Misty Rain of the Old Times

When the first snowflake fell from the sky, the whole world turned white overnight. Before we knew it, three months had passed in the blink of an eye, and the cold winter season at the end of the year had arrived.

In the past few months, Chen Xuan has focused his main energy on refining array flags, but he has not stayed at home. He occasionally goes to the capital to meet with the little princess, has a drink with Xiao Gao, and goes to Misty Swamp to chat with Crane Elder. His days are fulfilling and leisurely.

Although he didn't care much about world affairs, he would occasionally learn about them.

The war between Yuhua Kingdom and Shuangyue Kingdom over gold mines continues. Both sides have invested a great deal of manpower and resources, and the fighting has become quite intense. The war has not only failed to subside over time, but it also shows a tendency to escalate further.

In the dead of winter, one can only imagine how difficult life must have been for the soldiers who fought in the war. Logistics were inconvenient, and their armor and weapons would 'bite' at the slightest touch.

Meanwhile, things were not peaceful in Rongguo either. After the drought affected several states, the chain reaction caused countless people to go hungry. With the help of some people, hundreds of rebellions of varying sizes broke out. The largest rebel army once captured two states and snowballed to a million-strong army, plunging the entire Rongguo into chaos.

The situation is relatively better in Jing Kingdom. The destruction of the Wu family seems to have been forgotten, and what they left behind has long been divided up by others.

While there were no major events in Jing Kingdom, minor incidents were happening every day. Chen Xuan learned that three evil swords were causing bloodshed in the martial arts world within Jing Kingdom. He didn't personally encounter them, and he was too lazy to take the initiative to deal with them. He figured that the major sects and the imperial court would handle it themselves. Rumor had it that the grandmaster of the Tai Xuan Sect was already making moves in the martial arts world, all because of the evil swords.

Wuxiang Temple remained closed, and the monks there were oblivious to the outside world, focusing solely on their vegetarian meals and chanting Buddhist scriptures.

The martial arts examination was long over. Chen Xuan paid a little attention to this matter, and in the end, a master of innate skill named Xiao Ran won the title of martial arts champion and was directly appointed as a third-rank imperial bodyguard.

The title of a third-rank imperial bodyguard sounds impressive, as it's six ranks higher than Gao Jingming, the top scholar in the imperial examinations. However, it's all just for show; he's merely a bodyguard, and his status isn't even as high as that of a sixth-rank military officer with real power. There's not much room for advancement, so how can he compare to a top scholar?
Chen Xuan had also met that martial arts champion before. Once, when he was on a date with the little princess, he bumped into Old Deng taking the martial arts champion to the princess's residence.

It must be admitted that the opponent's strength is truly remarkable. The title of Martial Arts Champion still carries some weight. With top-tier innate cultivation, he can probably hold his own against some mediocre Grandmasters, but winning would be difficult, given the significant difference in cultivation levels.

Then Zhao Qingluan made it into the top fifty in the later stages of the competition. Even though she had been taught by Ling Yun, a master of the innate realm, for many years, there were too many powerful people in the world. There is no second place in martial arts. If you are not good, you are not good. There is no controversy. This result can be considered average. In the end, she joined the Forbidden Martial Arts Division and contributed to the court's suppression of the martial arts world. Although her ranking was not very high, her skills were good. She joined the Forbidden Martial Arts Division through the proper martial arts examination. She did not have to start from the bottom and directly became a squad leader.

As for Guo Qingxue, who also participated in the martial arts examination, she didn't even make it into the top 300 of the Acquired Group and left the field in disappointment. If she has the opportunity to reach the Innate Group in the future, she will most likely inherit the Cold Mountain Sword Sect and become its leader. The Cold Mountain Sword Sect is almost becoming her family's heirloom.

The reason he paid attention to the martial arts examination was because the little princess told him when they met. The old emperor had assigned a natural-born guard to her princess's residence. This guard had participated in the martial arts examination. Even though the old emperor had definitely vetted her beforehand, Chen Xuan still secretly used his Purple Mystic Illusionary Eye to make sure she had no rebellious streak before he felt at ease. The guard was a woman, and the old emperor would never give the little princess a male guard.

That afternoon, the little girl, dressed in a warm printed cotton-padded jacket, busied herself clearing away the snow. Over the past few months, she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Madam Gao had personally chosen her, so her judgment was certainly excellent.

Seeing her occasionally gazing into the distance with a worried expression, Chen Xuan said from inside the pavilion, "If you're worried, why don't you go back to your hometown and check on it? It's not that far."

She withdrew her gaze, exhaled a puff of white mist, and continued clearing the snow, shaking her head as she said, "Master, I've cut ties with those wicked relatives and am avoiding them like the plague. I'm just thinking that this year's snow is heavier than usual, and many people are likely to freeze to death. This time of year is usually the hardest; people die every winter."

She hadn't fully adjusted to the changes in her life, which brought back unpleasant memories.

What could Chen Xuan do about this? The whole world was like this, and he was powerless to change it.

Turning his gaze away, Chen Xuan said, "I'm happy today, we'll have hot pot later. Roujia, go pick some vegetables in the back."

"Yes, I understand, sir. I'll go after I clear the snow," she nodded in agreement.

In the past few months, Chen Xuan took some time to build the greenhouse. He could regulate the temperature by burying some copper underground. The greenhouse was made of glass, and it was made by burning sand. This kind of thing is not too difficult to build with a lot of trial and error. He even replaced the windows with glass.

Looking at the array flag in his hand, Chen Xuan thought to himself, "It's really not easy. It took three whole months to finally produce the first finished product. With the experience of the first finished product, the difficulty of the later ones will drop sharply. Creating something from scratch is the hardest part."

So he was happy and decided to celebrate with a hot pot meal, since hot pot is the perfect dish for this weather.

The flag in his hand was two feet long, a small triangular flag that was pure white and covered with beautiful patterns.

Despite the addition of copper to the flagpole, it is not hot to the touch at all; on the contrary, it is cool to the touch. In fact, not much copper was actually used; much of it was wasted during trial and error. A special alloy made of other metals neutralized the high temperature of the copper.

The exterior doesn't reveal much about the array flags, but if you cut it vertically, you can see the extremely complex texture structure inside. The hair-like fiery copper is like a vein, which is also the energy source after the array is set up.

To forge this flagpole, Chen Xuan lost countless brain cells. The complex array patterns were achieved by mixing various metals in precise proportions and folding and twisting them. Even the slightest mistake would render it a waste.

Leaving aside reusable materials like ice silkworm silk, Chen Xuan wasted at least a thousand times more fire copper to obtain a finished product; that's how experience is accumulated.

The white cloud wood he had painstakingly acquired naturally came in handy. At the top of the flagpole, supplemented with other materials such as jade, Chen Xuan crafted it into part of the array flag, about the size of a teacup, resembling an extremely complex eighteen-layered sphere.

At first, he suspected that the white cloud wood part was merely decorative, but that wasn't the case; the white cloud wood played a crucial role in the array flags. Whether it was a genuine finished product needed verification, and even if it wasn't a complete set, there were ways to verify it.

At this moment, Chen Xuan planted the array flag in the ground and blew a breath toward the 'Ghost Craft Sphere' at the top. Its intricate structure began to rotate layer by layer, creating a gentle breeze that caused the flag to flutter.

Sensing the noticeably increased humidity in the air, Chen Xuan, having verified it more than once, was absolutely certain that he had obtained a complete array flag.

Unfortunately, this thing isn't a complete set yet, so this is the only way to verify it. It's like artificially making it exhibit some of its intended functions. If it were a complete set, this wouldn't be necessary; the array flags would interact with each other and automatically activate, forming a thick fog to obscure an area.

After tinkering for a while longer, Chen Xuan was satisfied. All the effort he had put in had finally paid off. With the experience of the first finished product, the supporting parts could be made in less than two days. After all, it was a crucial step from zero to one.

As he fiddled with the battle flags, Chen Xuan thought to himself that it was indeed timely, and now he had something to show for himself.

He planned to give away a set of array flags as a gift. He already had experience with them and knew where to get the materials. He would make bigger and better ones himself in the future. A small fog array covering a radius of 100 meters was too useless for him. A grandmaster like him wouldn't be able to present it.

But don't underestimate the fog array with a radius of 100 meters. Although it is not mainly for killing, it is still worthy of the word "mystery". Once the array is set up and you are trapped in it, it can affect a person's mind. If you don't understand the array or your cultivation is not high enough to be a grandmaster, it will not be easy to get out.

A proper formation is far more powerful than the Nine-Tone Soul-Suppressing Bell; the combination of the two can even lead to some amazing feats.

Unfortunately, the white sandalwood branches ultimately failed to survive, and Liang Mumu felt guilty about it for a long time.

He didn't put away the battle flags until the little girl called him to eat.

"Master is amazing! We can still have vegetables to eat in the dead of winter," the little girl said admiringly as she served him some food.

Chen Xuan took a bite of the bok choy with relish and laughed, "This is nothing! You'll have a lot to learn in the future. In a few months, your lightness skill will be quite good. I'll teach you how to kill with swords, spears, and halberds sometime. Think about what you want to learn first."

"Thank you, sir. I would like to practice swordsmanship, is that alright?" she asked directly, without hesitation.

Chen Xuan was speechless and said, "What are you thanking me for? I only have someone to command if you improve your skills. Why a knife? You cultivate the Qingyuan Liuyun Gong, which is a light and agile style. I thought you could practice swordsmanship."

"Because it will be easier to chop firewood after learning how to use a knife," she said innocently.

Amused by her, Chen Xuan said, "Alright, I'll teach you a sword technique first, called the Nine Absolute Swordsmanship. It's a light and agile sword technique that matches the internal energy of the Clear Source Flowing Cloud Skill. It'll be enough for you for a lifetime. After you master it, I'll teach you others."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely practice hard and help my master as soon as possible," she said earnestly, not being polite to Chen Xuan. However, as she learned more about her master's abilities, she was more worried about her own incompetence.

With the matter settled, Chen Xuan pondered for a moment before asking, "By the way, how long have you and the others been gone?"

"They've been gone for about ten days now. Judging by the time, they should have entered the capital by now," the little girl recalled.

Nodding, Chen Xuan said, "I see. Roujia, then you should get ready in the next couple of days. We're leaving for the capital the day after tomorrow. You haven't been before, have you? I'll take you to see it."

"Really?" she exclaimed excitedly, having never left Yang County in her entire life.

"It's boiled, eat it. Hot pot doesn't taste good if it's overcooked," Chen Xuan said with a laugh.

Madam Gao and the others went to the capital for no other reason than that Xiao Gao was getting married. After all, Xiao Gao was currently an official in the capital, so to save them the trouble of traveling, they simply held the wedding in the capital.

Chen Xuan need not worry about safety on this trip. In addition to Leng Bing accompanying him, there will also be Gao Jingyu and some guards from the Prince's Mansion. With such a lineup, who would dare to go looking for death?

Gao Jingyu naturally had to attend her younger brother's wedding. She probably already knew something about it, because she took the initiative to visit Chen Xuan two days after returning. Her attitude was very proper, and she had already dispelled some unrealistic ideas.

That's why Chen Xuan said the completion of the battle flags was very timely. He planned to give a small set to Xiao Gao as a congratulatory gift. He's been a good friend for many years, so there's nothing he'd be reluctant to give away. He also didn't have anything else to offer.

Time flies! More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Gao has already started a family and established his career. Back then, he even dragged Chen Xuan to compete to see who could pee the highest and the farthest. How childish!

And it seems the grand court assembly is just around the corner; some people are probably planning to cause some trouble… (End of Chapter)