Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"In a fight, you can do anything. I'll be serious when the time comes. It'll all be a matter of skill. I may not be defeated by you—Lei Xiu doesn't necessarily have to fight you with swords. I have 99 ways to force you to surrender."

"Huh? Like what?"

"Say I drop a bomb in the middle of the ring. Will you run or not? I can defuse the bomb 0.8 seconds after you run off the ring. So I can fight you until the very last second. Will you come?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Can we even have a duel like this?"

"Just so you know, this is a ring fight, not a contest. Whoever stands on the ring will win, and it will all come down to their own abilities. But don't think it's unnecessary, I really care about the rankings! I'll challenge everyone who ranks ahead of me one by one."

"Tsk tsk." Shangluo shook his head, "I just wonder if you dare to challenge me after seeing my ability in the folded branch."

"Very good, very energetic. Well, let's stop here for today. Well, it seems that this place has become much more lively since you came."

“Are there fewer people here than before?”

"Because the aviation class has been transferring to the aviation academy to complete their studies since last year, there seem to be signs of forming an independent air force. The current air force is much different than before; they can already complete combat missions independently. For example, after using ace pilots to suppress airspace, heavy bombers can be dispatched to carry out a sweeping attack. If the air force is successfully established, it will be the fourth major branch of the military, alongside the army, navy, and imperial guards. In the future, the air force may also take on space missions, which seems to be the reason for the establishment of an independent army."

"Have you ever considered joining the Air Force?"

"The Imperial Guards are an exception. They have both land and sea forces. Even if we establish an independent air force in the future, the Imperial Guards will still retain the sequence of the aviation team. If nothing unexpected happens, I should go to the Imperial Guards aviation team to receive my own plane. Unlike you sword cultivators, thunder cultivators are ultimately more suitable for flying planes. Oh, time's up, put the nameplate back, I'll go to the teacher to hand it over and then I can go back."

The next day at noon, the last practice before breaking the branches.

"Sorry, everyone." Titus yawned. "I was really busy and got back very late yesterday. I'm not in the best shape today. I see you're in pretty good spirits, aren't you?"

Of the four people sitting below, two were in high spirits, their eyes wide as bells. Next to their stools were handbags containing two identical small boxes. One was labeled 4, the other 501. Their morale was high.

"Very good, very energetic." Titus rubbed his eyes again. "Hopefully, this branch-breaking ceremony can be completed soon. Then I need...ah~~~I need a good vacation too."

"Did something happen over there?" Shangluo asked. Although the distance was far, if there was unrest in the Roman magical community, it would indeed have the potential to affect the branch-breaking ceremony.

"There are some minor and minor things. You might be guessing it's related to Caesar, but it's not. We are mostly neutral, or even positive, about Caesar's return. Because it represents resurrection, it represents hope, and it means that every Roman has the possibility of returning from history. The more complete Caesar's return, the greater the hope it brings us. What we are wary of is the south. You all know from history that Egypt had its own indigenous civilization before the Roman occupation."

This is a well-known history. After the Egyptians were defeated by Alexander, they entered the Hellenistic Ptolemaic Dynasty.

The Ptolemaic dynasty can generally be considered one of the successors of ancient Egypt, as the dominant ethnic group in ancient Egypt changed hands more than once. Furthermore, the Ptolemaic dynasty showed due respect for ancient Egyptian culture. The last pharaoh, Cleopatra, even learned the Egyptian language—though only the language. If the Ptolemaic dynasty had survived, the core of ancient Egyptian civilization would likely have gradually revived under Cleopatra's rule.

However, all this was interrupted by the Romans. The Romans did not consider themselves to have conquered an Egyptian state; they viewed Ptolemaic Egypt almost entirely as a Greek dynasty. While the Greeks continued to receive favorable treatment, the Egyptians were excluded from the majority ethnic group. They still lived in Egypt, and the Romans did not mistreat them; in fact, they had already been granted Roman citizenship through previous grants of citizenship.

Today, these people are often called "Copts," a more respectful term than "Egyptians," as the ancient Egyptians referred to themselves. They still use the ancient Egyptian script to write Coptic, and some even write in hieroglyphics. However, they are ultimately just one of the millions of Romans, and they could not naturally take center stage like the Latin Romans and the Greco-Romans.

"The problem this time lies in the south. We once suspected the Copts of having plans to revive ancient Egypt—you will all be participating in the Golden Bough Ceremony, so you all know that the power of history can sometimes be incredibly strong. Physically reviving ancient Egypt is certainly impossible, but if we can awaken the power of the pharaoh, just as we have obtained the help of Helios, all of this may not be impossible. It is said that on the battlefield of Kadesh, where Pharaoh Ramses II once rode his chariot, some people saw souls of the past fighting each other in the dark of night. Some even said that they saw the ancient Egyptian Golden Army emerge from the ground and disappear at dawn. Hmm..."

"Did you see it?" Shangluo asked.

"No. I went to the nearest Mithraic shrine to take a look. Wherever the Roman legions have fought, there will be a Mithraic shrine that can be teleported. There is one nearby. However, I waited for a long time and didn't even see a mirage. Ah, I'm six times sleepy now. I'm so tired. Shangluo, you should know what I mean. So today we will have a new instructor to teach you. You can call him Dolphin."

"Dolphin", has been standing next to it.

"Everyone, my code name is Dolphin, Phlogiston Stealth Specialist. The training you will complete today is crucial for you. Because there is no tower at Lake Nemi, you will have to reach it by stealth. So this time you can't just take a sip and be done with it; you will have to actually drown in it. It may be painful, but it will be safe. After you complete it, you will be able to participate in the Golden Bough Ceremony."

It seems a bit late, even though I updated much more than yesterday. However, it seems I'm not good at adding too many updates at once, so I'll just spread it out and add more updates over the next few days. So I'll update more in the next few days.

Chapter 143 Phlogiston Stealth

"Another Titus," codenamed Dolphin, took a deep breath to demonstrate. To avoid being exposed in front of too many people, he spoke without removing the black goggles that covered half his face—most of the other members of the Hydra Force did the same. In front of those not in the know, they could occasionally remove their masks for air, but they would never remove their black goggles.

After taking a deep breath, he brought his arms inward, squeezing as much air out of his lungs as possible.

"Everyone, unlike last time, this time you need to inhale a large amount of this EITR medicine. Not just a shallow puff, but rather try to empty your lungs as much as possible and fill them up. However, I must remind you that this is the ultimate goal. Please gradually increase the dosage between inhalations, as we still don't know how the EITR will react to Qigong practitioners. You are the first batch."

After saying this, he paused, waiting for some response from the audience, because he couldn't force these students to participate in the experiment.

Shangluo asked, "Are we the first group?"

"To be precise, you're not the first to pass through the two towers. Small doses of EITR have been used before you, so you could inhale it directly when you visited Alexandria. That was just to create a protective camouflage. But directly performing phlogiston stealth is unprecedented."

“Has there been any theoretical research before?”

"Unfortunately, there's no way to conduct theoretical research. We're talking at cross purposes, having taken completely different paths. The only common denominator is 'introductory' material like 'An Introduction to Mysticism,' which only gives us a basic understanding of the principles. For example, 'The Art of War' mainly introduces some basic principles and general rules of military science, which we also study. But you can't fight a war with just 'The Art of War', right? To train troops, you need to consult drill manuals, like 'Jixiao Xinshu'."

"Hmm, so we need to give it a try?" Shangluo looked at the cylinders. He recalled the feeling of inhaling EITR. Although the chill could be dispelled quickly, it was still not pleasant.

But the main problem wasn't him. As the main beneficiary of the branch-breaking ceremony, he certainly had no objections; it was all for his own benefit anyway.

What needs to be considered here are mainly the opinions of several other people.

"I have no objection!" Han Xingzhi raised his hand. "My elder brother's business is my business!"

"I have no objection," Lu Liang replied. I heard she was looking for a place to practice. Having just gained true power through the bottled Qi Hai, she now looked like a mole from a hole.

"Uh" Wen Yuan hadn't reacted yet. The other two people's answers were not thought through at all, but he thought about it for a while.

"I have no objection," Wen Yuan replied. "Putting aside the issue of friends and such, based on our last experience, the negative effects of this type of experiment are controllable. If a large dose causes unacceptable effects, then a small dose won't be completely harmless. So, you can give it a try and gradually increase the dosage. Shangluo's matter is very important, so even if there are risks, we must do our best to overcome them."

"Okay." Titus, codenamed Dolphin, nodded. "Let's begin. Please sit in the sun as you are now, so that you can minimize any discomfort. Then, just inhale slowly. I'll time you. You can stop early, but don't exceed this time. The first time will be about 10 seconds."

"What is the limit?" Shangluo asked.

"Three minutes and thirty seconds, that's the average time it takes to drown in water. Yes, the essence of this process is drowning in the waters of the River Styx before entering the world of night—but in reality, you won't drown, because the mask is ventilating to the outside, and you're still inhaling oxygen. Drowning is just a feeling; but this feeling is so real that it can cause some unexpected psychological problems, a problem that anyone can encounter. However, Qigong practitioners have stronger constitutions, and we don't know how much we need to inhale. Anyway, just inhale until you feel like you're drowning. So, let's begin."

The preparations were quickly completed. With the cylinders strapped to their backs, the four men sat in the sun and began inhaling as if they were practicing diving.

Shangluo was among them. He took a tentative puff.

As Titus had predicted, the first puff gave him a suffocating sensation. He could clearly feel the air being drawn in from his back, but the EITR drug inflicted an overwhelming suffocating sensation. He could even clearly tell that the suffocation wasn't coming from his lungs, but from his brain. He instinctively removed his mask, believing he was drowning.

The midday sun of early summer shone on his body, and the discomfort instantly began to melt away like ice and snow. Although it didn't disappear immediately, it made him feel a sense of relief, as if he had survived a disaster.

"It's still a bit uncomfortable." He was about to describe his feelings to Titus when the three people next to him suddenly took off their masks at the same time.

Han Xingzhi was the first to notice the problem: "No! Something's wrong! You can't suck this thing!"

1 minute later.

"Hmm," Lu Huaiyang lowered his mask. "It's true that you can't inhale it. Just like Xiao Han described, once your EITR potion reaches a certain concentration, it will violently collide with our spiritual energy and then cancel each other out. I'm afraid it won't have any effect until our spiritual energy is completely depleted. Do you have a lot of this EITR potion?"

"Why do you ask this suddenly?" asked Titus the Dolphin.

"Because it seems to be a very good interrogation tool, it can restore a Qi cultivator to mortal form in a short period of time without causing irreversible consequences. As long as the ambient concentration of this EITR potion is maintained, spiritual power can be continuously suppressed, and it can be quickly restored when the potion is removed. What do you think? Do you have any extra?"

"The quantity is quite large, but the production is fixed. Sharing some with you would probably require a high-level exchange of interests—but I understand your words to mean 'unusable,' right?"

"Yes. This can be considered 'anti-reiki' or 'reverse reiki' in a way. They can't inhale it, or they will lose their power even if they begin the ritual. Do they have to inhale these potions to participate in the branch folding?"

"It's not necessary to inhale. We began the Golden Bough Ceremony long before we acquired the EITR, and the Golden Bough Ceremony began before the creation of all these magical props. It's just that this means they can't use many of Rome's magical facilities, which is really a pity."

"That's not a big problem. In fact, I had a hunch from the beginning. After all, you don't have any way to practice Taoism over there. So, as an alternative, how will the ceremony be carried out?"

Chapter 144 Alternatives

"That's easy. Inhaling the EITR potion is just to allow them to use the sacrificial site for long-distance travel. After all, this place is a full 9000 kilometers away from Lake Nemi. This would have been impossible a hundred years ago. But you have a rocket airliner, right? Just fly over there. However, Lake Nemi doesn't have an airport that can accommodate rocket planes, so they may need to airdrop. Do rocket planes have this function?"

"Yes, once the Ninghe slows down to below the speed of sound, we can open the cargo hatch and begin the airdrop. Two of the four people are students from a military middle school and have practiced parachuting, so it won't be a problem. We can just let them land with the remaining two people."

"Wait." Titus suddenly noticed something was wrong. "Why do your passenger planes have an airdrop function?"

"Then I don't know." Lu Huaiyang spread his hands, "Anyway, just use it. I'll contact them now."

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden "thump" sound behind him. He turned around and saw Shangluo had fallen off the chair and rolled onto the ground next to him.

"Isn't he a Qigong practitioner?" Titus asked in confusion, "Why is he able to enter the night as well?"

"He does that at night?" Lu Huaiyang asked.

"Yes, yes, that's right. If there's no reaction, there shouldn't be any difference between inhaling EITR agents and inhaling water mist. He has a reaction, which means he was successful at nightfall. It's just that it's his first time and he needs a little time to get used to it."

"Then when will he wake up?"

"He's not dizzy at all. There's just a mismatch between what he's thinking and what's actually happening in his body, which happens every time he's first time. He should be able to recover soon. Yeah, he's already on his feet. He seems fine."

"Ah" When Shangluo opened his eyes again, everything was pitch black - but looking closely, it was not black, but everything around him had faded, looking like the view through night vision goggles.

Yet many things around him seemed to remain unchanged, including the sun. However, the greatest source of light wasn't the sun itself, but the nearby Purple Mountain. This towering mountain of light refused to fade, and everything on it retained the color of day.

As the effects of the EITR potion gradually faded, the light melted away the "darkness" in his vision. In the blink of an eye, everything returned to normal.

"Hey, how are you?" Lu Huaiyang squatted in front of him, "Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"Wait." He consulted his "personal doctor".

"Your vital signs are completely normal," Apollonia replied. "It seems you're very sensitive to the EITR agent. You only inhaled a tiny amount, but did the suffocation develop gradually?"

"Yes, it happened gradually. I could feel the light fading away, and then it turned into black and white."

"I remember you used it last time in Alexandria and it had a significant effect. You also felt a strong chill then? You seem particularly sensitive to EITR. But don't worry, everything is fine now. You don't need to go to the hospital."

He reported his decision to Lu Huaiyang.

"Interesting." Lu Huaiyang frowned. "If you can really use magic items, then if you succeed in building your foundation, wouldn't that mean you can use them on both sides?"

"Will this happen?"

Titus replied, "Facilities like the Mithraic Shrine and the Phlogiston Stealth require darkness to operate. If the EITR potion works on you, it means the door to magic is open to you. No wonder you were able to wander to the vicinity of the Golden Bough Shrine in your dream that day. This is a phenomenon worthy of study, but for now, the most important thing is to perform the Branch Breaking Ceremony. However, there are some problems."

He pointed to the sky. "Everyone else will have to take a rocket plane to get to the scene in time. While you can sneak in with us, your teammates can't enter. We can act separately, but the Golden Branch Ceremony must begin at the same time. Acting separately will bring many unnecessary problems. So, can you parachute?"

"Skydiving? That's a bit..."

"It's okay." Wen Yuan patted his shoulder. "I'll take you for the jump. Trust the strength of the training center; we're all professionals. We can bring two parachute packs, and I'll guide you through the parachute opening process before you can open it yourself. Originally, I could lead you in the parachute opening process. But because our equipment is a bit heavy, we'll probably still have to bring two parachute packs."

"No, I'm not worried about my own problems. I'm worried about..."

He was worried about whether Apollonia could go with him because Apollonia needed to borrow armor to participate in the operation, but could such heavy armor be airdropped?

"Oh, don't worry. The Divine Chrome Armor isn't that inconvenient. Just throw it out of the cabin. It won't deform even if it hits the ground. But it might be hard to find if you just throw it. Airdropping it is more stable. By the way, can you ask about renting the armor? Can you borrow it?"

Pulling Lu Huaiyang aside, he and Lu Huaiyang proposed to borrow the "Divine Chrome Armor".

"You want to borrow that divine chrome armor? So you're confident you can use it for a long time now?"

Shangluo nodded in confirmation.

"That's easy. You don't even need to apply. The Jinyiwei warehouse can be used at any time. We just need to agree. I think such a sturdy armor should not be damaged. You just need to bring it back."

"Can the airdrop issue be resolved? It seems like airdropping cargo is different from airdropping personnel."

"Don't worry about that. The Ninghe already has a cargo drop ramp, and we're going to drop some heavy equipment down there anyway. As long as you can make the Divine Chrome Armor less heavy, we can just drop it down with the other equipment."

"Does the Ninghe have so many functions?"

Hearing this, Lu Huaiyang lowered his voice; "This function was originally used for dropping bombs. The Ninghe is not just a passenger plane. In addition to passenger transport, it is also used for Lan Fang's war plan. They have a plan to attack the entire world in 4 hours, and using the Ninghe, bombs can be accurately dropped to any corner. The Ninghe is not always on standby at the airport. They spend half of their time conducting flight tests. Well, this is also a tactic that only Qigong pilots can use. This time, I will show off in front of the Romans. Although they are allies, they have to show off their muscles occasionally. This time, it can drop equipment, and next time it can drop bombs. But I heard that Lan Fang designed it this way to drop larger bombs. And you and Captain Lin had a good chat, didn’t you?"

He blinked. "This time, you can try to get information about the big bomb. I've already made the arrangements. They'll send us to Lake Nemi on Saturday morning, so remember to get up early. They said they've prepared a new type of airplane meal, which should be edible. Yeah, probably."

There is another one to be sent out before 12 noon

Chapter 145: Spear of the Sun God and God Chrome

As usual, Shangluo opened the door and returned home.

After entering the door, he locked it and used the Spear of the Sun God to hold the door shut.

For so long, he had been using the Spear of the Sun God as a wooden stick to hold the door shut. Even though it would probably break the door if pushed hard, having something to hold the door shut always made him feel more secure.

"But I always use the innate spiritual weapon to block the door. Isn't it a bit weird?"

"It's hard to say whether this thing is an 'innate spiritual weapon' now. After all, Phaethon used it as a scepter for a while, and the divine chromium has almost degraded. When you hold it against the door every day, do you feel the weight?"

"It feels like it's getting heavier day by day?"

At this rate, it would take at least years for it to return to its original form. Because divine chromium is associated with divinity, and Phaethon, like the Romans, favored using divinity as a battery, the spear's power source has been nearly depleted.

"What if I shower it with bottled Qi Hai?"

I advise against this, as this belongs to Helios. Artifacts can have their own masters. If he doesn't agree, you might not be able to lift it, just like Thor's hammer or the rice mountain in the Temple of Incense. It's perfectly fine in its current state; at least it can be used as a sturdy staff, as its rigidity and strength haven't diminished to that of divine chrome, making it a useful spear. But you already have the Salted Fish Sword, so why bother with this Salted Fish Spear?

"But it always feels unsafe to not have something this important with me. By the way, if the Spear of the Apollo has a master, what about the armor?"

[Are you talking about salted fish armor? ]

"Why is it called a salted fish? The salted fish sword is fine, but why is that set of armor called a salted fish armor?"

Because that armor has no function at all. It's empty inside. Aside from being made of 100% divine chrome, there's no divine power involved. The features you see, like the Zhoutian perspective, were all added by me. It feels like this thing has shed its shell, like a cicada's molt; the divinity within has already shed, leaving only an empty shell shaped by divine power.

"Could it be Daozu's?"