Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"How is it? What did the Lord Dan Shou say?" Han Xingzhi didn't know who the chief alchemist of the palace was, but he knew that Shangluo had been in contact with him.

"He said he wouldn't be here until Tuesday afternoon."

"That's good, I can avoid classes on Monday and Tuesday. But what on earth is that? It leaves at noon on Sunday and arrives at noon on Tuesday. There's no ship that fast, but there's no plane that slow either."

"Could it be an airship?" Shangluo asked.

Han Xingzhi thought for a moment and said, "A compromise between an airplane and a boat, maybe an airship? No, airships aren't that fast. I see, it's a seaplane."

"Eh???" Lu Liang, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly sat up. "Ah! I remember now. It's the Hercules!"

Shangluo asked, "Have you seen it?"

"I've seen the commercial. That one! The Hercules with the showers!"

The Pengzi-4 heavy flying boat was moored at the seaplane berth at Constantinia Airport. This heavy seaplane, codenamed "Pontianak Express" during the Java War, was intended for long-distance, high-speed transport from Kinai to Southeast Asia, delivering heavy vehicles for support from Kinai.

However, the war was swiftly ended by divine intervention, and the Pontianak Aeronautical Engineering Institute converted this military transport aircraft to civilian use. The large double-decker was found to have great potential for modification, and Lan Fang Airlines, under the name "Hercules," put it into passenger service, operating luxury long-haul routes between Rome and Kinai, or Rome and Southeast Asia.

This was a decision Lan Fang Airlines made after careful consideration. During the Shaoping Four Years, when aviation was still relatively ancient, the realm of aircraft research and development still resonated with the rudimentary crafts of aviation pioneers. While a series of cutting-edge research and developments had led to rapid development of the aviation industry, airport construction still lagged behind advancements in aircraft design.

In this case, seaplanes have become a convenient choice for major airlines because they can land on flat waters without the need for planning large airports.

The Hercules 1, docked at the dock, boasted a formidable wingspan of 97.82 meters and a staggering mass of 113 tons. Its wings were so large that a flight engineer could walk directly inside them. Such a behemoth clearly couldn't dock at any conventional airport—primarily due to the aircraft itself. Currently, no landing gear could withstand the impact of a -ton aircraft slamming into concrete. The Hercules was primarily designed to recoup development costs, so the design was left as is, with no breakthroughs in the landing gear.

When taking off from water, the requirements for the strength of the aircraft are much lower than on the ground, and the aircraft can be made larger more easily - at least the exaggerated wingspan of 97.82 meters is not seen in land aircraft.

Shangluo stood on the airport tarmac, and the Hercules looked like a huge ship in the distance. She was so big that she couldn't even get close to the shore, and could only be boarded by ferry.

"Ah," Wen Yuan looked into the distance, "it turns out there really is such a big plane, and this plane actually has two floors!"

"Do you know how much the ticket costs?" Shangluo asked. When they arrived at the airport, the tickets had already been handed to them. The Lanfang Airlines hibiscus logo was printed on the upper left corner of the ticket. The logo, like the edge of the ticket, was also gold-plated, and the ticket itself was also a light gold. Just looking at the ticket itself, it was expensive. Really expensive, very expensive. And their seats weren't first or second class, but were marked in red letters from "First Seat" to "Sixth Seat." It wasn't printed, but handwritten in official script.

"I don't know, it seems very expensive, right? Lu Liang, how expensive? Haven't you seen the advertisement?"

"I think it was .259 taels."

"259 taels?" Wen Yuankou calculated. "That's 259000 wen. A bottle of Coke is 3 wen, so that could buy or bottles! Do they have that much money for entertainment?"

Apollonia sneered, "The Oracle is one of the three highest institutions, alongside the Senate. Putting everything else aside, we still have the money to entertain students like you. While the Oracle's budget isn't so abundant that it can burn through money, anything of value isn't considered expensive for the Oracle."

"Speaking of which." Shangluo thought for a moment, "Why are these air tickets so expensive?"

"I don't know." Lu Liang shook his head. "Perhaps people who can afford a plane ticket don't care too much about spending 259 taels at once. And don't you notice it only takes a day and a half? Other flights arrive in a few hours, but you can spend 259 taels here and have a day and a half of fun. The food and accommodation for a day and a half are all top-notch, and there's also an intercontinental trip included. So, isn't that a good deal?"

"Yes, yes, we all made money, but Guo Xing lost so much that he had to take the subway."

"But you can take a shower up there! There's a suite and a shower room up there!"

"That's okay."

Admittedly, the idea of showering in heaven also made him want to try it. If Rome hadn't offered him a treat this time, he definitely wouldn't have bought the ticket. A three-foot bed was enough for sleeping; spending so much extra money to expand it in heaven was truly a luxury.

The Hercules still had a lot of preparations to make before takeoff. Numerous shuttle boats were bustling back and forth between the dock and the shore, ferrying luggage and supplies. A Lan Fang Aviation refueling vessel, emblazoned with the hibiscus logo, was also parked nearby, refueling the Hercules.

These preparations would take some time, so they would have to board the plane no later than an hour before takeoff. During this time, they first visited the tarmac. The Ninghe was still waiting there.

"Sigh~~~" Captain Lin shook his head and sighed, "How cruel! I came all the way to pick you up, and you refused to board. It's truly heartbreaking. Captain Lu, is this how you treat an old friend? Should we sell our tickets so you can appreciate the value of the free ride? If we do, it might even be more expensive than the Hercules."

Chapter 192 Hercules

"I told you to carry the luggage. You need to bring back the divine chrome armor and other equipment. Don't you have work to do?"

"But if you don't come aboard, then how am I supposed to meet this week's operational targets as a test sample?"

"It's hard to find a sucker like me anywhere, right?"

"Tsk, that's being a bit too formal. Never mind. The Hercules is our company's flight anyway, so we'll keep the wealth within our grasp. Have a pleasant journey, then." Captain Lin signed the cargo manifest, and the Ninghe was dispatched to deliver the crucial equipment. The cargo didn't need a break, so it could be tossed around as much as it wanted. Shangluo and the others, who had been working non-stop for days, certainly needed a break to regain their composure.

There wasn't much time left. They didn't plan to wait in the terminal, as they would have to go through a lot of complicated customs procedures. They just set up their stools and sat on the tarmac.

"Here you go, some jelly. I brought it especially for you. Take it with you on the way. There's no such jelly on Hercules." Captain Lin handed a dozen jellies to Shangluo.

"Ah, thank you." Captain Lin climbed the gangway after watching Shangluo accept the jelly. The Ninghe's takeoff was much more complicated than the Hercules's. After all, the latter was simply a collection of mature technologies, replenished with supplies. The Ninghe, on the other hand, had rockets on board, and rockets could explode, so he had to inspect them carefully.

Shangluo opened the jelly and gave some to everyone else.

"What is this?" Wen Yuan was stunned for a moment. "Why is there the Ninghe logo on it?"

"Ninghe's in-flight meal."

"Does the Ninghe have in-flight meals? Why have I never had any in so many times on this flight?"

"Maybe because there are no flight attendants, the in-flight meals are prepared in the cockpit, and you have to go in and get them yourself if you want to eat."

"I gave them a bad review! Why do people always feed you, but no one feeds me? I'm angry!"

"It's too late. Without the report, you can't file a complaint against them. Besides, they're not even in the civil aviation business. They're lucky enough to let you ride for free, so where's the complaint window?"

Wen Yuan was so angry that she squeezed a tube of jelly into her mouth.

".It smells pretty good. I'll have another one."

I haven't eaten anything this morning, so it's nice to have some jelly to fill my stomach.

As I ate my jelly, the breeze from the Sea of Marmara blew in my face. From here, I could see the dome of Hagia Sophia and the red-roofed, white-walled neoclassical buildings of the city in the distance. That "Second Rome" glowed in the sunlight, a sense of age, and that was a compliment.

"Oh right." Wen Yuan suddenly stood up. "Since we have nothing to do anyway, how about we practice some martial arts?"

"How do you practice? Whack-a-Mole or Tetris?"

"Hey, we can even do that on the plane. We have a few days left. Since it's spacious here and there aren't any strangers around, how about we spar? Just like we did that day at the martial arts gym."

"Why did you suddenly want to practice with me?"

"Because I saw your sword. I saw clearly that when you struck those great spring elves, you knocked them away with one blow of your sword, right?"

Shangluo nodded.

"Excellent. Since you can knock them away, we can finally establish effective communication." Wen Yuan flung open his backpack and pulled out his incendiary rifle. This time, he switched the bolt safety to safe and shifted the torch's handling from the bolt to the bayonet. The bayonet, attached to the hose, began to vibrate, hum, and then lit up, emitting a dark red glow. The dark red light vibrated with the air, exuding a captivating aura of danger.

"This is?"

"A high-frequency oscillating bayonet, powered by Torch Element. I was planning to test it on those elves this time, but they didn't rush towards me. However, their swords seem to have spiritual energy in them."

"That's the phlogiston entity I mentioned earlier. Hmm, quite impressive technology, a man-made phlogiston entity. It seems Aurora has made remarkable achievements in its application of phlogiston. It's a bit smaller, only about the size of a bayonet, but its energy density seems to be higher than those of the elves. If I use this sword to block an elf's greatsword, it might be able to deflect it to some extent, but it won't knock it back. You can try it with him."

"What is the effect of the collision?"

His bayonet, while technologically advanced, still pales in comparison to divine power. The collision of phlogiston entities takes into account the difference in power levels, so yours will be amplified—hence the collision between two god-level entities, which creates a terrifying explosion. The elves' swords are too low-level, so you'll knock them away like balls. This bayonet is of moderate tier, and considering the strength of both of you, it's probably... well, probably worth a try. Do you want to try it?

Shangluo flung away the sword. If he could bridge the gap in physical strength, he still had the confidence to fight Wen Yuan.

"You're brave." Wen Yuan unbuttoned her clothes, threw her school uniform aside, and posed in a vest.

"Then I'm going to go ahead." Shangluo reminded first, then swung his sword to hit Wen Yuan's bayonet.

With a loud bang, a dazzling light like welding exploded in the air, sparks flying. Wen Yuan's bayonet was knocked off course, and his steps were slightly disturbed. Shang Luo's knife remained motionless.

He could feel it, and while he could barely block it, it was only barely. The layer of torch element attached to the bayonet could generate high-frequency vibrations, but at the moment of collision, the torch element was shattered by the lightsaber, and it took a moment to recover.

A tough opponent, but one that could certainly be practiced.

"Interesting. This time it's my turn to make the move."

In the distant tower, air traffic control was working frantically. Two major aircraft, the Ninghe and the Hercules, were scheduled to take off today, one from a land runway and the other from a waterway. Constantinia Airport needed to arrange their itineraries, and all other flights had to carefully plan their routes. The wake turbulence created by these two industrial monsters could flip over any small aircraft taking off behind them.

While they were busy, a burly figure in a toga appeared at the elevator entrance, followed by several inner guards.

The entire tower fell silent.

"Senator Julius, this is it."

"I know it's busy here." The burly figure waved his hand, "You guys are busy. We'll be gone in a few minutes."

"Thank you for your understanding. Please feel free to do as you please."

After a moment's pause, the tower resumed its work.

"Well, Your Majesty, this way please." Julius gestured for the person at the back of the elevator to come out. She was wearing a narrow dress, unusual for Roman nobles: a coat, shirt, and knee-length skirt, which made it easy for her to move frequently between school and the palace.

"Which direction are they going? Yes, I see them. They are practicing combat? What a powerful light. Which one is His Excellency the Forest King? If it's the one with the bayonet, that one won't do. It looks stupid."

"That one is indeed a bit silly. But it's not him, it's the other one, the one with the sword."

"Hmm" she looked carefully into the distance, "Hmm"

She hesitated for a moment.

"Look, how's it going? Is it all right?" Julius asked in a low voice, bending over.

She still hesitated for a while.

"No, no. No reason, no. If you must give a reason, 'I don't know him,' would that count? Can I go home now? I have three meetings this afternoon."

Chapter 193 The Strength of the Imperial Sword Master

"Okay, let's stop here."

Wen Yuan didn't expect that she would be the one to call a halt first, and Shangluo on the opposite side didn't seem to be very tired at all.

He flipped the switch back to the off position, and the red light on the bayonet gradually faded. These torches were surprisingly durable, and even after being repeatedly struck by "divine power", Wen Yuan still maintained his "fighting strength".

——Yes, that’s what Wen Yuan thought in the end.

"I'm so thankful I live in an age of advanced science, so I can still hold off a few attacks. Otherwise, your sword would cripple everyone's skills, making any skill you practice a piece of cake."

"Hmm, is that difficult?" Shang Luo sheathed his sword. Logically, Wen Yuan was his third opponent, after the dog food bowl and the elf. Neither the dog food bowl nor the elf would communicate with him, so only Wen Yuan could answer his questions.

"If you'd moved any faster, if you'd had any murderous intent, I wouldn't have left this airport today. There are two reasons—first, your sword seems to have overpowered my weapon. The forces exerted on both sides during the collision are completely disproportionate. But I'm not too worried about that. It's because I live in an age of advanced science, and I believe that sooner or later, I'll be able to wield such a fine sword."

[Tsk, it's great to live in an age of advanced science. Keep going! This sword is indeed indestructible at the moment, but its mystery isn't that high. If I work harder, I can still break through it. Of course, I'll improve too. Let's see if the tech tree advances faster or my skills level up faster.]

"But," Wen Yuan shook her head. "If your swordplay gives me hope of catching up, then your swordsmanship is simply incredible. In fact, I saw it last time when we were sparring with bayonets. Let me ask you, have you really never practiced martial arts?"

"Martial arts training or something, you can tell from my body shape."

"Indeed. Your calves and forearms seem weak, and the calluses on your hands aren't fixed in the same place—and most importantly, you don't have any sword moves at all, yet every strike you make is a counterattack. It's simply that no moves are better than moves. What a terrifying sword intent! I'm afraid the Tai Chi sword of Master Qingxu Yuanmiao Zhang is similar to this. How did you learn it?"

"Studying things? Probably. I've been studying the principles of mechanics."

[I give you a big thumbs up for this~~ I'm so lucky to have met you.]

"It turns out that studying things can really help you comprehend the sword's meaning. We Thunder Cultivators are studying the 'Thunder Dao', but my comprehension is indeed not as good as yours. It seems I have to hurry up and practice. However, I can point out a weakness, a shortcoming."

"Oh! Right, right, that's the meaning of sparring. Come on," Shangluo said eagerly. Two people of similar skill levels can help each other learn quickly and with minimal effort.

"Come." Wen Yuan hooked his finger, "Come and chop me."

"what?"

"That's right—when I said 'Come and attack me,' your first reaction was 'Huh?' Why? Because you don't know how to attack at all. 'No Moves' is a very powerful state, capable of dismantling all my moves. But you still have to seize the opportunity to attack. Your swordsmanship can closely follow my swordsmanship, sticking to it so close that it's completely impenetrable. But if you want to break through this 'center line' and attack me personally, you'll have to really practice some offensive techniques."

"What if this is the case?" He said as he stretched his lightsaber to a length of four meters, shooting straight up into the sky. A pillar of light, like a golden cudgel, was grasped in his hand.

He didn't open it wide, only to 4 meters. Apollonia said it could actually go to 40 meters - at least he had to keep some reserve.

But even though they had only opened 4 meters, Wen Yuan had already taken two steps back:

"Ah this."

"How's it going?" Shangluo put away his sword. Such a large flashlight must be quite energy-consuming.

"That's enough. I didn't expect your sword could be extended and used as a concealed weapon. By the way, are you sure that's not the golden cudgel in your hand? When I fought you, it really felt like it weighed 180,000 kilograms. If I hadn't been holding this spear with both hands, I'm afraid my knuckles would have been cracked."

"You know what, it does look a bit like a golden cudgel. How about a hidden weapon like this?"

"Whether the sword suddenly lengthens and counts as a concealed weapon is another matter—but there's no rule against using concealed weapons, right? I think it's fine, unless you intend to attain Dao through martial arts, then this should be enough. Isn't the essence of martial arts to win? Talking about Dao requires winning. If you can't even win, what's the point of talking about Dao? Sword power can make you invincible, and this sword allows you to use concealed weapons. I think you're already invincible among your peers."

Wen Yuan bowed and said, "As expected of the Imperial Sword Master, I admit defeat. I can't possibly defeat you now."

"Come on, you were actually planning on flying a bomber over here, weren't you?"

"Tsk, you guessed it."

"Heh," Shangluo chuckled. For Wen Yuan, he could indeed call in bombers when he couldn't win. Simply failing with swordsmanship wasn't a problem for him; thunder cultivation could reach the heavens. In theory, close ties with the Daoist Patriarch and the imperial court could also be considered a form of "reaching the heavens." He'd seen it before in Las Vegas: when he couldn't win, he could simply call in a large army.

It now seemed that he was indeed invincible in combat. Unfortunately, this was the present day of the fourth year of Shaoping, and no one wielded swords in combat. Even at this point, his ultimate swordsmanship, boasting the power of "no moves are better than moves," didn't seem to make him invincible.