Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 267 Imperial Ancestral Temple
In this underground technology base, where the environment is comparable to a scene from a movie, Xuan Chong and Xu Xi are having a very lively conversation.

Both sides focused on the hot topic of "interdisciplinary collaboration" and engaged in an in-depth conversation.

Xuan Chong was quite curious about "attribute points," while Xu Xi was also very impressed with Xuan Chong's current "geometric modeling" ability.

The capabilities provided by the system are all the capabilities that the other party wants; as a result, both parties suddenly came up with various "ideas" on how to make good use of these capabilities.

Xu Xi: "How about we set up an airborne combat unit? You provide a 'missile delivery pod,' and I'll provide the 'Extreme Warrior.'"

Xuan Chong: "Okay, hmm, then who's responsible for risking their life?"

Xu Xi: "My Extreme Warrior attribute points can be stacked up to withstand 70g overload; you can be in charge of the airdrop pod force field protection, do you think it's a good idea?" (This is a monster with 19 surgical modifications and muscle attributes enhanced to the level of aluminum alloy)

Xuan Chong nodded: "My airdrop pod can theoretically withstand an 80g landing buffer; but I think we still need to be careful." (Not wanting to spoil the mood, he expressed his disagreement and repeatedly emphasized safety.)

Xu Xi was clearly carried away: "Of course, I'm someone who values ​​safety the most."

…soldiers and engineers…

Qin Tianyi wanted to gossip about which time-space region Xuan Chong "lived" in. But Xu Xike didn't ask what Qin Tianyi wanted to hear most. Instead, she had a passionate discussion about how to use the tools they brought for this "exam".

As for Xuan Chong, he was also very tactful; he didn't presumptuously inquire about anything involving his previous time-traveling "golden finger"—such as his novel "The Fierce Soldier"—during their first meeting.

Although Xuan Chong felt that "Liu Dayang" obviously had elements similar to his own novel.

Just like in the world of mortals, when two cultivators are making friends, who would immediately ask about the other's trump cards?

The two got along very well, which was different from the situation when women chatted about everyday things and constantly crossed boundaries.

As for why he didn't talk to Qin Tianyi, Xuan Chong was afraid of trouble.

Xuan Chong: When chatting with this type of person, the questions are like, "How many people are in your family?", "How much is your salary?", "How big is your house?", "Which high school did you go to?". It seems like they want to care and understand, but the purpose of the chat is always to "find out the other person's background." The more you chat, the less useful information you get, and even less emotional value. All you get is an evaluation like an "assessment score".

In conversations between men, the focus is mostly on "depth"; in conversations between women, the focus is mostly on "breadth".

Just like boys following trends, when discussing Ultraman, they won't delve too much into the actors who play Ultraman or the suit manufacturers. The conversation will always focus on the historical background of the Ultraman characters and storylines. (In-depth)

Women, on the other hand, tend to have broader interests, exploring both online and offline, and are accustomed to learning more information than others. Therefore, women not only watch dramas but also follow celebrities. (Breadth)

Communication between men, focusing on a single element of "depth," is conducive to in-depth cooperation, while intimate chats between close female friends, which expand in "breadth," are beneficial for the parties involved to have overall control over the region.

These are thought strategies that men and women have evolved to cope with their respective environments. Unless it's a man pursuing a woman, a man will not conform to a woman's way of thinking and will put effort into "breadth" of attention.

…hanging and hanging…

Xu Xi: My "data loading" targets are limited to carbon-based life, which at the microscopic level is a high-density "energy matter operation configuration".

What is the "configuration of energy and matter transport"? The electron flow in human neurons is one configuration; the photons that ultimately participate in energy fixation during photosynthesis are also a configuration. Xu Xi's direct "addition" is to increase the density of this electron and photon transport by hundreds of billions of times. Then, plants and animals will be accelerated by these "configurations" and forcibly transformed into another life state.

Xuan Chong was greatly shocked by this; the system's technology was indeed beyond his imagination.

Xuan Chong was very modest: "My torque can guide the mechanical processing of materials to a certain extent; in fact, my abilities are more suitable for processing with large equipment."

Xuan Chong's humility stems from the fact that he has no idea about the physical principles behind the "cheat" the system has given him, so he dares not "promote it vigorously."

Faced with Xuan Chong's expectations, Xu Xi shook his head and said: This involves space and time, which is beyond my understanding.

Xu Xi: "How about this, when I need some high-precision engineering equipment, you can help me with the measurements, and when you need manpower, you can contact me."

Xuan Chong: "Thank you, brother." (If it weren't for the fact that this was their first meeting and they weren't familiar with each other, Xuan Chong would have called anyone who could help him "godfather.")

Xu Xi glanced to the side, and Qin Tianyi, looking away with a pout, turned her gaze elsewhere when Xu Xi looked over. She was clearly unhappy that the two of them had completely ignored her during their conversation.

Xuan Chong, being a shrewd man, immediately said, "Your wife is very virtuous." — indicating that he kept his distance because "one should not covet a friend's wife."

Xu Xi smiled at Xuan Chong: "In this dimension, she and I are siblings." Then she added, "She was my counselor in the last class."

Xuan Chong nodded stiffly. (Although he didn't understand the concept of a psychological counselor, he sensed an absolute, unbreakable barrier between the two.)
Xu Xi: "You just heard those martial arts practitioners talking about mechanical armor, right?"

Xuan Chong: "That's right, I just asked and you guys came."

Xu Xi: "Mechanical armor is personal nano-armor; it integrates the 'biofield' (true qi) within the human body with embedded liquid nanostructures to form a super soldier. This is one of the most core projects in this base at present."

By the way, you haven't met the Rank 1 Lin here yet, have you? He's a character who originally existed in this plane, not someone from the school. His dragon power is the ability to see and copy the future, like the surveillance cameras here. And this set of mechanical equipment.

Xuan Chong: "This mechanical equipment? Hmm, isn't this something from a science fiction game?"

Xu Xi paused, looked at Xuan Chong, and then said, "Science fiction? What year did you enter school?"

Xuan Chong looked surprised: "Not from the same generation as you?"

Xu Xi paused slightly, then, as if remembering something, looked slightly surprised and said, "Oh, let's talk about that later. After this exam—"

Xu Xi stopped the conversation, which made Qin Tianyi, who had just become interested, very unhappy.

The two continued their discussion on the possibilities for the development of mechanical equipment in the world.

Xu Xi nodded, then suddenly probed, "Judging from the system's arrangement for you, you should be a commander, right? Your previous mission was a 'war' type of course?"

Xuan Chong countered, "Commander?"

Qin Tianyi quickly interjected: "That's right. In some classes at Wei School, if a student gets an extremely high score, they will be responsible for the final combat command in the 'course' (plane).

Xuan Chong: "Me? Command a war? Well, brother, don't you think I'm a bit outnumbered and outmatched?"

Xu Xi was overjoyed and patted Xuan Chong on the shoulder: "Brother, a hero needs three helpers! Aren't I your asset?"

Xuan Chong felt that Xu Xi was simply a social terrorist.

…The beast-shaped mechanical door opened, and green light emanated from its eyes…

At this moment, the mechanical door on the left side of the hall opened. Lin Zhu appeared, a middle-aged man (around thirty years old) wearing a Taoist robe. He seemed to have an otherworldly air about him, but Xuan Chong noticed that on the back of his robe, octopus tentacles connected to nerves were evenly distributed on both sides of his spine, indicating a semi-mechanical, semi-human state.

Qin Tianyi explained to Xuan Chong, "This is his new look; this guy changes his style every two weeks. Last time he was standing on a floating mechanical platform."

Xuan Chong understood this behavior quite well; if he could exchange for technological creations from different timelines, he would also change his equipment every two weeks.

After calling out the names of the forty-three outstanding young talents from various sects present, the Lin Lord gave Xuan Chong and the other two a warm smile.

Especially to Xuan Chong: "Little guy, you're pretty familiar with things now, but you have to work hard here and not hold back. I'll supervise your dragon power training."

Qin Tianyi secretly reminded him again, "Don't be fooled by him. He can only sense that you are using dragon power, but he doesn't know the details of your dragon power."

Xuan Chong glanced at Qin Tianyi to express his gratitude, while Qin Tianyi blushed and shook her hand, looking like a little girl caught red-handed by the adults. Lin Zhu, a native NPC of this plane, was unaware of the situation and smiled, saying, "Youth is good."

He then produced a seal with a qilin pattern on it; Xuan Chong examined it and found it to be made of the same material as the waist tag Liu Haoxing's father carried, the only difference being that Liu Dangzhen's was decorated with a dragon pattern. This indicated that the two worked for different organizations.

Xuan Chong took the seal, and the four characters "Received the Mandate of Heaven" instantly appeared on it.

Lin Zhu said, "Our ancestors have made great contributions, and our lineage has been virtuous. Do not be complacent or make mistakes." Then, a mechanical tentacle detached from behind him and pinched Xuan Chong's shoulder with a very wicked grin. Why "wicked grin"? Xuan Chong saw the smug look in the guy's eyes.

He then said to the attendant who resembled a robotic policeman, "Take him to familiarize himself with the properties of the four categories of regions: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow."

Xuan Chong then noticed that the Lord of Lin had pulled out a half-mechanical, half-biological person from behind him. This half-mechanical servant walked up to Xuan Chong and the other two and said, "Young masters, please let me lead the way."

Liu Dayang (Xu Xi) waved his hand: "I have something to do. Liu Haoxing, you can go and have a look around first. If he doesn't explain things clearly, you can come and ask me."

Xuan Chong stared at the servant's mechanical ankles, sensing that his skeletal structure also seemed somewhat mechanized, clearly indicating modifications. As Xuan Chong gazed, the servant's lower body achieved a ceramic-like structure; the paint color matched his skin, and he noticed his hair was pure white. Xuan Chong suddenly understood what it was—a NieR Automata.

Before leaving, Qin Tianyi added, "After the Dragon Force awakens, it can be divided into four levels according to its ability level: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. The Lin Master is one of the three Heaven-level attribute ability users in the present Han Dynasty. I am currently in the Profound level."

…The road ahead? I'm already unfamiliar with it…

Walking through the underground base, Xuan Chong saw more futuristic objects.

A 20-ton armed satellite in space; a thorium-based nuclear reactor the size of a pressure cooker; a spider-like deep-sea robot.

Mechanical Attendant: "The base is divided into four zones: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Your clearance level is Level A, and you can enter the Heaven zone with prior application. However, if another prince is in charge of that zone, you can only observe."

Xuan Chong: "Are there higher authorities than Level A?"

Attendant: "Only the Lin Lord has a higher level of authority. Alright, now you will create your own exclusive seal."

Half an hour later, in Linchao's factory, Xuan Chong stood neatly dressed in the laboratory. Inside a piece of hot-processed steel, after he had drawn the torque himself, the moment the steel was thrown into the cooling chamber, the surrounding hydrogen explosives began to be released, and the energy wave of the explosion began to forge along the torque.

In an instant, these metal parts, much like the solidification of materials such as Rupert's Tears, formed a perfect stress structure from the outside in.

The seals produced were superior in material properties to those produced by any industrial forging factory in the world, making them impossible to imitate.

Following the guidance from the projection, Xuan Chong sensed that other dragon forces could cooperate with him during the process of controlling the seal to be formed in one go and the engraving of its internal information patterns.

This dragon power, which does not belong to them, comes from the "ancestral tablets of the gods" within these laboratories.

The dragon power of these memorial tablets originates from the seals carried by other dragon power users. Each person's seal allows them to borrow the "superpowers" of others in the ancestral temple. Of course, the efficiency of each person mobilizing the "superpowers" of others is at most one-tenth.

While creating the seal, Xuan Chong suddenly looked up and saw some ancestral tablets appearing in the glass chamber above. These tablets, like transforming robots, flowed out from the magnetic levitation channel.

The memorial tablets contain chip-like structures, each with information about a different Dragon Power user. An empty tablet appears, and the operating system prompts Xuan Chong to also leave his own tablet.

He kept the official seal and ribbon, but left the memorial tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

According to the legal principles currently interpreted by the current Han emperor, this seal is a certificate for "sacrifice," receiving a portion of the dragon's power, which is then transmitted to the ancestral tablet. This process constitutes "offering the dragon's power as tribute" to one's ancestors and the heavens and earth.

From a technical standpoint, the Imperial Ancestral Temple ultimately requires all superhumans to contribute their superpowers for projects that are beneficial to the country and its people.

In this laboratory factory, after Xuan Chong performed the final sacrificial rituals, he gained the approval of many "ancestral tablets" and was added to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Jianye.

The comprehensive management system for "superhumans" created by the current Han Dynasty is the most advanced in the world. On one hand, it brings the resources of all awakened dragon species closer to the main lineage.

On the other hand, under the name of "Tai Miao" (Imperial Ancestral Temple), the power of dozens or even hundreds of dragon-type individuals is comprehensively utilized.

The current Han-centric central command is capable of creating some truly extraordinary conceptual weapons, such as flying saucers and even mantle drilling machines.

Within the Imperial Ancestral Temple system, superhumans have a "tribute" settlement system. The more dragon power they contribute to this system, the more influence they have within the system.

The superhumans of modern Han are like many thin threads, intertwined...

Just like browsing an online shopping website for the first time, Xuan Chong couldn't resist the temptation and bought a lightsaber for self-defense.

Xuan Chong carefully examined a lightsaber. Its energy chamber involved dozens of types of dragon force processing; this made Xuan Chong sigh, confirming that the "Modern Han" dynasty's reign remained strong. Rebellion was out of the question.

Xuan Chong: Even if someone possesses top-tier superpowers, if they try to cause trouble in Heaven, they'll still be suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain.

Of course, the dragons who cause trouble in the Heavenly Palace will not be killed, but will instead be given a mission to pilgrimage and be reformed.

The strength of a group comes from the restraint and integration of its members.

Of course, much of this integration is sometimes very stressful, which often makes liberals feel uncomfortable.

For example, in some early stages of the first industrial era, the Bai people enjoyed the early benefits of "newly established states" and received powerful men who forcibly established a system with "strong legal and ethical constraints." After these powerful men left, the subsequent "free men" in high positions would encourage the "free men" in the lower classes to break the tradition of "restraining everyone."

The constraints of etiquette are often thankless and exhausting, suppressing everyone in every way. (The system created by the wheelchair-bound dictator, the iron-willed father, has encountered widespread discontent after decades of implementation.)
When the "constraints" that weighed on everyone are removed, everyone is free, but some people are even freer than others, and the public system collapses.

After their glorious reigns, the Bald Eagle and the Bear have been on a path where their descendants, the little devils who came after them, have to tear their own homes apart.

The more Xuan Chong sees the core system of the modern Han Dynasty, the less he wants to abandon the idea of ​​"dismantling the modern Han Dynasty's rites and laws." Because if it's "dismantled," how can it be "reassembled"?
After looking at these systematic creations in the underground base, Xuan Chong immediately pondered a question: After the "Modern Han Etiquette and Law" was dismantled, how to restrain superhumans and control industry and hundreds of thousands of Han rural villages?
According to the theory of the previous life, the present Han is essentially a powerful country that is both semi-feudal and semi-imperialist.

The reason why industry continued to develop and contradictions remained under control was due to the "ritual system"; it was because of the strong constraints it imposed on the shortcomings of feudalism and capitalism in personnel matters.

To give a detailed example, during the period when the United States was at its industrial peak, it was essentially still a capitalist superpower.

However, the Ross New Deal, a proposed social policy that could "collect 90% of taxes" from oligarchs, allowed it to maintain efficiency comparable to that of the Socialist government.

The current Han dynasty's "rites and laws" system is essentially a long-standing Ross X New Deal.

It is precisely because "rites" (礼) have exerted an unparalleled constraint on the feudal and large merchant groups within the modern Han Dynasty that feudal lords and monopolistic merchants have been forced to relinquish a significant amount of resources and space, leaving it to progressive forces and the lower and middle classes. This is essentially a successful version of the Self-Strengthening Movement's concept of "Chinese learning as the foundation, Western learning for practical application." Therefore, the entire modern Han Dynasty's science, technology, and industrial economy continues to progress.

The Qing court couldn't manage it because, in order to maintain a balance and preserve its conservative forces, it was unwilling to concede. In the present Han dynasty, the "imperial family" has been exiled to the frontier, while the "relatives of the empress" have been purged in turn. The Han court remains the Han court.

Xuan Chong: Once this system of rites is dismantled, the current Han dynasty will not be able to maintain its vast territory.

Xuan Chong hypothesizes that if his social class were not bound by the coercive constraints of "propriety," he would form an alliance with several neighboring superhumans, use violence to control the local oligarchs, and then divide up the territory.

…As long as the program runs, don't think about refactoring it…

In the Lin Group's base, Xuan Chong created his own "seal" in the "Tai Miao" facility, and his extraordinary tribute was recognized by the Tai Miao.

Inside a hemispherical energy chamber, Xuan Chong calibrated his "seal" and "spirit tablet" and began downloading the Lin Group's future technology database to learn about the Lin Group's plans to deploy new technologies to the world over the next ten to twenty years.

Xuan Chong: My knowledge is still too shallow.

(End of this chapter)