In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

"Brother Zizhong, who is your elder...?"

Zi Mao couldn't help but look at Zi Zhong, his eyes filled with curiosity.

They only saw a tiny white dot, but the person standing at the highest position must be someone of great importance.

"Aunt Xuan is the owner of this great ship, the master of the mirage."

"And that tallest building is my family's Heavenly Mystery Tower. There should be lots of fun things on this big ship, so don't lose track of it."

"Follow!"

Even knowing Ziju and Zizhong's identities, everyone was still stunned by the news.

The owner of the mirage—doesn't that mean the Zhang family owns this large ship?

On deck, the guards stationed there tried to stop them, but quickly noticed the gesture to let them pass.

Passing through the Heavenly Palace, the palace complex behind it stunned everyone even more.

Directly in the center is a straight and wide corridor, about three zhang long. On the side are winding, undulating, or secluded paths, all decorated with a cherry blossom forest with fallen petals, the pink petals forming a beautiful and romantic red carpet.

In the cherry blossom grove, there are secluded paths, wooden bridges over flowing water, pavilions and rockeries... Is this a boat?

However, behind them was a three-story palace complex resembling a city wall, with each floor connected to the palace complex in front by an aerial corridor more than ten feet long.

The Moon Palace, towering high and resplendent in gold, dazzled the crowd, filling them with awe.

"Behind us is the imperial palace, where the empire's elite troops and high-level decision-makers are stationed."

The front hall, named the Moon Palace, is the main hall of the Yin-Yang School. It is said that inside stands a ten-thousand-foot-tall, ancient divine tree—the Fusang—which even my father highly values.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the Moon Palace and the Moon Hall in front of them, and they too felt a sense of longing.

After passing through the central avenue and entering the Moon Palace, you will see a golden ancient tree rising into the sky on an open space that resembles a gladiatorial arena.

Fuso sacred tree!

"Does the Fusang Divine Tree really exist?"

Previously, no one believed Zizhong's words, thinking that he was just a big tree at most.

But as they looked at the sacred Fusang tree before them, they vaguely felt a desire to worship it, and the golden leaves were not autumn leaves, but the true color of the sacred tree.

Noble, sacred, and inviolable!

"As for the Toad Palace, it is full of the secret mechanisms and techniques of the Yin-Yang School."

Most of you are ordinary people, and going in might be very dangerous. Let's go to the Heavenly Mystery Tower in the back.

Tianji Tower is my Zhang family's residence. The main hall below is designed like a hotel. Given the long journey and the fact that we'll be on the ship for at least three to five years, it certainly can't be simple!

The area is divided into a cherry blossom grove in the middle and a peach blossom grove in the back, and is decorated mainly with the Eight Trigrams of Qimen Dunjia, making it extremely mysterious.

"Aunt Xuan!"

Amidst amazement and envy, the group arrived at the top floor and saw Aunt Xuan, whom Zi Zhong had mentioned.

At the highest point of the Heavenly Mystery Tower stands a chilling, crystal palace-like hall. On the corridors and balconies, slender, graceful figures appear sacred and inviolable in the sunlight.

Everyone had assumed that Aunt Xuan, whom Ziju had mentioned, would be a proper and mature woman. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered that she was a stunningly beautiful young woman in white, only a few years older than them, with an ethereal and otherworldly beauty, like a snow lotus on the Tianshan Mountains.

But at this moment, Ziju and Zizhong had already rushed into the girl's arms, being very intimate, which made everyone even more envious.

"Looks like you've been doing well lately!"

Xuan Nu looked at the two of them. The fact that they were able to bring friends to visit the Mirage meant that they had clearly made a name for themselves in Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

Compared to the loneliness on Peach Blossom Island, this is perhaps the life Zhang Xiaoshan wanted to give them.

"This student greets Aunt Xuan!"

Since Zizhong and Zijun both called her Aunt Xuan, everyone else naturally followed suit.

Moreover, as prodigies who could become the masters of the Mirage, they naturally knew that the girl before them was no ordinary girl, but an exceptionally powerful expert.

One can get a sense of this from the strength of Zizhong and Zijun!

"Aunt Xuan, when are you leaving?"

"It will probably take half a year to prepare, considering the massive amount of supplies on the ship and the need to gather elites to venture into the depths of the sea... It would be considered fast if we could set sail in half a year."

What? You want to come along?

"Don't go!"

Zizhong Zijun shook his head directly.

They were adrift at sea, and didn't know how many years it would take to return; they didn't want to wander off.

"Alright, take your classmate downstairs to see some fun places."

Purple Shell Water Pavilion, Sky Corridor, Hidden Armor Courtyard...

"Understood, Aunt Xuan!"

As she led the group of young people out, Xuan Nu couldn't help but show a hint of doting affection.

When they come back next time, the two boys may have grown up.

After all, this exploration will take at least five years, and Zhang Xiaoshan has already explained the situation; it is a continent composed of glaciers.

The actual land is at least tens of feet below the surface, and there are even real glaciers thousands of feet deep.

This is also why Zhang Xiaoshan sent her there.

Having been frozen for two thousand years, Xuan Nu's body has reached an advanced level of ice resistance, so even environments with temperatures tens of degrees below zero will not have much of an impact.

Moreover, Xuan Nu herself possessed the strength of a Grandmaster, making her untouchable even by blizzards.

Chapter 707 The Alliance of the Four Great Schools and the Four Great Families

"Zizhong really went up!"

On the dock, Ziyu and Ziming looked at the returning ship, which no longer carried Zizhong, Zijun, and the others, and immediately showed envy.

Looking at the magnificent and enormous mirage in the distance, they naturally wanted to go up to it.

Unfortunately, they were wanted criminals of the Empire, but their masks indicated they were from the Empire, so going up there was simply walking into a trap.

"Nonsense, given Zizhong and Zijun's identities, this mirage was jointly supervised by their family and the empire."

Moreover, the eight escort ships surrounding the mirage bore the Zhang family's insignia, so naturally no one would stop them.

"The Zhang family, aren't they the imperial lackeys who occupied the Mechanized City?"

Ziyu glanced at the boy speechlessly.

When they left, the Mo Family's Mechanical City was just a ruined shell. The Zhang family's occupation was merely a matter of making use of the waste, and they had no direct grudge against the Mo Family.

Perhaps the appearance of the divine sword later made the Mo family lose face.

Ultimately, they all ventured into the Sword Pool, but found nothing in the end.

It should be noted that Master Xu is the most senior swordsmith in the Mohist school and even in the entire Nine Provinces. Even he had not discovered it for decades, so the divine sword was simply out of reach of the Mohist school.

Moreover, the Zhang family has no enmity with the Mo family or the Xiang family.

Moreover, the Zhang family is not an imperial lackey; their status far surpasses that of the Yin-Yang School, and even the Dragon Emperor has to show them deference.

If the Zhang family had wanted to deal with the Mo family and the Xiang family, they would have been wiped out by now.

"Kid, you didn't just find out now, did you?"

Seeing the boy's look of sudden realization, Ziyu couldn't help but show a hint of helplessness.

They've spent several months together, and the Mohist school has discussed things more than once or twice. Yet, this young man, the new leader of the Mohist school, is completely unaware of the Zhang family's affairs.

Should I know?

"..."

Unbeknownst to the two, three figures slowly approached them:

"Ziyu, Ziming, didn't you go together?"

"Greetings, gentlemen!"

The two turned around in surprise, not expecting to bump into Fu Nian and his group.

But soon, Ziyu figured out the reason.

When Zizhong and the others headed to the Mirage, how could Fu Nian, as the head of the Little Sage Manor, not care?

Moreover, Fu Nian should be curious about the secrets of the mirage, so waiting patiently is the best option.

"this···"

The two were immediately speechless. It wouldn't be easy to come up with a reason, especially since Fu Nian had already begun to suspect them. Ordinary excuses simply wouldn't fool Fu Nian.

"Zhiming, Ziyu, didn't our martial uncle want to give you some instructions today? Did you go?"

"Not yet, we're going right now!"

Upon hearing this, the two breathed a sigh of relief, quickly bowed, and then left.

As for Fu Nian, he glanced at Zhang Liang, who was trying to exonerate the two, but still didn't break off relations. There were so many people watching them now.

Besides, even though the two were wanted criminals by the empire, Xiaoshengxianzhuang didn't want to get involved.

Neither the Mohists nor the Xiang clan are easy to deal with.

"Are you three Master Fu Nian, Master Yan Lu, and Master Zhang Liang?"

Suddenly, the boatman called out, and Fu Nian and the others immediately looked at him, realizing that this boatman was no ordinary person.

"My name is Fu Nian. May I ask who you are?"

Upon hearing Fu Nian's response, the boatman hurriedly said in a panic:

"I am just an ordinary fisherman from Sanghai City, how could I possibly deserve the respectful title of Mr. Fu Nian?"

"These were given to me by the men on the large ship. They said three refined-looking men would be looking for him later, and they wanted me to deliver this to Mr. Fu Nian."

"Is it?"

Fu Nian didn't take the boatman's modesty to heart.

He was just a boatman; even if he was unassuming, he had no connection to him or posed no threat. Instead, he curiously opened the invitation the boatman handed him.

Upon opening it and glancing at it, Fu Nian's expression instantly turned serious.

Even Yan Lu and Zhang Liang, who were standing to the side, looked at Fu Nian with curiosity, wondering why Fu Nian's expression changed so drastically after seeing the invitation.

"Senior brother, what is the meaning of the Zhang family's invitation?"

Zhang Liang stated frankly that it was an invitation from the Zhang family, not from the empire, because he knew the empire wouldn't be so secretive.

And if it were an empire, it wouldn't be handed to them by a boatman.

"Just take a look."

He handed the invitation to Yan Lu and Zhang Liang, and Fu Nian's eyes shone with a strange light.

This invitation is from the Zhang family, inviting the Confucian scholars to ascend the mirage in six months and explore the ends of the earth together.

"An invitation to go to sea?"

Upon receiving the invitation, Zhang Liang froze, staring in disbelief at the invitation in Fu Nian's hand. He never expected that the Zhang family would give them an invitation to sail out to sea from Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

"Eight large Fujian ships represent eight different forces. What is the Zhang family's purpose?"

"The way each member of the Zhang family does things has always been unpredictable."

This invitation to sail seems strange, but fundamentally, it might not be a bad thing. However, the Zhang family's specific purpose still needs to be explained by Young Master Zhang himself.

Zhang Liang's eyes also flickered as he pondered Zhang Xiaoshan's purpose.

However, in the end, no one expected the Zhang family's true intentions.

Moreover, besides Confucianism, many other forces in Kyushu also received invitations from Zhang Xiaoshan.

Taoism! Buddhism! Farming!

In addition to the four major schools of Confucianism, there are also aristocratic families in Guanzhong, Jiangnan, Central Plains, and Shandong (east of Taihang Mountains), who can gather two to three hundred people.

Such an invitation quickly caused a huge sensation in Kyushu.