My lord, spare his life!

Zhang Daji mustered his strength and began to fly.

When they arrived at Zhang Yang's side, it was just beginning to get light.

Zhang Yang was neither in the prefectural government nor anywhere else in the city. However, this was no problem for Zhang Daji, nor for the exceptionally skilled scouting eyes who, after surveying only a short distance, pinpointed Zhang Yang's location. She was currently at the military camp's training grounds outside the city, training her adopted daughter.

This was at the request of the adopted daughter, Zhe Meng.

Zhe Meng said, "I consider myself mediocre in talent and lacking in martial arts skills. If I am fortunate enough to receive careful guidance from my adoptive mother and grasp some of the true essence of martial arts, I will have more confidence and less fear when facing enemies in the future, so as not to tarnish my adoptive mother's illustrious reputation."

Zhang Yang couldn't help but recall his first encounter with Zhe Meng.

Indeed, Zhe Meng couldn't beat himself.

She agreed to Zhe Meng's request without hesitation.

Which parent in the world would refuse a well-behaved child who is proactive, ambitious, and humble? Although people say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, it doesn't mean that obedient and filial children deserve to suffer in silence. That's unfair, and parental favoritism is the root of family discord! The squeaky wheel needs to be cared for emotionally, but the well-behaved child deserves even more praise.

Only in this way can we set a good example.

Zhang Yang simply stayed at the military camp, waking Zhe Meng up before dawn to train him in the training ground. Since it was to provide instruction and guidance, Zhang Yang deliberately suppressed his own strength and speed, keeping himself at around Zhe Meng's level, and carefully pointed out which aspects he should strengthen.

"Your fighting wood xiezhi is so cute."

The training ground had limited space, and Zhe Meng couldn't just cause chaos, so he limited the size of the Doumu Xie, making it only two or three heads taller than an adult. With its smaller size, its physical advantages became more pronounced. Zhang Yang single-handedly withstood the Doumu Xie's immense impact, forcing it to barely advance. The two struggled until the Doumu Xie was exhausted, panting heavily, its hooves carving two furrows into the ground.

Seeing that it was powerless, Zhang Yang leaped onto its back.

He rode it backwards and even secretly touched a piece of the fighting wood monster's fur.

Doumu Xie knelt on all fours, letting Zhang Yang do as he pleased.

Despite its shrunk size, its strength remained undiminished. Confused, it couldn't understand how a mortal, unenhanced human could possess such immense power. It suspected that aside from resembling a human in appearance, the difference between the person before it and a human was perhaps greater than the difference between a human and a dog.

When Zhang Yang was wrestling with Dou Muxie, Zhe Meng didn't take advantage of her weakness, nor did she have the strength to do so. She even suspected that she was a domesticated dog, relying on her boundless energy to try and exhaust the human's strength, and ended up truly exhausted like a dog, yet her expression remained unchanged.

Only after Zhang Yang finished braiding the mane of the Doumu Xie did she step forward, using her spear as a cane, and ask curiously, "It seems that my godmother hasn't released any Star Illusion Phantoms?"

Zhang Yang said, "I don't have that thing."

Zhe Meng: "Does your adoptive mother belong to the Three Palaces?"

That's quite unusual.

The Three Enclosures (San Yuan) are not without capable fighters, but they are very few. For example, the Purple Palace Enclosure (Zi Wei Yuan) has Wu Qu, Po Jun, and Tian Qiang; the Tai Wei Enclosure (Tai Wei Yuan) has Hu Ben and Yu Lin; and the Tian Shi Enclosure (Tian Shi Yuan) has Guan Suo and Di Zuo. Some of these are primarily involved in criminal justice and military affairs, falling somewhere between civil and military, and are not purely martial stars. These stars possess the talent to attain martial arts prowess, but unlike the Four Symbols (Si Xiang) camp, they cannot condense their own star illusions; instead, they possess other special abilities. The adoptive mother does not have a star illusion, which means her star camp belongs to the Three Enclosures?

Is it the Purple Palace Enclosure?

Is it the Heavenly Market Enclosure?

Or is it Taiwei Enclosure?

Zhang Yang said, "No, that's not it either."

Zhe Meng became increasingly curious, but did not pursue the matter further.

She was also sensible, afraid that asking too many questions would offend someone.

Zhang Yang: "Why don't you keep asking?"

Zhe Meng said awkwardly, "These things are hard to say, aren't they?"

It's important to understand that the celestial sphere is densely packed with stars, vast and boundless, and the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols can only encompass the vast majority, not all stars. Upon closer examination, a very small number of stars exist independently of the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols, such as the Twelve Constellations, miscellaneous stars, auspicious and inauspicious stars, or the Five Planets. Among the Five Planets, the most famous are Mars (荧惑) and Venus (太白). However, this situation is extremely rare, and in some places it's even considered heretical. Most importantly, these stars independent of the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols system were among the first to perish.

That is to say-

Once you're categorized into these groups, you're doomed. You'll either be an ordinary person for life, or burdened with the wrath of the celestial beings for the rest of your life. The adoptive mother's aura was pure and clean, clearly free of the wrath of the celestial beings.

That shouldn't belong to any of these categories.

Zhang Yang was in a good mood: "There's nothing wrong with saying it."

"Then the star of the adoptive mother is..."

"I don't know either."

The "Stars" section in the data panel remains unavailable.

Zhe Meng: "..."

She had reason to suspect that Zhang Yang was deliberately teasing her.

"It's not important anyway, and it doesn't affect me much so far." Zhang Yang was quite open-minded, though she did have some guesses in her heart. The reason she still didn't have a star was perhaps because she was an outsider, a transmigrator, or even an NPC transmigrator.

Zhe Meng considered it carefully and said, "Actually, it's quite important."

Zhang Yang looked at her in confusion: "What's the use? If it's about increasing power or something, it's really useless to me."

Fan You didn't teach this part either.

Could it be that the teaching schedule hasn't reached this part yet?

Zhe Meng: "Humans naturally prefer to live in groups. It's like you and I are mother and daughter, so my adoptive mother loves me more than others, and we're closer. Similarly, other people are more likely to trust each other because of these commonalities—whether they're classmates, from the same hometown, share the same surname, or are from the same place. If this is the case, how much more so for the Starry Sky faction? The survival of a Star Lord is also related to the strength of those under his command. If a Star Lord dies, the power of those under his command will lose its source, and they will have to pay a greater price to regain it, making them more vulnerable..."

This is similar to asking, "What channels are there to make oneself stronger?"

Either improve yourself or weaken your enemy.

The final result is the same.

Zhang Yang listened with some difficulty and confusion: "What?"

Zhe Meng gave Zhang Yang an example: "For instance, if a certain ruler's star belongs to the Ziwei Enclosure, this person will be more inclined to promote stars belonging to the Ziwei Enclosure, such as the Tianshi Enclosure and the Taiwei Enclosure, because stars belonging to the same Ziwei Enclosure make them feel more at ease. Some even directly stipulate that only those belonging to the same three enclosures can enter officialdom, while others cannot, prohibiting people from different camps from marrying into each other's families, and eliminating the possibility of intermarriage."

Zhang Yang listened, increasingly astonished: "How common is this?"

Zhe Meng said, "I can only say... that there are quite a few."

Some regions, having enjoyed long periods of peace, enjoy stirring up trouble, causing some talented individuals to be marginalized and forced to leave in anger. Zhe Meng could understand this. It's important to understand that not only is there competition for survival between people, but the star lords behind these stars also have a life-or-death relationship. If one is the loser, those belonging to that star will be tormented by the wrath of the celestial beings.

Naturally, sticking together increases the chances of survival.

Perhaps one day, Zhang Yang, the adoptive mother, will meet someone who is satisfied with everything about her, except for Xingchen. No, Zhe Meng believes this is by no means a low-probability event.

Zhang Yang: "...Is that absurd?"

This is absolutely ridiculous.

The sample includes Chinese zodiac signs and constellations, but even combined, there are only twenty-four possible combinations. How many permutations and combinations are possible?

According to Zhe Meng, it's like a subject would avoid his lord if his zodiac sign was a rooster and his own was a rabbit, because roosters and rabbits shouldn't be kept in the same cage. He would also avoid his lord if his zodiac sign was a Scorpio, because Scorpios are too controlling. And he would avoid his lord if his zodiac sign was a Virgo, because he couldn't stand their obsession with details... This line of thinking becomes even more terrifying when applied to the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols system, which has hundreds or even thousands of stars.

Zhang Yang couldn't help but complain.

"No wonder they acted so recklessly."

It's understandable that things would get chaotic.

If even the observed samples can argue fiercely over whether tofu pudding is sweet or savory, imagine how much more intense the debate would be among hundreds or thousands of individuals. The more categories there are, the more rigorous the avoidance of pitfalls becomes, and the fiercer the arguments will naturally be.

Zhe Meng chuckled twice: "Perhaps one day someone will become devoted to their godmother simply because they share the same star as her."

We should look at things from multiple perspectives.

Zhang Yang: "..."

At that moment, she looked up as if she had sensed something.

Before long, the military camp's guards also spotted the two star beasts within their surveillance range. Zhang Yang raised his hand to signal them to lower their guard, and with a flick of his right hand, Zhang Daji used Zhang Yang's arm as a temporary perch, landing steadily before turning to snatch the bird off his back.

After finishing, he took down the bamboo tube containing the reply.

Zhang Yang gently stroked the feathers on its head.

"Big Chick, you've worked hard."

She didn't immediately check Wang Ba's reply; instead, her gaze fell on the disheveled bird: "Your new friend?"

The bird flapped its wings and landed on Zhang Yang's shoulder.

"Lord Boyuan! Lord Boyuan! Lord Boyuan!" Thousand-Mile Eyes struggled to avoid Zhang Yang's teasing fingers, straining to open its mouth and pleading softly, "Help! Help! Save my life!"

Zhang Yang: "What a clever bird! You can talk too?"

She asked in a high-pitched voice, "Was the bird chased and killed by a snake?"

Zhang Yang didn't recognize it, but Zhe Meng recognized the bird at a glance.

"Godmother, this is a telescope."

"clairvoyance?"

"It belongs to the Imperial Throne City, and it's a bird kept by Chao Xiaoyu." Zhe Meng was able to recognize it at a glance, naturally because she had previously belonged to the Zongzheng County and had also coveted the Imperial Throne City. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory, so she naturally knew what the bird kept by the Imperial Throne City looked like.

They've come up with quite a few ways to deal with the all-seeing eye.

This includes, but is not limited to, poisoning, such as tricking the clairvoyant into eating poisonous prey; using a honey trap, such as raising a star-beast bird that appeals to the clairvoyant's aesthetic sense, and then luring the bird away once it reaches adulthood and can reproduce. The clairvoyant is a core component of the Imperial Throne City's defense system; only when the clairvoyant is rendered useless can the Imperial Throne City make its move.

however--

The bird with a thousand-mile eye is a clever bird.

It never eats unfamiliar food, even if it hunts it itself. It will observe the food carefully before deciding whether to eat it or take it back for Chao Tan to identify. It also ignores unfamiliar birds outside, never giving Huang Mao a chance.

In short, it's very tricky.

Zhe Meng reminded him, "My lord, it's the Imperial Throne City that's calling for help."

Thousand-Mile Eyes' eyes visibly brightened, and he hurriedly nodded in agreement with Zhe Meng: "Emperor's Throne City, Emperor's Throne City, save the bird's life!"

Not being a newcomer, Zhang Yang was disappointed.

She asked, "There were rumors that the Imperial Throne City was under siege. Didn't Chao Xiaoyu lead her troops back to reinforce it? Or was she a step too late?"

That's possible.

After all, apart from the protagonist who saves the day at the last minute, the other non-protagonists don't have any special aura; they either arrive early or late.

The man with the keen eye was extremely anxious.

Unfortunately, it wasn't an adult yet, and its vocabulary was quite limited. In its frustration, it emitted a barrage of chirping cries. Zhang Yang couldn't understand a word and could only cast pleading glances at Zhe Meng.

Zhe Meng said awkwardly, "I haven't learned it either."

Generally, only the owners of star beasts can learn to speak without a teacher. Speaking of this, Zhe Meng found it strange. Didn't his adoptive mother raise four star beasts at once? How come she still can't understand what these star beasts say?

Zhang Yang said, "I have a way."

Both Easter Egg Bro and Wild Man Bro can act as translators.

The former likes to perch on rooftops, but the nearby area is a military camp with only tents, so the Easter Egg Guy won't spawn there. Zhang Yang found the Savage Guy, Wang Qi, without much effort. Wang Qi clearly knew why she was there, and Zhang Yang was furious: "So, you were watching all along?"

"Otherwise what? Should I lower myself and offer myself up? Throughout history, there has always been the saying of treating the virtuous with respect. I don't expect you to visit me three times; making one more trip isn't unreasonable, is it?" Wang Qi had become quite ambitious; he even knew about the three visits to the thatched cottage. It's just a pity that Zhang Yang didn't know.

"Isn't this thatched hut a bit inappropriate? What if your pants are still off?"

"One is a thatched hut, the other is a latrine."

Zhang Yang countered, "Is there a big difference?"

Wang Qi: "...Would you sleep in the outhouse?"

He paused for a moment after speaking.

How could he vaguely remember someone drowning in the toilet?

If he couldn't remember for a moment, he stopped thinking about it. He bent his fingers and asked the two birds about the cause and effect. Although the young star beasts had limited expressive abilities, they could still express most of it using their special racial language. Wang Qi understood in no time.

"The bird's owner led his troops back to aid Dizuo City, relieving the siege. However, the city's water supply has been poisoned and is undrinkable, causing a water shortage. The enemies surrounding them are also constantly throwing plague-infected corpses into the city. Chao Xiaoyu sent Qianliyan with a message, hoping that you or your adopted daughter can lend a helping hand. The sooner the better." Wang Qi frowned more and more as he spoke. "The old man brought good news, though. He has reached an agreement with Dou County and has arranged to lead 3,000 troops along the Youyuan Mountains, using another trade route to enter the mountainous region and meet up with Dou County within three days."

Even with the strongest defenses in Dou County, no one could have predicted that Zhang Yang of Dongxian had a secret affair.

This will definitely make Doujun suffer a huge loss.

"Besides that, to gain the trust of the people of Dou County, the old man specially dispatched a group of troops to launch a feigned attack on your trade route passes. To make it more convincing, they might actually fight, so your men shouldn't let their guard down." After saying that, Wang Qi muttered, "The old man is courting death."

In his view, Wang Ba might really be courting death.

Why?

Because the mountain has no ruler, the mischievous monkey becomes king.

Wang Qi's illegitimate brothers were all no saints. With Wang Ba gone, the mountain weighing on the monkey was gone. Aside from Wang Ba, probably few in the world would think that Wang Qi's brothers could possibly be related to anyone else.

They're all hypocrites.

Having recently read a lot of military treatises and strategies, he felt somewhat enlightened and vaguely developed a beast-like intuition.

The old man might have to leave home.

However, that's not important, and he won't remind the old man.

If those idiots really start fighting amongst themselves, wouldn't Wang Qi have a ready-made reason to kill them all one by one?

? ?|??w?`)