Longzang

Chapter 1167 The Great Way Goes Straight
When local warlords went to the capital to meet the emperor, there were generally two types: those who brought a large number of people and those who brought an extremely large number of people.

Qingming, with the power of a single region, resisted the Wu tribe in the west, pacified the Jin dynasty in the east, and overthrew the Lü family, one of the thirteen prominent clans—a feat unprecedented in a thousand years.

Therefore, after Wei Yuan announced that he would go to the capital to meet the emperor, the newly appointed military governors suddenly became unable to move, and their appointments were nowhere in sight.

Everyone was waiting for Wei Yuan's next move, and Wei Yuan did not disappoint them, quickly providing a route to meet the emperor.

This route first goes north, directly to the ancestral homeland of the Lü family, then east, traversing the entire Eastern Jin Dynasty, directly to the Northern Qi Dynasty, then circled around in the Northern Qi before turning southwest, entering the Southern Jin Dynasty, reaching the border between Jin and Zhao, then turning southeast again, entering the Song Dynasty, then circling around in the Song Dynasty, and finally arriving at the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

This route is winding and circuitous, and some curious people have pointed it out on a map and found that the total distance is more than two million miles. Even if we calculate based on the speed of elite light cavalry, it would take at least several decades to complete.

This caused an uproar throughout the land. Some realized that Wei Yuan was planning to completely destroy several kingdoms. Judging from the precedent set by the Western Jin Dynasty, Wei Yuan did not intend to harm the royal families of the various kingdoms, but he was extremely ruthless towards the aristocratic families, and he also possessed the ability to slay immortals. Therefore, if he really succeeded in this mission, it was likely that several more aristocratic families would be eliminated.

Some well-informed cultivators discovered that Wei Yuan's targets were the Xu family of the Eastern Jin, the Xu family of the Northern Qi, the Cui family of Yan and Chen in the Southern Jin, and the Cui family of Qinghe in the Song state—all four of these families had besieged and killed Wei Yuan that day. There was also the Bao family, but the Bao family was far away in the southeastern Wu state, completely diagonally opposite Qingming; to reach Wu, one would have to pass through the Southern Qi first.

After Wei Yuan announced the route to the capital to meet the emperor, he forgot about it and buried himself in cultivation within Qingming, showing no intention of leaving Qingming or even going to Yizhou.

The Qingming cultivator training system has now been established, and the first entrance examination covering all children in Qingming has been completed. The children who took the exam were between five and ten years old, with a total of more than 20 million children participating.

Because there were so many children, the testing process took a month before all the tests were completed. After the initial screening, it turned out that half of the children, more than ten million, were suitable for body shaping.

These children were basically born and raised in Qingming. They had never gone hungry since birth, and they had never even lacked meat. With a stable life, plenty of food and water, and the nourishment of the Jianmu Shengxuan power of the Qingming Realm, these children were generally tall, at least half a head taller than children of the same age in the Nine Kingdoms.

These children are strong and tall, naturally making them excellent candidates for body forging. During the body forging stage for mortals, unless they are practicing special cultivation techniques, the demand for spiritual energy is not high, but they must eat meat and rice to replenish the body's energy expenditure.

Under normal circumstances, only about one in a thousand people in the nine kingdoms will be able to achieve the Body Forging stage. The proportion will be higher in powerful kingdoms such as Zhao and Southern Qi, and much lower in corrupt and war-torn places such as Western Jin and Ji.

The entire Zhao Kingdom has only about ten million Casting Body cultivators, which is less than the number of children selected by Qingming in this general screening. And this is only Qingming; Yizhou now has thirty million people, with a million children born every year.

Of the children suitable for body forging, about 30% will eventually reach the Great Perfection of Body Forging, and according to Qingming's current situation, 40% of them will become templates for Dao foundation.

Therefore, after this major screening test, Wei Yuan saw more than one million future template foundations.

And the newborn children are even more gifted than these children. Approximately every ten years, the newborn children's abilities will improve to a higher level. And when these children grow up, their offspring will only be more gifted.

With so many qualified children, the original cultivation academies were completely insufficient. Wei Yuan made emergency adjustments, adding over a hundred new Qingming Cultivation Higher Specialized Academies, specifically for modeling Dao foundations. Each new academy was crammed with tens of thousands of children, with each instructor responsible for hundreds or even thousands of students, barely managing to accommodate all the suitable children.

With the widespread use of formwork foundations in various industries, a new term has emerged: foundation time. Foundation time is specifically used to measure the workload of major projects. Foundation time refers to the amount of work done diligently on a formwork foundation in one hour.

The Dao Foundation Time system quickly spread and became widespread on its own. For example, newly established template Dao Foundations require at least eight Dao Foundation Time sessions daily to consolidate their foundation. This is fundamental for cultivators, and ideally, ten or more Dao Foundation Time sessions are recommended.

Many paid and meritorious jobs are basically based on a six-hour work system. However, these six hours refer to working hours; if someone cheats or shirks their duties, their hours will not be counted towards their effective working time.

Thus, Wei Yuan meticulously repaired Qingming's system. Each small change was like a pebble thrown into water, creating ripples that spread across the entire surface.

……

A flying boat slowly descended upon Qingming. As the cabin door opened, Li Zhi stepped out. Cultivators were already waiting, guiding him into the immortal city. A moment later, Li Zhi sat in the reception hall, watching the figure appear at the door. His hand paused slightly, then he casually took a sip of tea, set down the teacup, and rose to greet them.

Zhang Sheng nodded to Li Zhi and then took his seat in the main seat.

Li Zhi subconsciously sat up even straighter. He always wanted to make the best impression on Zhang Sheng. But today, for some reason, he felt a tremor from the bottom of his heart that he couldn't suppress.

Li Zhi was suddenly startled and exclaimed, "You, you're already Yu Jing?!"

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "It was expected."

Li Zhi suppressed his shock. It wasn't that Zhang Sheng's advancement to the Imperial Realm was unbelievable, but rather that the invisible pressure she exerted on him was immense. At this moment, Li Zhi was struggling to circulate his Dao power, and he had to suppress his heartbeat and breathing to maintain a steady pace.

This was Li Zhifa's body instinctively trembling; he had no fighting spirit whatsoever and only wanted to get away.

Li Zhi was inwardly horrified, but outwardly remained calm. This was his unique supernatural ability, always kept secret, allowing him to vaguely sense the true strength of others. The stronger the opponent, the stronger Li Zhi's fighting spirit became, making him stronger when facing a powerful adversary. But now, having only sensed a slight trace of Zhang Sheng's aura, Li Zhi's body instinctively wanted to flee. This was something he had never done even when facing immortals.

Li Zhi took a deep breath and said, "I have come here specifically to see you because I have some questions that are difficult to answer, so I have come here to ask Master Zhang for clarification."

"speak."

Li Zhi said, "Several years ago, I raised an army and occupied the six southwestern prefectures of Ji State. I have been consolidating the territory and allowing the people to rest and recuperate. Now, the people in Zhenshan territory are prosperous and the army is well-trained. However, once we go beyond the border, the people of Ji State are still suffering. Officials are arrogant and domineering, and from top to bottom, they only think about exploiting the people, which makes the people live in misery."

I made a prior agreement with my brother Wei Xian that we would only take these few prefectures. But the situation is different now. It is unbearable for me to watch the people suffer while the incompetent remain in power! How should I deal with this situation?

Zhang Sheng then asked, "Where do you intend to place Prince Ji?"

Li Zhi was prepared and pointed to the ceiling without hesitation, saying, "Place it up there as an ornament."

Zhang Sheng nodded slightly and said, "You have too many concerns, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. When you can't make a decision, just follow the right path."

Li Zhi's spirits lifted, and he said, "I understand. I will go and tell Brother Wei."

"Go."

Half a day after bidding farewell to Zhang Sheng, Li Zhi met Wei Yuan in the medicine garden, who was staring intently at a patch of loose soil.

"Come with me, I'll show you some things." Without waiting for a reply, Li Zhi grabbed Wei Yuan and started to leave.

"Where to go?"

"Northern Qi Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)