Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 278 Central Plains University

"Elder Ji, after the Great Red Kingdom is divided up by the various vassal states, will they start fighting each other because of the unequal distribution of spoils?"

After talking with Su Yangyan, Mo Yuming suddenly thought of a problem: once a war starts, it is difficult to stop. If any of the remaining six countries are greedy, they may very well start another war.

"While this is possible, it will only be a local war. Large-scale wars like this will not continue. After all, these marquisates are still under the rule of the Long Kingdom. Although the royal family has complex factions and the rulers have almost no real power, the strength of the royal family should not be underestimated. They will not tolerate the continuation of the war. The main reason for tolerating these marquisates to divide up the Great Red Kingdom is the fear of pressure from the Feather Palace."

After the Great Red Empire was divided up, the Feather Palace had no grounds for interference, and the royal family would step in to mediate, not tolerating the continuation of such a fundamentally damaging war. Don't be fooled by the fact that these empires and noble families outwardly respect the Feather Palace; in reality, most are merely paying lip service while secretly pursuing their own interests.

"However, after this incident, the Great Xia Empire needs to be more vigilant. Although this incident seems to have little to do with us, in the final analysis, it was Wu Ji who took a risk to deal with us. Originally, when the Great Chi Kingdom was still around, the other forces in the Long Kingdom wouldn't care about the growth of the Great Xia Empire. After all, this was the internal affair of the Great Chi Kingdom, and the other forces had the intention of watching from the sidelines. The decline of the Great Chi Kingdom's strength would benefit them. Now that the Great Chi Kingdom has been destroyed, the Great Xia Empire is directly standing against them. In particular, the Long Kingdom has been dominated by the Wu family for thousands of years. Whether it is the royal family or the marquisate, they may exclude the Great Xia. Therefore, the pressure on us will be even greater in the future."

Ji Xianlin said with concern.

After listening to Ji Xianlin's words, Mo Yuming wholeheartedly agreed. Fortunately, the great war had just ended, and all the vassal states were severely weakened, making it difficult to launch another large-scale war in the short term. This gave Great Xia an opportunity to grow. Fortunately, the Great Xia Empire had always grown amidst crises, and as long as it had this brief opportunity to grow, it would not fear external invasions. Moreover, the military strength of the Great Xia Empire had never been underestimated. Furthermore, the Great Xia Empire was not as weak as it appeared on the surface.

During this time, Mo Yuming had been practicing alchemy. With the assistance of the divine artifact, the Medicine King Cauldron, he became increasingly adept at refining the Detoxifying Pill. Its quality had jumped from around grade five (mid-level) to grade eight (high-level). It's important to know that each type of pill is graded into nine grades: grades one to three are low-grade with moderate efficacy; grades four to six are mid-grade with significant efficacy; and grades seven and above are high-grade, with even more outstanding therapeutic effects and extremely rapid results, almost achieving a cure. Being able to refine a grade eight Detoxifying Pill was already considered the pinnacle of Detoxifying Pills.

According to the pharmacology of the Detoxification Pill, generally, low-grade pills take at least half an hour to take effect, mid-grade pills take at least fifteen minutes, and high-grade pills take effect within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Eighth-grade pills take effect within half an incense stick's time. As for ninth-grade pills, they melt instantly in the mouth and take effect immediately. However, ninth-grade pills transcend the category of ordinary Heavenly Profound Pills and are classified as sacred-grade pills; pills of that quality have almost never been found in the Heavenly Profound Continent.

Through this period of exploration, Mo Yuming has developed a prototype for the factory production of Detoxification Pills, and he is certain that the quality of the Detoxification Pills coming off the production line will be at least Grade 5 or even Grade 6.

However, it is difficult to reach the seventh grade or above, because the seventh grade and above belong to the superior grade of pills. The reason why superior grade pills have such good effects is that the medicinal effects contained in the pills are not only the medicinal properties of the herbs, but also contain the spiritual essence that the alchemist endows the pills with during the alchemy process. This unique spiritual essence of the pill can be said to be the soul of the pill, which has exceeded the scope of the medicinal effects of the herbs. The higher the alchemist's alchemy level, the more spiritual essence he can give to the pill.

The higher the quality of the elixir, the better. This is why elixirs refined by grandmasters using the same herbs are far more potent than those refined by lower-level alchemists. The legendary saintly alchemists can even refine highly effective elixirs using the most common herbs because their elixirs contain more than just the medicinal properties of the herbs themselves.

The biggest factor that enabled Mo Yuming to refine the eighth-grade Detoxification Pill was the divine artifact, the Medicine King Cauldron. Without this cauldron, even if Mo Yuming had perfected his skills, he could only refine up to the sixth grade at most.

However, Mo Yuming's alchemy technique is quite unique. The reason he was able to refine high-grade detoxification pills, besides the help of the Medicine King Cauldron, is that his alchemy method is different from others. Alchemists in the Tianxuan Continent all use wood-attribute spiritual power to refine pills, but he took a different approach and used wood, fire, and water-attribute spiritual power at the same time when refining pills. He also applied different amounts of spiritual power to the herbs according to their characteristics to refine them, instead of simply using spiritual fire to bake the cauldron to refine them like other alchemists.

Therefore, while Mo Yuming can refine high-grade Detoxifying Pills, it doesn't mean he can refine other pills as well. Unlike other alchemists who can refine one type of pill to a certain grade and whose other pills aren't too far off, Mo Yuming can currently only refine Detoxifying Pills and Spirit Gathering Pills. Although the Spirit Gathering Pill is currently slightly inferior to the Detoxifying Pill, he can still refine it to a grade seven. Although both of these pills are considered low-grade, even the veterans of the Refining Masters Association find it difficult to refine grade eight pills; generally, a grade seven is considered quite good.

Mo Yuming dared not say that others' methods were wrong, but he believed that his own method was at least not wrong either, because the information he received from the spirit of the Medicine King Cauldron indicated that the ancient alchemy god's philosophy was to follow nature. This at least confirmed that the alchemy methods of the Alchemy God Shennong were definitely not static, but rather comprised multiple techniques.

Through his conversation with Ji Xianlin and his own observations, Mo Yuming discovered that not only did the Tianxuan Continent have problems with its alchemy inheritance, but even its weapon crafting had inexplicable flaws.

As for Ji Xianlin's family, the Ji family of Yijianxuan is one of the seven great families in Tianxuan Continent with a history of over a thousand years. Logically speaking, such a behemoth should have many enviable family heritages. However, Ji Xianlin, the former patriarch, has never obtained any divine weapons or advanced martial arts manuals. The entire Ji family only has one relatively complete sword technique, the "Guiyi Sword Technique". This sword technique, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is the Ji family's only advanced sword technique.

All the members of the Ji family learn this sword technique. Leaving aside how exquisite this technique is, it's far too meager for a thousand-year-old family. Furthermore, as the former patriarch-in-chief, he doesn't even possess a high-grade natal sword; Ji Xianlin is currently using the treasured sword he obtained during his exploration of the domain tomb. Before that, the family gave him a medium-to-high-quality Xuan Iron sword, only slightly more refined in its forging than the Xuan Iron swords used by the soldiers of the Great Xia Empire. This was already a special favor from the family.

Like the other six great families, the Ji family had its own alchemists and weapon refiners. Logically, such a large family should have highly skilled alchemists or weapon refiners. However, according to Ji Xianlin, his family's most powerful alchemist was only a seventh-level grandmaster, and their most powerful weapon refiner was also a seventh-level grandmaster. The other six great families were similar; each family had at most one or two seventh-level grandmasters. Even the elders and president of the Alchemist Association were below the seventh-level grandmaster level. Moreover, the number of alchemists who had reached the seventh-level grandmaster level could be counted on one hand.

Aside from the mysterious Feather Emperor Palace, the highest-ranking weapon refiner on the entire continent is said to be the Supreme Elder of Zhangjiabao, who is said to have reached the Grandmaster realm at the peak of the seventh level a long time ago. As for whether he has broken through to the eighth level, opinions vary.

It's estimated that only the Feather Emperor Palace might possess Grandmaster-level figures of level seven or higher. However, the Feather Emperor Palace has existed for thousands of years, and people on the continent can only access its outer palace; the mysterious inner palace remains unknown. Even those who work for the outer palace are unaware of the inner palace's affairs, and no one has ever been able to set foot inside. Therefore, whether the Feather Emperor Palace has alchemists capable of refining the Heavenly Profound Pill is unknown. Similarly, whether it has weapon refiners of level eight or higher is also unclear.

Just as Mo Yuming was diligently refining elixirs, news came from Jiang Yuheng, who was in control at the front lines: Zhongdu had been breached first by the combined forces of the Dailu and Yaohei kingdoms. Wu Ji had disappeared, most of the soldiers in Zhongdu had surrendered, and two-thirds of Zhongdu was occupied by these two kingdoms. The remaining third was divided between the Xianghuang and Taibai kingdoms. Ultimately, the royal family intervened, declaring the dismissal of the Da Chi Hou, and Zhongdu was brought under the royal family's control. It was established as a Free City, directly governed by the royal family. The counties occupied by the Huang, Lü, Hei, Bai, and Zi marquisates, except for Zhongdu, were all placed under the jurisdiction of their respective marquisates.

After mediation, the royal family of the Long Kingdom excluded the Great Xia Empire from its territory, declared it a "bandit land," and prohibited the six vassal states of Long Kingdom from establishing diplomatic relations with the Great Xia Empire. Although there was no explicit condemnation or suppression, it was clear that the vassal states were encouraged to suppress the Great Xia Empire.

The passes leading to the various vassal states have now been significantly reinforced with garrisons. Originally, the Great Xia only directly faced the Great Red, but now, in addition to the True Blue, the Bordered Yellow and Crimson Purple have also become enemies of the Great Xia. Although the Red Emperor, to which Tai Bai belongs, also borders the Central Plains City, its area is small and not suitable for personnel exchanges, so Tai Bai can basically be ruled out.

"The royal family of the Long Kingdom is truly fascinating!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Yuming smiled and said...

"The royal family of Longguo is powerless to act, so this is a helpless move. Because the seven marquises of Longguo occupy two-thirds of the land, and the royal family has no other army besides the imperial guards. The royal family's territory is guarded by the seven-colored army dispatched by the seven marquises. They can command the army when it comes to external affairs, but they can forget about conquering territory internally."

Therefore, the royal family has always used the mutual checks and balances among the seven marquises to stabilize its rule. Furthermore, if the royal family were to launch a military campaign, it would have to borrow passage from one of the five great marquisates. Which marquisate would be willing to do that? Moreover, the imperial kingdom is too far from the Great Xia; who would bear the astronomical expenses of such a campaign?

"After being designated as bandit territory, will the Longguo Kingdom no longer interfere if other forces want to occupy Great Xia?"

"Yes, but apart from the Yan Kingdom of Yingzhou, who would go to such lengths to wade into these troubled waters?"

Ji Xianlin smiled.

"Even if Yan Kingdom sends ten million troops, they still have to get through the Huilong Road first."

Although it seems that there are more external enemies, the Long Kingdom is in a period of decline due to internal strife, and no other vassal state dares to take the risk for the time being. Two battles in which the weaker side won against the stronger side have made the vassal states of the Long Kingdom realize that the small Xia Empire is not to be trifled with.

With just another year or two of steady development, the foundation of the Great Xia Empire will be solid, and it will no longer need to fear provocations from external enemies. According to Mo Yuming's plan, the regular army will number around 200,000, the Crimson Shadow Guard around 10,000, and the Falcon Guard around 5,000. Although the number of troops is not large, their quality will be exceptional. At that time, even if the six marquises of the Monopoly Kingdom launch an attack simultaneously, the Great Xia Empire will have absolutely no fear.

"Master Ji, the situation in Jingzhou has stabilized now, and the university in Zhongyuan County is about to open. Let's go take a look!"

"Although this first cohort of students is open to a broad range of young people from all walks of life, many of whom come from ordinary backgrounds and lack access to learning resources, resulting in varying levels of academic ability, there are bound to be many promising talents who simply lack an opportunity. The academy has given them this opportunity, which will undoubtedly bring surprises to the Great Xia. It's worth a visit."

The giant castle in the center of Zhongyuan City has been renovated. The original narrow city gate has been replaced with a large archway, and the heavy iron gate has been replaced with a decorative wooden door. A huge plaque hangs above the gate, with the five large characters "Zhongyuan University" written in a vigorous and powerful style, making it very eye-catching.

The doors were wide open, revealing a long red carpet that stretched from the lobby to the outdoor plaza. Dozens of hostesses stood at the entrance, welcoming young students who had come from all over to register and invited elites from various fields.

The first floor of the castle has been transformed into a huge reception hall. In the hall, academy staff are orderly registering attendees and arranging for VIPs to rest and socialize.

Duan Shichen and Fang Yixiu, the first president and vice president of the university, were also beaming as they greeted the distinguished guests who had come to celebrate.

In addition to requisitioning the entire city lord's mansion, the original first ring of barracks was also incorporated into the academy as student dormitories. The large square, which stretches for more than four miles between the dormitories and the academy, was also converted into a training ground for students to practice and compete in martial arts. At this time, some enthusiastic people who had come to the academy also gathered in this square, waiting to watch the opening ceremony that was about to begin.

"That's a testing platform for testing spiritual power attributes and grades. The instrument in the center of the platform was purchased from the Dao family of Dan Kingdom at a high price. Although the Dao family of Dan Kingdom is not as famous as the Zhang family for refining weapons, they are the best in the entire continent in making auxiliary equipment such as testing platforms. Of course, the price is also very high. This testing instrument cost a full 100,000 gold coins."