing hadn't left the window since checking into the Stargazing Tower. Under the four or five-meter-high floor-to-ceiling glass windows, he could see the entire night view of Liuzhou. The lights below were dazzling, and even late at night, the flow of people was still endless. Looking at such prosperity from up here, he felt that he could look at it Heavenly Capital getting tired of it.
"This Central Plains is full of incompetent fools, yet it always seems to produce outstanding individuals like Chen Qing. How unfair is Heaven to us!" The woman next to her, also looking out the window, gazed down with nothing but envy.
The journey was filled with laughter and joy. Everyone was full of energy and dressed in fine clothes. In comparison, the people on the grassland wearing dirty wool sweaters looked no different from refugees. Even these noble scions dressed in feathered robes looked like country bumpkins here.
Moreover, everyone here is so leisurely. Families stroll through the streets with their children late at night, seemingly without any worries about tomorrow's food. Children don't have to herd sheep from a young age; they only need to beg their parents for candy. In comparison, how many children in my Northern Wolf Kingdom will freeze and starve to death this winter before we can even get through it!
" Beiyu." Murong Yunbing shook her head. "Don't say that. Don't attribute the prosperity of a place entirely to one person. That's biased. I believe Chen Qing is a once-in-a-millennium talent, but the current state of Liuzhou is definitely not something Chen Qing could have accomplished alone."
He pointed around and said, "I heard that this Stargazing Tower was designed by a sorcerer from the Mystic Academy named Wang Haodong. Those tall ships were also the work of a female sorcerer from the Mystic Academy surnamed Huang. And those beautiful silks on the streets are said to be made from the silk spun by Ice Silkworm raised by a biological sorcerer from the Yellow Academy. The silk is not only smooth and beautiful, but also has the effect of relieving summer heat. And those mighty Fighter Army ensure the safety of the entire city. This beautiful place was not built by one person, but is the result of the efforts of a group of outstanding individuals!"
"Don't think that you met a straw bag today because the Central Plains is full of straw bags!" Murong Bingyun said solemnly, "Are there too few dandies from aristocratic families in our Northern Wolf Kingdom?"
The woman called Beiyu pursed her lips upon hearing this, but remained silent.
"I see the longing in your eyes." Murong Bingyun looked at the other person. "You're dreaming that one day the iron cavalry of my Northern Wolf Kingdom will conquer this place, aren't you?"
"Don't you want to conquer this place?" Beiyu couldn't help but retort.
"I do want to," Murong Yunbing said, gazing intently outside. "But given the current state of the Northern Wolf Kingdom, what good would conquering this place do?"
"A backward system, backward thinking, and corrupt nobles—even if we conquer this place, we'll only turn it into a second Northern Wolf Kingdom."
Beiyu was taken aback, and for a moment he wanted to refute but couldn't.
"I've always believed," Murong Bingyun looked up and said earnestly, "That prosperity is built, not plundered. Only when I can build a Liuzhou like this in the Northern Wolf Kingdom will the Northern Wolf Kingdom have a chance to conquer the Central Plains!"
"Brother, you have ambition!" Beiyu was taken aback for a moment, but finally smiled. To establish such a Liuzhou in the Northern Wolf Kingdom?
It really sounds like something to look forward to.
"That young man from the Murong Family is quite impressive." Inside the academy, Seventh Master Shen, having clearly seen the conversation between the Northern Wasteland group through his Thousand Eyes, exclaimed, "At such a young age, he possesses such vision and breadth of mind. If this boy could become the High Priest of the Northern Wolf Kingdom, the Wolf Kingdom would surely prosper!"
"Indeed excellent." Chen Qing nodded in approval.
He was fairly familiar with the situation in the Northern Wolf Kingdom. It was said that the new king had just ascended the throne, and it was a crucial time for various families to compete for the position of high priest. However, this kid resolutely decided to come to Jiangnan to study, which could very likely lead to the other two candidates seizing the opportunity to become the high priest.
Yet he still chose to take the lead. With him leading the way, the other families were willing to send their key protégés. It has to be said that this initiative had a significant effect.
"What a pity."
"What a pity?" Seventh Master Shen was taken aback. "What's a pity about it?"
In most cases in this world, it is the times that create heroes, not the other way around; excellence does not guarantee success.
"Huh?" Seventh Master Shen looked at the other party, somewhat astonished, because in his view, Chen Qing was a typical example of a hero creating the times. The current state of Liuzhou was almost entirely created by him. How could such a person say that the times create heroes?
Faced with Seventh Master Shen's doubts, Chen Qing did not explain, because some things were indeed not easy to say in advance.
Three months later, the Dragon Palace will open, and things in the capital are probably almost ready as well. If Chen Qing's prediction is correct, something else will likely open at the same time.
Once the two ancient realms descend simultaneously, the spiritual energy of the world will surge, and the world's delayed 2.0 version will be born!
Version 2.0 offers players more opportunities, more class inheritance, and more powerful bosses, but not so for ordinary NPCs, especially in the Kingdom of Ancient Desolation —it would be catastrophic!
The biggest difference between the Ancient Desolation Kingdom and the Central Plains in terms of their systems is the infiltration rate of demons. In the Ancient Desolation Kingdom, especially in nomadic countries, it is impossible to establish city-states like those in the Central Plains to defend against demons. Humans have to rely on certain demons to survive. For example, the Northern Wolf Kingdom has formed a pact with the Icefield Demon Wolf clan, offering enough cattle and sheep sacrifices, and even human sacrifices, every year in exchange for the protection and inheritance of the demon wolves.
The High Priest family would even offer sacrifices to their youngest daughters who mated with the Wolf King, producing human-demon hybrids to enhance the family's competitiveness.
Over the years, thanks to the acquisition of enough demonic inheritances and the addition of many powerful hybrids, the Ancient Desolation Kingdom has become able to stand up to the contracted demons on equal footing in many matters, and can now negotiate on many issues instead of being at the mercy of the other side as before.
According to Murong Yunji, the Northern Wolf Kingdom has stopped sacrificing its people to worship the demon wolves a hundred years ago. During the winter, they can even negotiate with the demon wolf clan to reduce the amount of cattle and sheep offered to them in order to ensure the survival of their own people. This is a status that the clan has gradually earned as it has become stronger.
Just as Seventh Master Shen said, if the Northern Wolf Kingdom had developed normally, this kid would have had a chance to prosper as the High Priest, but unfortunately...
This world is abnormal!
Chen Qing knew that once the Spiritual Energy Revival, the Ancient Desolation Kingdom would be the first to suffer a severe blow!
Because the Spiritual Energy Revival not only greatly increases the power of demons in a short period of time, but also provides conditions for the awakening of some terrifying beings that have fallen into slumber due to the scarcity of spiritual energy. Chen Qing remembered that in his design, there was a very troublesome being in the Northern Wolf Kingdom. Once that thing was revived...
Chen Qing did not believe that the current Northern Wolf Kingdom could resist it; in the end, it would be a scene of bloodshed and hell on earth.
The young man from the Murong Family possesses the makings of a mighty warrior. If nothing unexpected happens, he might become the extraordinary hero sent to the Northern Wolf Kingdom. But alas, this is a world full of surprises.