The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

In the twenty-fifth year of Yonghe, the Frost's Descent.

The imperial carriages on the northern tour slowly drove out of the north gate in the morning mist, the horses' hooves breaking the thin frost on the official road, making a crisp and orderly sound.

The Fifth Prince, Zhou Gui, rode a chestnut-colored imperial horse at the head of the caravan.

He was seventeen years old this year, tall and slender, with a gentle face. He didn't have the deepness of the eldest prince or the arrogance of the second prince, but rather the composure of Grand Protector Yuwen Lie.

He glanced back at the slightly worn blue-curtained carriage behind him, then suddenly reined in the carriage. As the carriage drew near, he bent down and asked in a low voice through the curtain, "Ninth Brother, are you cold? The northern border is much colder than the capital. I had someone put an extra charcoal brazier in the carriage. If it's still not warm enough, just tell me."

The carriage curtain was lifted slightly, revealing Zhou Xing's still somewhat childish face.

He shook his head, his voice not loud, but steady and clear: "Fifth Brother, don't worry, Granny Liu has packed me several thick clothes, I'm not cold."

Zhou Gui nodded, gave a few more instructions to the old soldiers accompanying him, and then spurred his horse back to the front of the column.

His birth mother died early, and he grew up in the Taibao Mansion. Yuwen Lie treated him like a personal disciple, but never allowed him to get involved in the core of power of the Taibao Mansion.

This unique upbringing instilled in him a kind and unassuming nature.

He doesn't compete because he knows he doesn't have the means to do so.

He was kind and gentle because he had lived under the roof of others since childhood and knew how to be considerate of their difficulties.

At this moment, as he looked at the carriage behind him carrying his ninth brother, he wasn't thinking about whether his brother would hold him back.

But the northern border is freezing cold, and Ninth Brother is only eleven years old. This is his first time traveling so far, and we mustn't let him catch a cold.

The caravan traveled north along the official road for about half an hour when Guo Pu caught up from the back of the procession on a skinny donkey.

He is now a sixth-rank official in the Imperial Observatory, but he still acts like a wandering Taoist priest, with an old satchel hanging on his donkey's back.

It contained a compass and several well-worn geomancy manuscripts, and it swayed along with the convoy, looking like it was going to a temple fair.

He approached Zhou Gui's horse and pointed to a field of withered wheat on the west side of the official road, saying, "Fifth Prince, last night I observed the stars and deduced the earth's vein patterns, and discovered that the branches of the earth's veins in the northern border are much more dispersed than in other areas."

"Especially those abandoned ancient passes and old battlefield sites, those places are strategically located but uninhabited, and the imperial court's fortune is weak, making them the easiest places for yin energy to accumulate."

"My suggestion is that we don't need to stop in every town. We should just focus our inspections on a few key nodes at the ends of the earth's veins, and let each county handle the rest."

Zhou Gui listened attentively, but did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Lai Buyi beside him.

Lai Buyi, now an official, still retained the demeanor of a humble old craftsman, smiling and folding his hands. Seeing the prince looking at him, he nodded and said, "Mr. Guo is right."

"The North is so vast, if we patrol it place by place, we probably won't finish even by the New Year."

"Why don't we pick a few key areas to find out the details first, and let the county handle the rest according to our established procedures? We can just do regular follow-ups."

Zhou Gui then nodded and said, "Okay, we'll do as the two gentlemen suggest."

He paused, then asked if his ninth brother should also come and listen to the two gentlemen's advice when the caravan reached the next post station.

Guo Pu smiled and said that although the Ninth Prince was young, he had discovered errors in the maps of the Northern Territory by comparing them with several geographical records. He suggested that the Ninth Prince come and listen, and perhaps he could make some new discoveries.

Zhou Gui smiled and then instructed his attendant to relay the message to the carriage at the back.

The caravan continued northward along the official road. Zhou Xing sat in the carriage, listening to the conversation between his fifth brother and Guo Pu outside the curtain, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

He lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and gazed at the rolling mountains in the distance.

In the northern border, Huo Qubing and Li Wenzhong arrived.

……

Imperial Study!

The candlelight flickered slightly, casting Zhou Qian's silhouette as he reviewed memorials onto the wall, its length varying.

He put down his vermilion brush, leaned back on the dragon throne, closed his eyes to rest, and looked somewhat tired.

The princes have been away from the capital for several days. The convoys on the northern tour should have already left the capital region, while the other convoys heading south are also on their way.

He sent out all the adult princes, leaving none behind. This decree caused a lot of speculation in the court, but he didn't care.

He wanted to keep everyone guessing about his thoughts.

A gust of wind suddenly swept through the hall, causing the candlelight on the imperial desk to flicker, but it did not go out.

Zhou Qian didn't open his eyes, but simply said, "You've come."

A hunched figure silently emerged from the shadows behind the screen.

Eunuch Cao leaned on his ebony cane, his steps as light as a falling leaf floating on the water.

He stopped before the imperial desk, bowed slightly, and said in a hoarse and low voice, "Your Majesty, this old servant has a few words to say, but I don't know if I should."

"Speak."

"His Majesty has appointed the princes to tour the realm on behalf of Heaven. This is in accordance with ancestral rules and is also a form of training."

"But this old servant has one thing on his mind: I'm afraid things won't be peaceful for Your Highnesses on this journey."

"The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for three hundred years. On the surface, it is a peaceful and prosperous era, but beneath this peaceful and prosperous era, there are still some unclean things buried."

"Does Your Majesty still remember the chaos caused by heretical cultivators at the end of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

Eunuch Cao slowly raised his head, his clear eyes, unlike those of a centenarian, staring straight at Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian's fingers stopped on the armrest of the dragon throne.

Of course he knew about heretical cultivators; that was the darkest period in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty.

At the end of the Great Qian Dynasty, powerful individuals above the ninth rank fought each other, causing the dragon veins to break, the fortune of heaven and earth to collapse, and yin energy to overflow.

In that chaotic era, some martial artists began to take unorthodox methods in order to break through the limit of the ninth rank.

They no longer follow the orthodox methods of martial arts cultivation. Instead, they use the essence of living people as a guide, the yin energy as a supplement, and evil arts and secret techniques as tools, pursuing the ultimate power by any means necessary.

These people are collectively referred to as "heretical practitioners".

The most fanatical branch of evil cultivators even attempted to sacrifice a large number of living people to forcibly break the seal of the dragon vein and draw the fortune of heaven and earth into themselves in order to break through to a realm above the ninth rank.

In the final years of the Great Qian Dynasty, heretical cultivators ran rampant, leaving nine out of ten houses empty.

Some heretical practitioners use entire villages and towns as altars, turning hundreds of people into malevolent spirits.

Some evil cultivators specifically hunt down learned scholars, feeding on their righteous energy and devouring their cultivation for their own use.

Some heretical practitioners colluded with the Hu people, massacring civilians on the border and using the death energy from the battlefield to cultivate their evil arts.

After the founding emperor destroyed the Great Qian Dynasty, the first thing he did was not to ascend the throne and become emperor, but to personally lead the ninth-rank masters of the time to carry out a purge of evil cultivators that lasted for several years.

The brutality of that campaign was too great for historical records to describe in detail.

The Emperor's own younger brother died in the campaign to eliminate evil cultivators. Two of the three ninth-rank literary cultivators most trusted by the Emperor sacrificed their lives while suppressing the evil cultivators' headquarters.

Ultimately, the Great Ancestor used his cultivation level, which was above the ninth rank, to suppress the most powerful leaders among the evil cultivators one by one.

He also burned all the evil cultivation techniques in the world, along with the sacrificial objects and array diagrams used by evil cultivators to communicate with the Yin and Yang forces, reducing them all to ashes.

But no matter how thoroughly the Taizu Emperor burned books, he could not burn away the hearts of the people.

heretical practices are like weeds; they burn away the leaves on the surface, but the roots underground remain.

Those remnants of evil cultivators who managed to escape the extermination carried fragments of their cultivation techniques and secret sacrificial arts, and infiltrated the common people.

They lived in hiding, disguised as ordinary people, itinerant sorcerers, or even local officials, lying low under the nose of the imperial court for nearly three hundred years.

"When the Great Ancestor was purging evil cultivators, he killed them for ten years, causing rivers of blood to flow across the land. But the Great Ancestor knew in his heart that he had not killed them all."

"Some evil cultivators hid in the deep mountains and forests, some fled to the northern grasslands, and some simply changed their names and hid among the common people."

"Three hundred years have passed, and their techniques have not been lost, and their lineage has not been broken."

"My master once participated in the siege of the Longevity Sect's headquarters with the Great Ancestor."

"The Longevity Cult is the most skilled of the heretical cultivators in using human blood to prolong life. Their leader lived for over two hundred years and his cultivation level was close to the ninth rank or above."

"He uses the essence and blood of living people to refine the 'Longevity Pill.' Each pill requires the blood of forty-nine living people. For every pill he refines, dozens of lives are lost."

"The founding emperor personally killed the leader of the Longevity Cult at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, but the remnants of the Longevity Cult fled into the northern grasslands with some of its techniques. Every few decades thereafter, news of the Longevity Cult's resurgence would spread from the north."

At this point, Eunuch Cao's voice suddenly deepened: "The reason this old servant brings up this old story is because the Hidden Dragon Guard has recently intercepted some intelligence."

"Traces of the Longevity Cult have been discovered deep in the northern grasslands. It is not a sporadic remnant, but an organized and large-scale resurgence."

"What makes this old servant even more uneasy is that this surge of yin energy has provided them with the perfect cover."

"They mixed the essence of living people with Yin energy to create a kind of 'Yin Corpse,' which is incredibly strong, impervious to swords and spears, and cannot be restrained by anything but righteous energy."

"Your Highnesses are acting on behalf of Heaven to tour the realm. In the eyes of the people, they are imperial envoys sent by the court to appease the people. But in the eyes of evil cultivators, they are just a few pieces of fat meat that can walk."

"Devouring the essence and fortune of a prince is equivalent to refining dozens of longevity pills."

Zhou Qian tapped his fingers heavily on the armrest of the dragon throne, remained silent for a long while, and then slowly asked, "Have the Hidden Dragon Guard found out their exact hiding place? The princes I sent to the Northern Border are Cong'er, Ke'er, Gui'er, and Xing'er. Cong'er is traveling with Ke'er, so I'm not worried."

"But Gui'er is kind and honest, and Xing'er is still young. I am worried about them."

"Reinforce the Hidden Dragon Guards with hidden sentries, disguised and infiltrating the entourage. Do not inform the two princes; let them protect you from the shadows."

"If any trace of heretical cultivators is discovered, there is no need to wait for my decree; execute them first and report later."

"Two more senior officials from the Imperial Observatory will be transferred to accompany the Northern Inspection Team."

"The methods of evil cultivators are unpredictable and difficult for martial artists to deal with. With the Imperial Observatory personnel around, at least they can see through the evil cultivators' disguises and formations in the first instance."

He paused, then added, "Also, have people keep a close eye on the movements in the northern grasslands. I need to know the impact of this surge of yin energy on the grassland tribes."

"The Hu people have only been defeated and retreated from the northern border for less than two years. If they are taken advantage of by evil cultivators and bewitched, the defense of the northern border will not just be a problem of yin energy and evil cultivators."

Eunuch Cao, leaning on his ebony cane, bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty is wise. This old servant will go and do it immediately."

He turned and walked towards the shadows behind the screen, but stopped halfway there. Without turning back, he added in his hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, this old servant has one more thing to say. Although the Ninth Prince is young, he has been quiet and well-behaved in the palace all these years. He has never caused any trouble or trouble for Your Majesty. He is a good child, and this old servant will have people take better care of him."

Zhou Qian didn't speak, but leaned back on the dragon throne, gazing at the shadow behind the screen that was gradually falling silent.

The autumn night wind blew in through the cracks in the window, causing the candlelight to flicker slightly. He closed his eyes.

He picked up the newly approved inspection regulations and put them down again, a thought swirling in his mind.

He sent all his sons out to train them, to test them, and to remove some obstacles...

He even thought that this experience might mean some people would never come back.

The emperor's mind can calculate the thoughts of everyone under heaven, but some things are not pieces on the chessboard.

They are venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, a hatred that has been dormant for three hundred years, a root of trouble that even the founding emperor could not completely eradicate.

He opened his eyes, gazed at the cold moon outside the window, and after a long while, whispered a sentence, his voice so soft it was as if he were talking to himself: "I hope you won't disappoint me."