Wei School's Three Good Students

What exactly is Chapter 268 about?
The Lin Group's base at the foot of Zijin Mountain has a network of tunnels that connect in all directions; to the east, it leads to the islands in Taize, and to the west, it crosses the river to reach the abandoned mines in Huaibei.

The Lin Group is divided into four ranks according to the concept of "Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow". For example, in this Zijin Mountain base, the innermost "Earth Rank" area is entirely covered with integrated steel plates. The outermost layer, on the other hand, is covered with tiles, much like a bathhouse.

Xuan Chong used dashed lines to survey all areas, including fire ventilation ducts.

Within the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the "Heaven" section is designated as a future armed zone, accessible only to the Lord of the Unicorn.

Within the Earth-level area, zones 03 through 34 are the exclusive areas for Dragon Warriors.

The Xuan-level area is where the technological projects created by the "Dragon Power Users" are kept highly confidential, even to most people.

Xuan Chong arrived at the yellow zone, the area where those martial arts youths were. They were adding points to their martial arts internal energy in the training pods.

Due to the lingering "commanding" mentality from the Great Yao Plane, Xuan Chong was very interested in the department's grassroots operations. He even experienced the training pods here that could "increase one's power." These training pods were undoubtedly projects developed under Xu Xi's supervision.

Inside the training chamber, Xuan Chong examined the difference between the internal energy he generated after receiving the "Grass Returning Pill" and the internal energy left by others through additional points, and then erased his training data.

When Xuan Chong stepped out of the cabin, he gave Lu Changfeng, who had accompanied him, a base dose of "twenty-five drops" of diluted Herbal Rejuvenating Pills as payment. (He was being used as a control sample.)
Although it's diluted, the packaging is a metal carrying case containing frozen "glass test tubes" (similar to the virus carrying case in the Resident Evil movies).
Lu Changfeng was delighted, took the high-end metal box, and respectfully saw Xuan Chong off; no further words were exchanged between them. Having adapted to his identity as a "Dragon Power User," Xuan Chong had come to understand this privileged status.

…the Iron Curtain of etiquette…

Those of high status will inevitably attract flattery and sycophancy. Completely isolating oneself from those below, establishing a caste system, is unacceptable. However, indiscriminate contact regardless of status leads to biased listening and credulity. Our ancestors summarized this with the proverb, "Be close to virtuous ministers, and keep away from petty people."

Xuan Chong: To truly understand the lower classes, one can only do so by interacting with people who have a "proper livelihood," such as farmers or skilled laborers; because these people with legitimate jobs dedicate 90% of their attention to their work. Even if someone tries to curry favor, it's only in the hope that their "proper livelihood" will be better off.

For example, farmers hope that the land will be easier to cultivate, and workers hope that the tools will be handy and the wages will be reasonable.

The requests made by those engaged in legitimate occupations such as agriculture and industry to their superiors allow those in positions of authority to understand how these essential occupations, which form the foundation of the state, operate. Those in positions of authority, in turn, naturally respond with humility and deference.

As for those good-for-nothings who do nothing productive, they need to be supported on a daily basis; in the process of currying favor, what they ask for are all sorts of "non-productive" miscellaneous things.

For example, stock speculators hope that adults will bail them out, while gang members who transport illegal drugs hope for the "decriminalization of xx".

Those in high positions who lower themselves to associate with them will be led astray.

These young men who practice martial arts and work for the government are well-equipped, but socially they are still considered "bad guys"; unless one day they find a "righteous act" that can make even the most righteous people bow down.

Qin Tianyi's previous cold attitude towards the martial artists here was not because she was two-faced.

Xuan Chong is now looking down at the "Bad People" from above the glass partition.

…classes…

Inside the glass cabin, a martial arts cultivator removed his combat armor, which resembled that of a futuristic mechanical soldier, and said to the person next to him, "Old Lu, I wonder how that Xuan Chong (Xuan Chong greeted himself by referring to himself) went to the inner chamber to receive his investiture last time."

Lu Changfeng removed his mask: "Don't ask. They are of dragon blood. You don't need to worry about them or pry. It'll only cause you trouble."

Another person said, "Probably not, he looks much kinder."

Then someone said, "You don't actually think that just because that person talks to you nicely for a couple of minutes, you can become his brother, do you?"
"

The first person asked, "Fortune teller, could it be that you can see something in that person's (Xuan Chong's) face?"

The so-called fortune teller remained silent.

But unable to resist the persuasion of those around him, he finally couldn't help but say, "That person has a full forehead and a dignified appearance, indicating he's a person of his word and takes things to heart; however, the area from his philtrum to his lips is somewhat restrained. (Note: This suggests he often purses his lips after encountering problems, causing a change in his facial structure.) This indicates he doesn't speak of unpleasant things but keeps them to himself. It would be good to associate with him if he were truly a virtuous and open-minded person, but if he harbors petty intentions, then…"

Xuan Chong couldn't help but grit his teeth and mutter, "Oh dear, they're just saying I'm petty!"

However, as the fortune teller said, he was not plotting against himself, but merely giving an objective assessment. After all, he had been taught since childhood that "one should not harbor ill intentions towards others."

Xuan Chong was not a saint; he occasionally harbored ill intentions. However, he would feel ashamed if he used such "malicious intentions" against the weak.

…responsibility of superiors…

Xuan Chong opened Lu Changfeng's body data menu. The entire body projection could be zoomed in to observe the distribution of true qi in various acupoints.

Before Xuan Chong appeared a projection device that didn't belong to this era. This projection device wasn't any better than a 21st-century monitor. The projected pixels were extremely blurry. However, compared to the hundreds of acres required for "panel screen" manufacturing plants and complex production chains, this projector was much easier to produce. This showed that when Lin Zhu exchanged items from the future, he also considered cost-effectiveness.

After taking the Herbal Rejuvenation Pill and entering the training chamber, Lu Changfeng found that under the stable magnetic field, his previously unstable true qi became much easier to control, thus making it easier to penetrate the meridians within his body.

Meridians are not blood vessels, but "a line that facilitates the conduction of true qi and magnetic force"; true qi is not a fluid, but a force field.

The base points of these force fields can be the fascia between muscles or in the bone marrow; the base points themselves are not fluid, but the movement of the area around the base points due to the conduction of force field fluctuations makes martial arts practitioners perceive a sense of "flow," making them feel that it is a channel like a blood vessel.

Then, the true energy forms acupoints throughout the body. It is these acupoints that allow them to access the full-body mechanical armor developed by the Lin Group.

The true energy emanating from each acupoint is controllable; in ancient times, martial artists could use this to manipulate mechanisms and create unexpected effects. For example, the Tang Clan in the Southwest used to like to create such ingenious hidden weapons.

As times have progressed to this point, the armed members recruited by the various ancestral temples in the north and south of the Han Dynasty have all become individually armored soldiers. The agile control of these individual armored soldiers does not rely on voice or artificial intelligence, but on the connection of internal energy. Internal energy is connected to the body's nervous system, so to put it simply, these individual armored soldiers are connected through neural pathways.

Theoretically, the more acupoints one cultivates, the better. Each acupoint that is formed is equivalent to adding another "neural connection point." However, opening up acupoints requires sufficient skill.

Xuan Chong learned that under Xu Xi's current "point-addition" system, most of Lu Changfeng and the others had not undergone body-fixation training and could only withstand twenty to thirty years of internal energy. Once they exceeded that, they would go astray.

The essence of "going astray" is a complete loss of bodily control, including an uncontrollable metabolic rate, organ dysfunction, erratic hormone secretion, and an inability to control emotions such as joy and sorrow. It can be compared to the reaction of "overdose of specific drugs."

Five hundred years ago, the Eastern "Qi" system spread to Europe; however, the European barbarians were impatient for quick results and engaged in cults of human body modification. In recent decades, there have been even more cases of people going into a state of demonic possession due to failed drug adjustments, leaving behind numerous legends of werewolves and vampires.

Xuan Chong became wary of this, as he had already taken the "Grass Returning Pill" and was gradually gaining nearly sixty years' worth of internal energy.

This level of internal energy represents the culmination of a lifetime's work by many sect elders before the Industrial Revolution. Currently, with technological advancements and scientific training, while the number of martial artists possessing this level of true qi has increased, it remains extremely small.

Xuan Chong didn't know what it felt like to go into a state of demonic possession, but he was instinctively very wary of any situation that "exceeded the limit." It was like driving a car faster and faster; he would panic if he couldn't find the brakes.

So far, Xuan Chong dared not "speed up" (swallow the Herbal Elixir) any further. Although his internal energy was more stable and he could abruptly stop the interference with his metabolism, who knew what would happen after the imbalance?

Xuan Chong: We need to be careful and vigilant on every path.

Just like most industries, the more things you need to be wary of, the deeper the technical aspects of the industry are, and the more precautions you discover, the higher your level of expertise becomes.

…In the base corridor, deliberate footsteps approached…

Xu Xi saw Xuan Chong investigating Lu Changfeng's combat data: "Oh, you're here?"

Xuan Chong didn't shy away from the question, and said in a pleading tone, "Yes, that guy, I've talked to him, so please take care of him."

Xu Xi: "Don't worry, I won't let his physical data become unbalanced. In our line of work, we emphasize the 'human foundation,' and any factors that exceed the 'foundation' and become unstable will be curbed."

Xuan Chong knew from the previous world that the path of sports wasn't easy, so he deliberately befriended Xu Xi, a sports student. (Xuan Chong admits that all his friendships are deliberate because he's socially awkward and naturally dislikes social interaction.)

Xuan Chong asked, "Brother Xu, when you travel between dimensions, are you usually in the medical field?" (He then introduced himself to show his sincerity.) "My experience in the last dimension was in the military field."

Xu Xi: "The planes I travel through may be different in nature from yours. Strictly speaking, mine are planes where 'individual combat power is relatively strong.' Generally speaking, in these planes, the number of groups cannot make up for the gap in individual combat power. In my mission in the last plane, I encountered a 'spiritual energy revival.' When dealing with a certain Rank A super individual, I mobilized a full two hundred Rank B combat soldiers and only managed to control him under the high-density bombardment of air-based armed forces."

Xuan Chong: "This?"

Xuan Chong thought for a moment, realizing that the same was true in the Great Yao Plane. Heroic lords riding large mounts could single-handedly wipe out hundreds in a single battle, but only those hundreds, equipped with powerful crossbows, heavy armor, and chariot mobility, could actually fight. "Then what about the war missions in this world?" Xuan Chong asked with some concern. Currently, the entire world was built on World War I technology, with armored vehicles still made of rivets. Now, there was a group of superhumans with advanced technology and superhuman physical abilities in this world, not to mention that this world didn't yet possess anything like "evil energy."

Xu Xi noticed Xuan Chong's worry and frowned: "I'm also very curious. We've both come to this world. What's going to happen next?"

Xu Xi pointed down: "Now I will strive to maintain the military proficiency of these people. To ensure they can adapt to a possible, large-scale war."

Xu Xi looked at Xuan Chong: "And you, if your physical foundation can withstand it, you should try to master a more advanced 'tool system'."

Xu Xi could see the state of Xuan Chong's "internal force" field. There were a total of eighty-five acupoints in Xuan Chong's body from which true energy could be drawn out.

Xuan Chong had also tried the same mechanical armor, and his control over it on the training ground was superior to that of the martial artists.

If Lu Changfeng could only leap like a monkey between buildings with a five-meter gap, then Xuan Chong could load an energy block with six times his power and move by flashing at a speed of "fifty meters per second".

With the support of a series of advanced technologies from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the energy of the individual mechs can continue to be stacked. "Internal force" is merely a tool.

Xuan Chong's total attributes are six times greater. Not to mention his combat skills, even the force of his punches is like that of an adult compared to a three-year-old child compared to Lu Changfeng.

Xuanchong is even more capable of predicting the ground and building environment in advance by relying on its own derivative torque, and completing unimaginable terrain adaptation.

Faced with Xu Xi's persuasion, Xuan Chong consulted about the construction of the "body auxiliary perception module" motion system.

For Xu Xi, the "body-fixation technique system" was an old thing that had been developed for more than 300 years, so he explained it to Xuan Chong one by one.

…across the ocean…

In the underground granite base in the north, Xie Ming is establishing his own underground military base. Xie Ming is currently developing a "nameplate" system capable of containing superpowers, as well as an anomaly containment system.

Compared to Xuan Chong, the modern Han Dynasty has a mature "patriarchal" system to restrain superhumans, while Xie Ming and his teammates face much more trouble.

Inside the base, Xie Ming is facing an awakened ancestral spirit who has violated the prohibition; his ability is to temporarily bring together the nuclei of non-metallic elements such as carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, making them exhibit metallic properties.

The actual effect is that it turns stone into gold, and whatever it touches turns into a "metal block".

Containment records state that the subject was codenamed "Metal Man," who awakened in Bethlehem Year 1905. After entering a major city, he felt omnipotent and destroyed a building, causing the deaths of more than one hundred people.

Inside the detention center, Xie Ming looked at the arrested man and said, "You broke the agreement we made first."

The "metal man" tried to resist, but was horrified to find himself frozen in a space. All he could hear afterward was the cold, icy judgment directed at him.

After the verdict was announced, Xie Ming implanted a mechanical device for atonement into him under the guise of "embedding into the grand plan".

Inside a structure sixty meters wide, resembling a nuclear missile silo, a massive steel mech rested like a warship. Its rear armored compartment opened, and mechanical octopus tentacles bound the "metal man," securing him to his cockpit.

As the heavy, coffin-like mechanical structure imprisoned the errant superhuman, the lights representing the eyes on the Titan Mech's dark, hollow face lit up.

Xie Ming already has three such Redemption Titans under his command, which is a deterrent to other people who join the organization.

Looking at the thing, Green exclaimed, "Squad leader, these things in our base could probably sweep across North America! The local guards are only armed with some armored vehicles and Gatling guns."

Xie Ming placed his hand on the yellow-painted fence, looking at the Titan mech in the granite pit, and replied without turning his head, "Don't be impatient, the exam questions haven't appeared yet! We don't know how this world will eventually open up."

Green: "Precisely because it hasn't been launched yet, expanding its influence and growing rapidly is the right thing to do now."

Xie Ming pointed at the Titan mech: "The more we expose ourselves, the more potential adversaries we'll have! You don't think there aren't any 'hydrogen-blast missiles' in this world, do you?"

Xie Ming: "When superhumans from different factions clash, they will find that defeating their opponent can help improve their own superpowers!"

Looking into Xie Ming's eyes, Green suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

Xie Ming: "Don't worry, we are on the same side. If I destroy your ability, it will simply return to the planet and be reborn as an 'ancestral spirit.' This only works against superhumans who are not on the same side. And right now, our side is not the strongest in this world."

Green: "You've been to this world before?"

Xie Ming nodded: "Yes, I've been here before. I came with someone else last time, a hundred years ago according to this world's storyline. He might be in this class right now." (Xie Ming silently repeated Xu Xi's name in his mind.)

Green: "So? What is a faction?"

Xie Ming: "Humans on the surface of the earth consider themselves a group in their culture, which is a camp. So no matter what, we do not consider ourselves individuals."

…Back to the waves…

As a reserve officer in the Eastern Ocean Fleet, Liu Haoxing's leave approval from the naval authorities was about to expire. Xuan Chongde had to return to school to complete the formalities.

At the Linzu base, Xuanchong has made a great harvest, and the eight containers that were ordered have been transported to Hangzhou by train.

After reporting to Marshal Liu Kehua, the marshal looked at the seal hanging at Xuan Chong's waist and his expression softened.

After the awakening of the "Dragon Seed" superhumans in Hannei, choosing between the Dragon Group and the Qilin Group is very important!
The ancestral temples where everyone worshipped were located together, and their relationship was similar to that of clans in ancient times.

After five cycles of the Han dynasty, over the years, various ethnic groups have sought refuge and attached themselves to the Han, making it difficult to accurately trace the origins of the Liu surname.

And even if we traced the lineage back to Liu Bang through gene sequencing, so what? Liu is a surname that spans two thousand years, longer than the history of most ethnic groups in the world.

For example, in the western Tu Kingdom, there are people who claim to be surnamed Liu.

Because Liu Bang had been born eight hundred years before the founding of the Tu Kingdom, who could guarantee that there were no Liu clan members among the Tu people? The agricultural productivity of the Central Plains resulted in a larger population than that of the grasslands, and there was a net outflow of population from the grasslands.

However, at present, if the Turks want to establish a relationship with the modern Han, the modern Han will not officially acknowledge it.

Because in modern Hanzhong, it's not just about whether you're of a certain "race"; it's also about whether you've consistently maintained the worship of "Heaven and Earth, the State, and your ancestors."

The reason why any great clan is great is because it has been worshipping incense and offerings for generations.

From a purely interest-based perspective: "The continuous ancestral worship" represents how, in the process of inheritance, families have cultivated deep-rooted networks in various fields on this land.

Similar to how in the 21st century, when people get married, they would pay attention to whether the other party's parents were civil servants, PhDs, or doctors, which meant they could leverage local connections; and that was several generations ago, but in modern Chinese culture, it's dozens of generations.

Therefore, the cessation of sacrificial rites signifies the depletion of resources controlled on this land. No matter how powerful your ancestors were, what good is your ability if you can't inherit anything? You're nothing but a scoundrel.

Liu Bei's act of weaving straw sandals wasn't that of a vagrant; he simply earned less money. He benefited from clan-based education, which is a testament to local resources.

In this dimension, rituals are also linked to superpowers. Xuan Chong already knows that the birth of superpowers comes from a certain connection between human consciousness and the consciousness within the planet.

Researchers at the Han Imperial Ancestral Temple, based on textual analysis, believe that in this plane of existence, during the early stages of civilization, the high priests inadvertently achieved communication between "humanity and heaven and earth," becoming the first generation of superhumans. If an awakened superhuman verifies the Imperial Ancestral Temple beneath their feet, then after their soul returns to heaven and earth, this "superhuman" link will be granted to the local inhabitants of the temple during future sacrifices.

Returning to the present, the general is clearly judging Xuan Chong based on the attitude of the younger generation.

The main reason is that Xuan Chong enshrined his family's ancestral tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple system of Nanjing.

It's not that the ancestral temple in the north can't be used. In present-day Hanzhong, the ancestral temple in Yandu is the main ancestral temple; even the ancestral tablet system of "Tiger Group," "Phoenix Group," and "Black Tortoise" will be connected to the ancestral temple in Yandu. However, the temple priests of other ancestral temples can intercept the tribute of dragon power.

The amount intercepted in various places is roughly 30% to 40%. However, the Lin Group, located in Jiangnan, where the imperial aura is strong, intercepted the most, reaching 70%.

(End of this chapter)