Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Right? They were all really novel features, right? At the time, everyone thought it was a shame that only we had access to such great features. For example, if everyone could carry a phone with them, how convenient would that be? Or, for example, the punched paper tape used by the Huangce Library for storage and calculations every year could circle the earth several times. If everyone could use the Jinyiwei badge, our society would take a huge step forward! Alas, it's a pity that only Qigong practitioners could use these badges, and they had to wait in line. Even if you became a Jinyiwei, you couldn't immediately receive the badge from the Daozu."

Suddenly, Wen Yuan's expression froze. He slammed on the brakes:

"Why is your jade token glowing? How can I see it?!"

"It was like this when Daozu gave it to me."

Wen Yuan said nothing, and slammed the accelerator, muttering, "Big, big, big. Big, big ...

Fengtian Hall, with a plaque inscribed with "Fengtian Hall" hanging outside, and a plaque inscribed with "Fengtian Edict" hanging high on the main hall.

This is the main hall of the Purple Mountain Grand Palace, which was rebuilt after its construction. It retains the name of the "Fengtian Hall" of the old Nanjing Imperial Palace. It was originally the place where the emperor held court, but the meaning of "court" has changed.

"The accounts didn't match to begin with, and we were just about to check. But when the Jinyiwei arrived, the entire garrison exploded, and they reported a loss of 270 million taels. Are you trying to pull off a Thunder Dragon warehouse explosion?"

"If you can, blow one up for me! If you can blow it up, I'll write my last name upside down!"

The man spitting profusely was the Vice Minister of War. The person demanding an account from him wasn't just the Vice Minister of Revenue, but also a vast throng of officials in the front and back rows, bearing the title of Counselors. The Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries were their leaders, specifically responsible for "implementing the Imperial Decree"—everything discussed in the Fengtian Hall was an imperial decree.

"Sigh," Lu Huaiyang said, standing in the corridor behind the backseat, covering his eyes. He didn't want to come to the Fengtian Temple Zoo anymore. Just raising the elephants and pandas in his own backyard was already a headache for him. There were still 240 kilograms of panda poop left to be cleaned out today, and 500 kilograms of bananas to be delivered to the elephants. He preferred the one in Jinyiwei's backyard to the Fengtian Temple Zoo because the elephants and pandas were very quiet, and the occasional children who came to visit knew to keep their mouths shut under the guidance of their teachers.

I don’t know when these dignitaries in front of me will shut up.

He didn't need to come. The Jinyiwei belonged to the imperial guards and had nothing to do with the six ministries. But because he went, he was involved in this matter, so he had to listen in, at least for the first half.

He didn't sit down in the seat assigned to him, but stood at the back, waving his sign and looking down at his watch.

"Captain Lu." A Jinyiwei suddenly walked over quickly and whispered a few words in his ear.

Lu Huaiyang's face changed drastically. He told the Jinyiwei to wait for a while, then squeezed past the councillors in the back row and walked to the front row.

The Minister of War in front of him was spitting and pointing at the other side. His hand was faintly gripping the teacup, a defensive move. Even if he didn't strike first, he couldn't afford to lose.

"Minister, Minister Wang." Lu Huaiyang patted his shoulder from behind. "I have something urgent to do. I need to go out for a while."

"I can't agree to this alone. You go across. Old Man Ah Wen is from your Jinyiwei after all. Why can't he just let go of the garrison's affairs? The heavenly soldiers and generals have come all the way across the sea to serve on duty. What's wrong with them eating a little more?"

"Okay. I'll go over and talk to you then."

He walked half a circle around the side of the venue and came to the side of Wen Zhong, the Minister of Rites, who was standing opposite.

"Minister Wen." He called Wen Zhong and winked at him. The two of them whispered for a while, turning away from the others.

"Are there any new decrees?"

"Yes, your grandson is coming with a decree. I need to go and ask what's going on. It seems to be a good thing, but I'm not sure if it will be of any use. What about the matter here?"

"It's all right now. But you have to come back in two days' time. That time is to open up the Shitu Guard Station in Yangzhou and plant more radish fields in Yangzhou. Right now, things over there are more important. After all, that's the innate spiritual treasure."

"Hmm, an innate spiritual treasure. It is an innate spiritual treasure that can operate in the way of heaven and earth without the need for divine consciousness to control it. It seems that we have hope."

Chapter 73 Arrangement

Lu Huaiyang, wearing gloves, held the glowing phone. He didn't touch the screen, but just looked at the cover with a look of shock on his face.

He handed the phone back to Shangluo:

"The contents inside are personal privacy, so I won't read it. Let me tell you the importance of this matter. Daozu probably won't tell you directly - the Feixin card Daozu gave you is an innate spiritual treasure. It is a realm higher than the Feixin card given to us. Because our Feixin card is only an acquired spiritual treasure."

"What's the difference between the two?"

"Then I must first explain to you what 'xiantian' means – what is destined is innate; what is willing to do is acquired. As the name suggests, things that are innate are in accordance with their nature and have their own physics. For example, that Chuiwan car behind you is a thing of innate nature. It conforms to the principles of this world, and all its ingenuity is in accordance with heaven. Even without the intervention of spiritual energy, it exists in this world and can operate smoothly. Of course, 'xiantian' is not the same as 'spiritual treasure'. This car clearly is not one now because there is no spirit in it. The fact that your phone can glow shows that its 'principles' have been accepted by heaven and earth."

He held up his sign:

"This is an acquired spiritual treasure. It does have a spirit, but it doesn't conform to the principles of matter itself—how can this jade token allow us to communicate? Clearly, a piece of jade doesn't have this ability. It's not natural at all, and therefore not accepted by the Heavenly Dao. Only by using true qi to intercept a ray of heavenly secrets can one harness it for personal use; but that's only 'one's', invisible to others. But your piece of jade can be seen to glow, so no matter how outrageous it is, it's accepted by the Heavenly Dao. The innate is accepted by heaven and earth, and the spirit transcends nature. Only that which transcends nature and can be accepted by heaven and earth is an innate spiritual treasure."

"Just like... you can only release your true energy during the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"That's right. Celestial Beings are accepted by Heaven and Earth, so their true Qi can be released between Heaven and Earth. Ordinary Qigong practitioners, on the other hand, have abilities limited to themselves, and may even be obscured by Heaven's laws. That's why you can see that even though there are thousands of Qigong practitioners living among us, the world generally remains unaware of their existence. Qigong practitioners like us, who aren't accepted by Heaven and Earth, are naturally 'restrained.' If we were ever buried, even our graves would be struck down by Heaven."

"So that's it."

Shangluo had just realized the significance of this item. Perhaps because he had been in Apollonia for a long time and had interacted with many Qigong practitioners, he thought this level of skill was easy to achieve. He had never expected this item to be so rare.

"Captain Lu, how many innate spiritual treasures are there in the world now?"

"There are no more than 10 in the world, and I mean the world, including Rome. Between us, there are no more than 10 magical weapons of this level. And you have one."

"Let me remind you, you have not one, but two. The Spear of Apollo is one of them. Both are in your hands now," Apollonia added.

"Elu Qianhu, what are the other items?"

"You're one of us, so I'll give you an example. For example, the abacus in the Huangce Library at Xuanwu Lake is said to have been left by the Daoist Ancestor. Even if the affairs of the Nine Provinces and Ten Thousand Worlds were carried on its beads, the abacus would calculate everything. However, its accuracy can occasionally lead to problems, like when it calculated a shortage in Yangzhou, but didn't know where. Then, a thunder dragon suddenly appeared and blew up the warehouse. This morning, I had to go to the Fengtian Temple Zoo to attend a meeting because of this. It made my scalp tingle and I lost a few hairs."

“Do many people know about this?”

"Not many. I only know about the ones that are relevant to us. I only vaguely know about one in Rome, on the dome of Hagia Sophia. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's there. But someone took a photo of it, and the top was empty. There was nothing there."

"Ah, you're not going to look for me, are you?"

"I'm the only one who knows it was you. If I don't tell you, nothing will happen. And you've already paid back the money, so what are you afraid of? Oh, by the way, did Daozu say anything else?"

"I can't say. But I didn't say anything specific."

"It's okay, it's okay. I understand. As long as there's a ray of hope, we all still have hope. Then, Shangluo, I'll just follow Daozu's instructions for now. Daozu gave you a badge, not something else, probably because he wants you to join the Jinyiwei. Although you haven't reached the Qi training stage yet, you can learn."

"Should I become your disciple?"

"No, no, there's no need for a disciple. We're officials of the imperial court, and we only have positions at work, not master-disciple relationships. Unless you decide to practice a certain Taoist method that requires a master, then you'll need a disciple. For example, those of us who practice the Five Thunder Method have inherited the Taoist tradition directly from the Taoist ancestors, so there's a tradition of seeking a disciple. If you don't practice it, there's no need to seek a disciple. Just like I told you before, those four Qigong practitioners on the Neptune team who were just screwing around didn't have a master. So before that, you have to observe for yourself first, and I won't make the decision for you."

Shangluo pondered for a moment. Thunder magic seemed powerful, and well-suited to our current technological landscape, on the eve of the electrical age. If he could cultivate it, he would surely advance significantly in the Way of Thunder. Whether he could master it, however, was another matter entirely. He planned to delve deeper into it before deciding.

"Well, let me tell you about the schedule for the rest of the day." Lu Huaiyang looked down at his watch. "We still have time today. Today is Sunday, and I'll take you to the Jinyiwei Yamen this afternoon to handle some paperwork. Tomorrow you'll officially return to the Wutaishan Training Institute to attend classes in your original class. During lunch break tomorrow, the school will arrange for you to interview with the Longjiang team—because that's essentially a club activity. But I met the Longjiang team's agent the other day. She's also your class monitor, and she's looking forward to having you back. And Saturday as well."

"Do you still have classes on Saturday?"

"There are no classes at school, but Jinyiwei has supplementary classes here. They cover metaphysics and occult science. All students with Qigong talents, like Lu Liang, will take supplementary classes on Saturdays. Next Saturday morning's class is 'Introduction to Occult Science'. You must be there. It's a core course and very important."

This news surprised Shangluo. He knew there would be some occult education to supplement his knowledge, but he didn't expect it to be taught in the form of a cram school.

"Captain Lu, I have a question - do we have a school for Qigong practitioners?"

"We don't, and we never will. This is the intention of the Dao Ancestor himself. We're not opening this class to train professional Qigong practitioners, much less to cultivate supermen. We want to cultivate 'humans', and humans cannot be alienated into supermen. Qigong practitioners are human beings, from beginning to end, and all Qigong practitioners must enter society, rather than gathering in small circles. However, this is not mandatory. There are Qigong practitioners in Wudang Mountain who have left society to cultivate themselves, and this is their own choice. Rome even has a specialized school for the mysticism, and even a city of learning. I will take you there once this academic year, as we have a regular meeting mechanism and will synchronize our development progress. In short, you should prepare yourself, graduation season is always busy."

Chapter 74 Warehouse

The Jinyiwei Yamen was located on Zhuque Avenue, 800 meters away from the Fengtian Hall. Although the entire Purple Gold Mountain was occupied by the Grand Palace, the dimensions and layout of the three main halls—Fengtian Hall, Zhongji Hall, and Jinshen Hall—remained unchanged. The extra space, including the Ziwei Hall atop the mountain, was considered "extra." These extra areas were primarily used for offices and to house the residences of the various vassal states in Beijing. The headquarters of the six ministries remained in the area surrounding the three main halls, as did the Jinyiwei Yamen.

Outside the Meridian Gate, inside the Vermillion Bird Gate, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Yamen and the Tongzhengsi Yamen were located side by side. However, Shangluo and his group did not enter directly from the front, as walking on the Vermillion Bird Road was prohibited.

"You ask why you can't drive a Chui Wan chariot on Suzaku Road?" Lu Huaiyang thought for a moment. "It seems there's no clear rule. But the nobles are all walking there, and if you're driving a small car all the way there, clanking and bumping around, it won't be a good impression. This car is already very funny, and it will be even more funny when you drive it. So just use it for commuting. Wenyuan, give me the keys."

Wen Yuan, who was driving, fumbled in his pocket for a while and passed the key to the back seat.

"The keys for all the Chui Wan cars are the same, so just open them when you need them. This place is really too big, and walking is too time-consuming. Just don't drive inside the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and remember not to park it anywhere else after use, otherwise you'll easily lose the car. For some unknown reason, one or two of these things are always lost every year, and no one drives them home, but they can't be found. And every time they're lost, someone gets them! What are you thinking? We've arrived!"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry. This is the back door. All back doors look the same. I forgot."

He stepped on the brakes, switched on the reverse switch, and slowly backed to the yamen gate - the back door.

The back door was locked. As Lu Huaiyang went to open it, Shangluo asked the guy next to him, "You don't seem very familiar with this place?"

"Because we don't usually come to the Jinyiwei headquarters, the North and South Pacification Offices each have their own yamen. This headquarters is only used for reception and filing. Besides, if there is anything you need to contact the Jinyiwei, you have to have a place to find them. If you are fine, you won't have to come here in the future. But the warehouse is here. If I'm not mistaken, Master should take you to see the warehouse."

"By the way, should I say hello or something after we meet? Like, post a message in the Fetion discussion group? I should say hello when I first join the group, right?"

"No, no, don't chat in the group. Our acquired spiritual treasures are different from your innate spiritual treasures. Using them requires intense concentration, which is very energy-consuming. If everyone greets each other in the discussion group, important things will easily be pushed to the top, and it will take a long time to find them. For the sake of everyone's hair, we will only talk about necessary things in the discussion group. We will discuss all social etiquette when we meet, and not mention it in the discussion group."

"Oh! How wonderful! Wonderful! What a wonderful invention!"

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Sometimes too much convenience can make people feel uneasy, but now this perfect distance is very comfortable. You can contact us, but it's not so easy to contact us.

"By the way, why did Captain Lu take so long to find the key?"

"Who knows? Sometimes he just can't find it himself and then blames me. He doesn't come here often, so maybe he didn't put the key in a convenient place. Oh, finally found it."

I opened the door with the key and there was already someone behind it.

The person behind the door was wearing a black robe, a mask, and a big hat with the number six written on it.

"Why didn't you open the door? You clearly heard me looking for the key."

"How would I know who it is? What if it's Jack the Ripper?" He glanced behind him. "Is this the new guy? Good morning."

He raised his hand and greeted, and Shangluo responded.

Lu Huaiyang pointed at the man inside the door and said, "Let me introduce him to you. He's Lao Liu, one of the Thirteen Guardians of the Northern Pacification Division. He's in charge of the warehouse. We usually call him Lao Liu, the warehouse keeper. Lao Liu, are the things ready?"

"Here it is. If you're not taking it out of the warehouse, you don't need to fill out the form. I'll just watch you use it. Follow me."

The warehouse was not far from the door. There were no Jinyiwei guards along the way—after all, it wasn't everywhere Qigong practitioners could stand guard. The Jinyiwei were all very busy. Besides guarding Daozu and the Emperor himself, they all had their own duties to attend to. For example, Lao Liu was watching over the warehouse.

"This is the armor warehouse, used to store armor." Standing outside the warehouse, he introduced to Shangluo, "You can touch the things inside freely, it's not a big deal. Just don't push them down, they are very heavy. Oh, by the way, have you reached the Qi training stage?"

"No."

"Then you have to be more careful. Those armors weigh over a hundred pounds, some even close to two hundred pounds. If they hit you, it would be very serious. So when you touch them, just touch them gently to feel the thickness and strength. Do you understand?"

After receiving Shangluo's nod in response, he opened the door.

The door was dark, but there was no smell of mold, but rather the fragrance of sandalwood. Sunlight shone in through the high window lattices, illuminating the armor displayed in the warehouse.

Like the Terracotta Army, rows of humanoid suits of armor lined the room. Requiring no conventional supports, these suits remained motionless, seemingly possessing their own supporting structure. Besides the lighter models seen in Las Vegas that day, there were also basin-collared armor similar to those worn by the Imperial Guards. The heavy basin-collared armor was two or three times larger than a human, and its palms were as powerful as a tiger's. Only half of the face was visible, partially obscured by the basin-collared armor. Looking down from behind the collar, nothing could be seen.

Lao Liu, who was in charge of the warehouse, handed the key to Lu Huaiyang and went out. He would wait in the gatehouse for the key to be returned.

"Well, here are some little secrets of the Jinyiwei. Actually, they're not really secrets, just a principle. Shangluo, I know you have a pretty sharp eye. Have you discovered anything?"

"These armors seem to be different from traditional armor. Because traditional armor is mounted on the body. But these armors are the opposite. These armors can support themselves, and the person is actually 'mounted' inside."

"Yes, that's correct. So this secret stems from this: Wen Yuan may have told you that in our sect, we need to 'open the meridians' during the Qi training stage, and 'strengthen the bones' during the foundation-building stage. Opening the meridians is easy, but 'strengthening the bones' is incredibly difficult. How can human bones be easily replaced? Hence, this."

“These are exoskeletons???”

"A very precise definition. The opportunity to forge bones is rare. If we can't forge our own bones, we use exoskeletons to enhance our combat power. A Qi cultivator's body is already strong enough, but it's the fragility of their bones that prevents them from making large movements. Using exoskeletons circumvents this fragility, allowing strong tendons and muscles to power these heavy armor—theoretically, fighter jets are also exoskeletons, or 'devices' in a broader sense. A Qi cultivator might only have the strength of a Qi training stage unarmed, but once they master the 'device', they can reach the level of a 'quasi-foundation building stage' in combat power, rivaling true celestial beings. A Qi cultivator piloting a fighter jet can suppress the airspace of a medium-sized country, putting even celestial beings at a disadvantage. Even an entire nation of mortals charging forward would be unable to faze a celestial being.

"So even if we are stuck at the Qi training stage, we will not stop at the Qi training stage. This is what humans are like. We are the most intelligent creatures in the world. We can use tools."

Chapter 75 Battle Armor

"If the staff is an extension of the hand, then these armors are the present-day manifestation of the concept of the staff. They are the 'tools' that allow human power to reach new heights. How about it? Want to try it?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Shangluo nodded repeatedly.

"Then give it a try. Now that you're here, you can't just look and go back. However, the armor here is all custom-made, and each one has its own owner. There are two one-size-fits-all, small ones over there, for Jinyiwei who haven't reached the age limit. The one on the left is used by Wen Yuan, and you can use the one on the right. When you reach the age limit, you can order a custom one. At that time, we will provide it according to your usage habits and the functions you need. Then the craftsman supervisor will take about a month to make it."

"Wait, Master, does it take so long?" Wen Yuan just found out.

"Do you think this is a ready-made clothing store? It takes longer than this to get clothes made at the textile factory. Official goods are all carefully crafted with meticulous care."

"Captain Lu, I have a question," Shangluo asked. "I saw that the Imperial Guards also have similar armor. Is their armor also custom-made?"

"That's right. All armor is custom-made. Mass customization is the court's specialty. We can tailor-make exquisite armor and weapons for everyone, even for an army of 100,000. The soldiers of the Imperial Guard are only at the 'quasi-Qi training stage' combat power, but after wearing armor, they can fight with real Qi training masters barehanded. That's why the Imperial Guard can achieve almost zero casualties in missions to destroy countries. It relies on the extreme stacking of materials. The court is willing to spend money on its own people. And these in front of you-"

He patted the armor beside him and said, "The armor of these Jinyiwei is going to be a step further. Without exception, they are all spiritual weapons, not ordinary objects. Although they are only acquired spiritual weapons, they can still elevate skilled Qigong practitioners to the level of 'quasi-foundation building'. They can also carry out missions to destroy nations. They are a guard, and we only need one person. It's just that the method and approach are different."

"Is there a difference in performance between these?"

"No, there's not much difference in performance. Both are finely crafted armor, but the armor itself is only mass-produced or custom-made. The real difference lies elsewhere. You'll see once you put it on. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Shangluo nodded.

"Then open the back."

Open the back? Shangluo was stunned for a moment. This sounded like opening the crayfish's back to remove the shrimp thread. But it was indeed "opening the back" in the literal sense.

Wen Yuan stepped forward, opened the buckle, and flipped open the back of the armor. It was somewhat like the space station's extravehicular space suit, which also entered the cabin from the back.

"First, put on special soft-soled shoes, then put your feet in first. Then put your left hand, right hand, and finally your head in. Right."

Lu Huaiyang stood in front and watched Shangluo's head sticking out from the helmet.

"How does it feel?"

"It's much smoother than I thought. I thought I couldn't get it on by myself, but once I get used to it, I can probably put it on and take it off by myself."