From the Valkyrie to the Endless

Ever since Shen Qing realized that Zhao Yu was illiterate, he set aside two hours every day to teach her how to read.

She did not teach Zhao Yu any beautiful articles or calligraphy, only the most basic literacy.

What Shen Qing needed was for Zhao Yu to thoroughly understand and digest what she taught him. Literacy was just a way. In addition to the characters of this world, in order to pursue higher efficiency, Shen Qing also taught Zhao Yu the simplified Chinese characters from her previous life.

Although this kind of writing is very different from the writing in this world, it is undoubtedly very suitable for beginners.

Shen Qing never relaxed in her practice. Whenever she passed by a city, she would stop to rest for three to five days, purchase medicinal materials, and take medicinal baths with many old medicines she had found in the bandit's lair.

Three months had passed in the blink of an eye, as we kept stopping and starting like this.

Shen Qing's skills have been growing steadily at an astonishing speed. In just three months, with the support of medicinal baths, she broke through three realms and entered the seventh level of the acquired realm.

Due to the distraction of studying, Zhao Yu's practice speed inevitably slowed down. In three months, he just barely stepped into the third level of the acquired realm.

However, compared to ordinary people, this speed is not slow.

At the same time, after three months, the two finally arrived in the deserted continent.

The dust in the air is heavier, and walking against the wind feels like cutting your face with a knife.

The further west you go, the less populated the area becomes. It is normal not to encounter a village or town for two days on the road. However, this situation makes Shen Qing feel at ease.

The sparse population means that there won’t be any major changes.

…………

After traveling for several days, Shen Qing stopped in a big city.

This city is called "Jindu". In the center of the city there is a "Tianci Lake" with a radius of more than five miles and a depth of more than ten feet.

In this desert area, water resources are extremely precious. There are only a few places with abundant water reserves like Tianci Lake in the entire deserted continent.

Therefore, a large population gathered in Jindu, and naturally there were many people who practiced martial arts, and even masters often appeared.

Although the ban on weapons has been implemented, in this desolate place, if you don't practice martial arts, how can you resist the hordes of horse bandits who come and go like the wind?

The reason why Shen Qing stayed here was because it was one of the few places in the deserted island where he could take a bath regularly. Medicinal baths were indispensable for practicing martial arts, and the water source must not be cut off.

Moreover, with Shen Qing's current strength of the seventh level of the acquired realm, he can live a comfortable life in such a big city.

…………

There was a long queue at the city gate, with no less than a thousand people at a glance. Most of them drove donkey carts and carried sheepskin rafts or large barrels filled with water. They were people from dozens or even hundreds of miles away, coming to fetch water from Tianci Lake.

In addition to ordinary people, there were also some people in the team wearing prison uniforms and shackles, following the soldiers in armor. They were obviously criminals.

"Why has the entrance fee increased again? The last time I came here it was fifty coins, why is it eighty now?"

"It's because it hasn't rained in the deserted island for almost four months. No matter how big Tianci Lake is, it's just a lake..."

"I heard that the war has started again in Qianzhou, and the court wants to collect food and wages. These days... Alas..."

"Sir, my car is small and can't hold much water. Can you please give me a lower entrance fee?"

In this city alone, you can see thousands of people with thousands of faces and all kinds of life, too many to mention.

Shen Qing watched silently, and her heart was inevitably touched. She had read through the history books of ancient and modern times and witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties, but simple and cold words could never express what kind of life the people who lived in dire straits really lived.

In this area where guilty people were exiled, the imperial government and its troops sucked blood from people even more fiercely than bandits.

Nearly an hour later, it was Shen Qing and the other man's turn.

Zhao Yu took out eighty copper coins with some heartache and exchanged them for a palm-sized iron plate from the soldier guarding the city.

This is a water-drawing token. Without this token, even if you reach Tianci Lake, you won’t be able to get a drop of water.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 22 News

Compared to the desert outside the city, the city is quite prosperous and crowded with people.

Compared with the wooden beams and green tiles in other provinces, most of the buildings in Huangzhou are built with earth and stones, with a hint of unrestrained and bold air in the desolation.

There are many shops on the street, most of which are only two stories high. The most imposing building is a three-story brothel with colorful lights and decorations. Most of the people who come and go are martial artists with internal strength.

A few of them who walked with unsteady steps were also dressed in brocade robes, and it was obvious that they came from wealthy families.

This kind of den of vengeance is not a place that ordinary people can come to.

Shen Qing was not in a hurry to find a place to stay, but rushed to the Tianci Lake first.

Tianci Lake is extremely vast, and the water surface is not calm, but sparkling. Under the sunlight, it seems to be covered with a layer of holy light.

Not far from the lake, there are thousands of acres of fertile farmland, and there are even several fruit orchards in the distance.

This kind of environment is like a paradise on earth in this deserted land.

There are a large number of soldiers guarding the lakeside, and there are many experts, including some innate martial artists.

In a pavilion by the lake, there was an old man in his sixties wearing a purple robe, making tea and fishing, looking leisurely and comfortable.

From this old man, Shen Qing sensed a powerful energy that was no less than Zhao Sheng's. He must be a martial arts master without a doubt.

Holding the water source is equivalent to strangling the lifeline. There will be no chaos in the deserted island. It is very normal to have a master here.

The lakeside was quite noisy, with people crowded together, and this was exactly the purpose of Shen Qing's coming here.

This is undoubtedly the most suitable place to get information and understand the current situation in the world.

The reason why Shen Qing came here first was that he wanted to know some information about Shen Lie's followers.

According to Yu Zhen, some of Shen Lie's former subordinates were exiled to the northern part of Huangzhou.

Jindu is the largest city in this area, so there must be some news.

Before, Shen Qing didn't want to deal with these people, but now is different from the past. If there is power that can be used, she will not give up.

Shen Qing moved among the crowd, carefully distinguishing the various sounds coming from all around him and selecting the information that was useful to him.

This kind of thing is very time-consuming, but Shen Qing does it with ease.

After walking around for nearly two hours, until the sun was setting in the west, Shen Qing finally took Zhao Yu to find an inn to stay.

The room rate at the inn is not expensive, but bathing is only allowed once every three days, and additional money is required.

The water after bathing cannot be wasted at will. It is recycled by the inn and poured into designated ditches to irrigate farmland and orchards.

The situation in Jindu, which is located on a lake, is like this, not to mention the situation in other areas of Huangzhou, which will only be worse.

When it comes to water conservation, the entire continent has a common understanding.

From the name of Tianci Lake, we can see how much the people here value water.

In the inn room, Shen Qing took out paper and pen, asked Zhao Yu to grind ink, and began to sort out what he had gained today.

After an afternoon by the lake, Shen Qing had grasped a great deal of information, which was difficult to sort out at once.

The tip of the pen slid across the paper, leaving lines of words.

[Shen Lie and his followers arrived at the Wasteland Continent a month ago. There are three second-rank generals, seventeen third-rank generals, and ninety-seven people below the fourth-rank generals.]

[Entering the deserted island, the imperial envoy who was escorting him was assassinated, and most of the wanted criminals were kidnapped. ]

After writing this, Shen Qing paused, looked at the ink stains on the rice paper, frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he put a cross on it.

The exiled man had his scapula pierced and his qi channels completely destroyed, making him of no use. His only use was that he could contact his old subordinates in the army and get support from some soldiers. It was not worth her spending so much effort to search for him.

Moreover, someone has already taken action in secret and rescued most of the people, so the remaining people are even less valuable.

[The Demon Slayer appeared in the deserted island. About half a month ago, he encountered the Divine Constables. After a fierce battle, the martial arts master Feng Yang was beheaded by the demon with a sword. Someone saw it with their own eyes. There was a woman beside him, whose identity was unknown.]

"Human Demon..."

Shen Qing circled this message, as this was always what she cared about most.

This person entered and left the imperial capital as if no one was around, proving that his strength was unrivaled in the world.

If his bloodline awakens further, no one will be able to suppress him except those who are also descendants of gods.

The power of divine blood cannot be resisted by human power.

Moreover, it is still unknown which god’s blood is inherited in the body of this Demon-Slaying True Lord.

If he was descended from a warlike god, even the descendants of gods in the same realm would not be his match.

The only good news is that he is still conscious and his mind has not been corrupted, judging by the fact that he is surrounded by people.

[The traces of the demon have appeared again in the north. The Divine Constable Department has dispatched a large number of experts to the deserted island to search for him. Anyone who provides information will be rewarded with 100,000 gold. ]

"New bloodline..."

Shen Qing put a question mark next to this message.

The Divine Capture Department was originally set up to deal with humans and demons. The Great Xia court targeted the descendants of gods so much, perhaps because they knew some inside information.

Shen Qing knocked her forehead, feeling a headache. Regarding the records of Daxia in later generations, her memory only had some vague fragments. She only remembered that it was a dynasty that had been passed down for more than 3,000 years.

After the fall of the Great Xia Dynasty, the world was torn apart, with warlords fighting for their own interests. It took nearly five hundred years for the country to be unified again. During this period of war, eight out of ten historical records and documents were destroyed, leaving the country almost completely unresolved.

[The countries in the northern region have launched an attack on the border. The imperial court has mobilized the forces of the five continents. A force of 1.5 million soldiers has marched to Qianzhou. The martial arts sects have failed to stop them. A bloody battle is about to break out...]

After writing this, Shen Qing put down his pen and let out a breath.

Just as she had expected, great changes had taken place in Qianzhou, and under the flames of war, it was unknown how many descendants of the gods would be awakened.

Even without her adding fuel to the fire, Da Xia is now in a precarious situation. If it is not careful, it will be shattered.

After organizing the information, Shen Qing burned the rice paper into ashes, and then continued to write.

Half an hour later, Shen Qing wrote dozens of pages, pieced them together into a thin book, and handed it to Zhao Yu who was standing beside him.

"grandson……"

Looking at the simplified Chinese characters at the beginning, Zhao Yu was a little confused.

"It's Sun Tzu's Art of War."

Shen Qing copied the first book that Zhao Yu was going to study from memory.

"The Art of War"

Since ancient times, none of the military books is better than Sun Wu.