If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Su Mubai was still trying to persuade Su Mingyue, his voice carrying the stubbornness typical of an old man.

"Mingyue, I know what you're thinking."

"But you have to think about it, the Liu family has been able to maintain this empire for six hundred years not because of how many soldiers or how many horses they have."

"No matter how many generations our Su family has been operating in Youzhou, no matter how many men you have now, and no matter how powerful your men are."

"As long as the founding emperor Liu Jun is still alive, none of this matters. Unless..."

His voice stopped abruptly, without uttering the second half of his sentence.

Su Mingyue didn't press for details about what came after "unless." She sat quietly for a while, then stood up, raised her hands to her chest, and bowed to Su Mubai.

She neither said "I understand" nor "I disagree".

As she emerged from the Wenhua Hall, Chunlan waited at the entrance. She saw that Chunlan's expression was as usual, but the light in her eyes was more restrained than ever before.

She didn't wait for Su Mingli, but walked alone through the long corridor outside the Wenhua Hall.

Then she stopped. The passageway beneath the high walls was deep and cold, and the palace walls on either side cut the sky into a narrow, bluish-gray line.

Su Mingyue had her back to Chunlan, so no one could see the expression on her face. Only her calm, almost indifferent voice echoed softly in the corridor:

"Qiuju, order Nightingale to search for all clues related to Liu Jun, the founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, starting immediately. Leave no stone unturned, wherever there are ancient books, inscriptions, or legends that have passed through the area."

She paused, then continued walking forward, her voice lower, as if talking to herself: "Also, organize personnel to explore the Endless Forest."

Zhou Ming spent more than ten days running between the Wuying Hall and the drill ground, living a life more regular than when he was the kitchen manager.

He would leave the city before dawn and return only after dark, and even the imperial guards in the palace had gotten used to the sound of his footsteps every day.

The more than 1,000 soldiers were all carefully selected from various armies, and their cultivation levels were all around the fourth level of Qi Refining. The causal chains above their heads were thick and solid.

They learned slowly, but there were so many of them that they could keep Zhou Ming on the platform for an entire afternoon, asking him one question each.

Zhou Ming wasn't annoyed. He pondered whatever they asked, and when he couldn't figure it out, he would dismantle the path of the magic power flow on the spot and try it step by step.

Someone asked him if the fireball technique could be launched without shaking his hand, and Zhou Ming tried it for almost half an hour.

The discovery was that by compressing magical power to its maximum in the palm of the hand beforehand, locking onto the target with divine sense, and then releasing it instantly, a fireball could appear silently in front of the target and explode.

A general asked if the Lightness Technique could be used only on the soles of the feet instead of the whole body, so as to save magic power and run faster. He tried to pour magic power only into the Yongquan acupoint, and the effect was surprisingly good.

Later, Dongmei named it "Treading the Wind Steps," which spread the fastest in the army.

One person's plan is short-sighted, but a thousand people's plans are far-sighted.

In the process of teaching others, Zhou Ming also gained a lot of new ideas. Many techniques became more and more concise in his hands, and their power increased several times over.

In addition to improving existing techniques, he also created several new ones.

By combining the Earth Wall Technique and the Earth Spike Technique, stalagmites shoot out from the base of the earth wall as it is uprooted.

By combining the Ice Needle Technique and the Water Dragon Technique, countless fine ice needles condense within the body as the water dragon surges out. Upon hitting the target, the ice needles explode, expanding the kill radius several times over.

He also wrote these new techniques into the training manual and gave it to the first batch of instructors who had already mastered them, so that they could take them to various armies to teach.

That morning, all the thousands of soldiers finally mastered more than ten basic spells, and even the slowest learners could conjure fireballs the size of fists.

Zhou Ming stood on the command platform, looking at the fireballs, water arrows, and earthen walls rising and falling on the training ground. He nodded, turned around, and left the training ground.

He did not return to Wuying Hall, but went straight to the Haitang Garden of the Marquis's Mansion.

Just as I arrived at the entrance of Haitangyuan, I ran into Dongmei carrying a thick stack of documents as she walked out.

When Dongmei saw him, she rolled her eyes at him, but also skillfully stepped aside to let him pass.

As Zhou Ming stepped into the main hall, he immediately saw Su Mingyue.

She was sitting in the main seat, holding a military report in her hand, with a map spread out in front of her, and her two head maids, Chunlan and Qiuju, serving her on either side.

But Zhou Ming's first glance wasn't at the military report in her hand, but at the top of Su Mingyue's head.

A thick causal chain was steadily suspended above her hair bun, its solidity no less than that of the generals at the fourth level of Qi Refining on the training ground.

When did this young lady start cultivating the Scripture of Salvation?

Zhou Ming pondered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

For the past ten days or so, he had been busy at the training ground, and it was inconvenient for him to scan Su Mingyue with his divine sense, so he did not notice when this causal chain appeared on Su Mingyue's body.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Given her personality, the soldiers in the army have been practicing for so long without any hidden dangers in the technique, so how could she not practice it herself?

Zhou Ming composed himself, stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and asked.

"Young Miss, how is Liu Jun's matter?"

Su Mingyue raised her head, put down the military report in her hand, and told Su Mubai everything that he had told her.

She spoke concisely and calmly, but she gripped Junqing's hand tightly.

Zhou Ming had, of course, already overheard the conversation in the Wenhua Hall with his divine sense, but he still listened attentively to the end and put on a thoughtful expression.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Ming raised his head: "Young Miss, I want to go outside the Endless Forest."

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; he had been pondering this matter for the past few days while teaching magic in the training grounds.

Liu Jun is still alive, and has lived for six hundred years. His cultivation level is at least at the Golden Core stage.

Compared to his current cultivation level, when he was in the Golden Core stage, he felt that his life limit had increased significantly.

He felt he could live for at least 500 years, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

He felt that his upper limit of vitality had increased again.

Living for a thousand years should be a breeze.

A cultivator who has lived for six hundred years must have at least reached the Nascent Soul stage.

And cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage are certainly not unknown figures in the cultivation world.

He knows nothing about the cultivation world, how high Liu Jun's status is, or what kind of power he has behind him.

If Liu Jun were to return and see the world filled with cultivators, he might impulsively use a large-scale spell to wipe them out.

Then he won't be able to hide it anymore, will he?

This is just one aspect.

Secondly, Zhou Ming also wanted to see the outside world, especially the world of cultivators.

Although he now possesses immense magical power, his combat strength is shockingly low; he might not even be able to defeat a Golden Core cultivator.

"Oh? You want to go in person?" Su Mingyue's eyebrows twitched slightly, and her phoenix eyes lifted from the map and landed on his face.

"Yes, I hope Miss will grant my request."

Su Mingyue thought for a while before nodding.

She didn't ask "Are you sure you can do it?" or "Why do you want to go?" She just looked at him for a moment and then said:

"Since you want to go, then go. Your priority is survival; come back alive."

She paused, then said, "If you need any more men, just draw them directly from the Imperial Guard. They've been with you for quite some time now, so they know each other well."

Zhou Ming shook his head: "I don't plan to bring anyone with me. Too many people will make me too conspicuous, while I'll be less noticeable by myself, and it will be easier for me to gather information."

Su Mingyue lowered her head and pondered for a while, then didn't try to persuade her further. Zhou Ming saw her nod slightly, and heard her repeat, "Come back alive."