During the Qin Dynasty, he brought chaos to the seven kingdoms.

Seven stars, seven nations, seven secrets... Legend has it that whoever controls the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon will possess the power to rule the world...

The line from the anime involuntarily echoed in Cao Yuan's mind.

If there is anything in the world that could help him break free from the spiritual barrier unique to modern people, the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions would definitely be one of them.

Cao Yuan handed the first draft of the first part of "Human Nature is Good or Evil" to Zihan, then said goodbye and returned to the shop under the cover of night.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Jingni and Liwu who were walking by.

At this moment, the two women still had some bloodstains on their clothes, and they exuded a faint but palpable murderous aura.

Cao Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but he forced a smile and said, "What a coincidence, ladies."

Li Wu gently stroked the black cat in her arms, her dress fluttering as she swayed her hips and walked up to Cao Yuan. She chuckled and said, "It's good that you're back. I'm not in a good mood right now. If I had to go through the trouble of catching you, I would have made you suffer."

The Yan family is close to the Confucian school. Just now, she and Jingni were ordered to lure away the Confucian masters in the city, but they did not expect to encounter Fu Nian, the most talented Confucian, and thus suffered serious injuries.

Cao Yuan's heart tightened. "Should we open the box now?"

Jing Ni calmly replied, "Not bad."

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The sound of iron boots rolling over the bluestone floor was especially clear at night.

Cao Yuan looked over.

The Qin army's armor, black iron masks... were meant to conceal the sun.

Holding the bronze box, Yan Ri said in a low voice, "Open it."

Cao Yuan took the bronze box; it was icy cold to the touch.

It's fake... Cao Yuan originally only had five points, so he was certain that the treasure box Yan Ri obtained was fake.

After all, the original story states that the treasure box was taken by Wuming.

Now that I've obtained and touched the treasure box, I feel completely confident.

In the store.

Meng Jiang was not present, so Cao Yuan arranged for her to stay temporarily at Zi Han's school.

Just as Cao Yuan was pondering how to stall for time, a member of the Net flew down and presented a mechanical scroll.

"Chief, a letter from the Prime Minister."

Yan Ri opened the cipher lock, quickly glanced at it, and couldn't help but sneer: "Old scoundrel."

Cao Yuan held his breath and dared not make the slightest movement, fearing that Yan Ri's big mouth would let him hear something he shouldn't hear.

Unfortunately, he still miscalculated.

Yan Ri treated him as if he were an outsider, and arranged various Luo Wang operations right in front of him.

However, there is some good news.

Seemingly due to the growing trend of alliances among the states, Lü Buwei ordered Yan Ri to immediately return to Qin to await further orders, or face punishment according to Qin law.

However, things didn't go so well after that.

"Take him away!"

Yan Ri coldly ordered that Cao Yuan be bound and brought back to the net.

"Young master, come with us!"

Li Wu smiled seductively, her slender fingers gliding lightly across Cao Yuan's face.

Cao Yuan's heart pounded, his blood flow accelerated, and his brain raced.

Are we about to get on a pirate ship?

But with his small, weak body that can't cultivate, who knows what will happen if he's taken back to the ruthless and man-eating Net?

Do not!

He wants to disembark!

He hasn't taken the treasure box from Wuming's hands yet!

"Wait a minute!"

Cao Yuan suddenly spoke up, "I've found a way to open the treasure box!"

With his original abilities, it would have taken him at least three days to open this fake treasure box, but by then, it would be too late.

But he can use the "golden key"!

Yan Ri paused slightly upon hearing this.

He hadn't held out much hope, after all, over the centuries, countless rulers had summoned the world's best locksmiths and mechanical masters to try and crack the bronze box, and without exception, they had all failed.

If he hadn't been completely unable to find another way to realize his ambition, suppress Lü Buwei, and become the King of Qin, he wouldn't have set his sights on the elusive secret of the Azure Dragon.

"Young man, do you know the consequences of deceiving the enemy?"

"I can open it."

Cao Yuan spoke with certainty and full of confidence.

Jing Ni and Li Wu looked at Cao Yuan with a strange light in their two beautiful eyes.

This is a bronze treasure box containing the secrets of the Azure Dragon. How did you find a way to break it so quickly?

"Alright, I'll wait here for you to open it."

He sat down with an air of authority, his eyes closed.

Cao Yuan, after pretending to fumble around in the treasure box for a while, opened it with the power of the "golden key".

"Click, click, tap-tap-tap..."

The sound of the mechanism turning was very rhythmic.

Yan Ri suddenly opened his eyes, shocked, and his body almost uncontrollably rushed towards the treasure box.

Jingni and Liwu stared in shock at the composed Cao Yuan.

The bronze box, which holds the secrets of the Azure Dragon and has been passed down for thousands of years, and which countless masters of mechanisms could not conquer, has been opened.

Good heavens, what kind of weirdo did they find?

"what!"

Suddenly, Yan Ri roared and angrily tore the silk scroll in his hand to shreds.

"It's fake! It's fake!"

Cao Yuan vaguely saw the four characters "Jiang Clan Genealogy" on the torn silk cloth on the ground, and he understood something.

No wonder the Yan family had a bronze treasure box; it turns out the Yan family was a descendant of the Jiang royal family before the Tian family took over the Qi dynasty.

Overjoyed and enraged, Yan Ri stared at Cao Yuan with extremely violent eyes.

"You did this?!"

The master-level aura made Cao Yuan almost unable to breathe.

It's so difficult to cultivate without strength!

But Cao Yuan remained unfazed.

He knew it was time for him to show off his real skills.

"Chief, I am a locksmith, not a master thief. When I first came into contact with the treasure box, I was puzzled. How could I have found a way to open the legendary bronze treasure box so easily?"

"Alas... what a pity! I couldn't see the real bronze box, nor could I personally unravel the legendary secret of the Azure Dragon. I will die with regrets!"

Cao Yuan sighed deeply, looking fervent.

Yan Ri calmed down and looked at Cao Yuan with a slight flicker in her eyes.

Although he can't unlock it, he still has basic insight.

Even a master mechanic from the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) might not be able to open that fake treasure box containing the Jiang family genealogy; only a grandmaster of mechanics could.

But this young man opened it in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, so it's hard to say whether he can open the legendary bronze treasure box.

After pondering for a moment, Yan Ri began to issue orders.

"Jingni and Liwu, you two stay here. After finding Wuming and seizing the bronze treasure box, if you have the chance, bring back the Hanguang Sword and kill the remnants of the Jiang clan."

He was 90% certain that it was Wuming who took away the bronze box belonging to the remnants of the Jiang clan.

Jingni asked, "Where is Wuming?"

Yan Ri inexplicably thought of Lü Buwei, a man of deep cunning who claimed to be a descendant of Jiang Ziya, and began to recount a secret story in a low voice.

"King Xiang of Qi once did Wuming a favor, and Wuming promised to protect the Qi royal family in the palace. Later, because King Jian of Qi favored Hou Sheng, he distanced himself from Wuming and made him move out of the palace and live in the royal mansion."

"Go and ask Hou Sheng. Also, give him a good talking-to and tell him not to be too greedy."

"Remember, you can fail at everything else in this mission, but you must get your hands on the Bronze Treasure Box!"

After saying that, Yan Ri left.

He never looked at Cao Yuan directly, nor did he take him away.

He was very wary of Lü Buwei and naturally didn't want Lü Buwei to know what he was doing.

With the alliance of states about to break out, Lü Buwei had no time to attend to other matters.

The timing couldn't be better to leave Jingni and Liwu behind to plot the seizure of the bronze box.

Of course, he didn't want Lü Buwei to know that he had found a top-notch locksmith comparable to a master of mechanical arts, so he kept him around and wasn't worried that the boy could open the treasure box ahead of time.

The legendary bronze box, even if obtained, would require a very long time to open, even for a master of mechanical devices.

It turns out the traitor was Qi Xiang Hou Sheng, the uncle of King Jian of Qi… Cao Yuan thought to himself.

But that was none of his business; all he knew was that his crisis was temporarily over.

"Ladies, we have accommodation available at our inn."

Cao Yuan took the initiative to invite Jing Ni and Li Wu to stay at his place.

It's always easier to control risks when people are in the open than when they're in the shadows.

Li Wu's alluring eyes swept over Cao Yuan, her tone carrying a hint of seduction.

"Young master, your intentions are not pure. Have you taken a fancy to me, or to Lady Jingni?"

This is a death trap, but actually I'm more afraid that you two will both fall for me at the same time; a love triangle is terrifying… Cao Yuan said righteously, “Miss, I, Cao Aman, am definitely not that kind of person! It's just for our convenience in planning, to make it easier for us to get the bronze treasure box as soon as possible and see its true form!”

"It's Cao Cao..."

Li Wu's voice was sweet and charming, her beautiful eyes lingering on Cao Yuan's face, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, my nickname is Aman."

……