Chapter 272: Who Does the Reverse Dragon Belong To?

"Big brother!"

Zhang Zhao's eyes were somewhat withdrawn, his expression full of reluctance.

Zhang Yi saw his expression, reached out and patted his head, looking old-fashioned and solemn, which dispelled the sorrow of parting!

On the Azure Cloud Boat, at this moment two stewards in moon-white long robes stepped down, and upon seeing Zhang Jian, they slightly bowed.

"Elder Zhang!"

Zhang Jian, not being the chief disciple and having no intention of competing for the seat of the Slay Demon Peak's chief, upon being promoted to one of the Yin God Venerables, naturally became an elder of Slay Demon Peak.

The status of inner sect elders is exalted, their influence immense.

The two outer sect stewards from the Tongshan Dao lineage naturally could not be negligent.

Zhang Jian nodded.

"Yi'er is entrusted to you!"

The two outer sect stewards dared not refuse; they were merely cultivators at the Celestial Fate Foundation Establishment stage, and to them, Golden Core cultivators were already like ancestral figures, while Yin God Venerables, as inner sect elders, were lofty and beyond their capacity to offend.

Zhang Jian then turned his gaze to Zhang Yi and said.

"Yi'er, what I should have entrusted to you has already been fully entrusted; you must fend for yourself. Outside, you can only rely on your own wisdom and perseverance to solve problems—relying on others is not as good as relying on yourself!"

Zhang Yi slightly bowed his hands.

"Yes, Father!"

He then stepped into the Azure Cloud Boat.

The two stewards slightly bowed, then immediately returned to the Azure Cloud Boat, which, like an ordinary large ship, slowly drifted away from the canal river surface.

Zhang Jian let out a slight sigh; seeing Qi Yuhua's worried expression, he couldn't help but smile.

"My dear, why such a demeanor? A young eagle spreading its wings—this is a good thing!"

Qi Yuhua, hearing this, glanced at Zhang Jian with a hint of annoyance; seeing this, Zhang Jian's eyes brightened, and he couldn't help but lean in.

"My dear, if not, let us have another!"

Hearing this, Qi Yuhua's cheeks flushed with a hint of peach red, and she pouted slightly.

"The children are still here!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian's lips curled into a faint smile.

As the head of the Zhang family, besides Bai Liying and Qi Yuhua, he now has no other substantial confidantes; the Zhang family wishes to branch out and flourish, and this great responsibility can only fall upon Qi Yuhua.

The couple laughed and joked like ordinary spouses; beside them, Yuyao and Qu Lian were quite sensible, bringing Zhang Fu and others naturally standing far away.

Boom—

At this moment, however, the sound of horse hooves like thunder was heard on the dock; a squadron of armored knights came galloping from the distant official road straight toward the city gate.

Zhang Jian then took Qi Yuhua's hand and stepped aside from the middle of the road; looking into the distance, he saw a squadron of scouts hurrying over, shouting as they came.

"Great victory! The flying dispatch of the triumph! The Strategos Army's General An utterly destroyed the North Chu Wolf Corps, a great triumph for Dingyuan Commandery!"

"Flying dispatch of the triumph! The Strategos Army shattered the North Chu Wolf Corps, slain three thousand, beheaded the Wolf Corps commander Fu Hun, a great victory!"

The scouting cavalry passed by, and many commoners couldn't help but chatter excitedly, their expressions not lacking in shared pride.

"Husband, that General An actually has such capability?!"

Qi Yuhua's jade-like visage also showed some surprise; as Zhang Jian's hair-wife, she often interacted with noble ladies of the capital's elite, and her information was equally well-informed.

The North Chu Wolf Corps is renowned—it is a battle-hardened elite force, the pinnacle of North Chu's elite, yet it was shattered head-on by the Strategos Army, and even its commander Fu Hun was slain.

That Wolf Corps commander Fu Hun is a veteran general of North Chu, even bearing the beautiful reputation of "Wolf King."

Zhang Jian nodded.

An Ruoming's Greedy Wolf Star Destiny is currently in its eruptive phase; this expedition, the destiny star shines upon him, destined to rise—this state is truly advantageous in all endeavors, and Fu Hun's fall at his hands is no surprise at all.

Not only does An Ruoming, who bears the Greedy Wolf Star Destiny, but on the other side, Song Yingzhen's Broken Army Star Destiny is also rapidly expanding under the reduction of the Great Qian Dragon Qi!

Last year's autumn examination, he smoothly passed the provincial exam and became a recommended scholar; now, entering the military as a recommended scholar, he is as at ease as a fish in water.

Zhang Jian gazed left and right; many commoners recognized him, yet they stepped forward to bow, and Zhang Jian likewise returned the bow with a smile!

After the drought of two years ago was relieved, Great Qian does not resemble the signs of a dynasty's end; instead, it is thriving, like the rising sun in the east.

But Zhang Jian knows, this is merely appearance.

The dragon veins leak dragon qi; these hidden dragons lie in concealment.

Should they appear unexpectedly, Great Qian fears it may instantly fracture and disintegrate.

……

These past two years, Zhang Jian, in the court, has steadily risen—from a Fourth Rank Left Spring Bureau Academician, promoted again to First Rank, becoming the Fourth Rank Right Minister of the Directorate of Education.

The title of Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture remains unchanged.

The promotion in rank is due to Zhang Jian's improvement of Great Qian's various crop seeds, optimizing these agricultural products, which greatly pleased the Emperor Jingwu, who promoted him to Fourth Rank Right Minister of the Directorate of Education; in reality, it is because he participated in the salvation of the ancient battlefields of West Sichuan's Nine Passes, where countless battlefield souls were transformed.

Zhang Jian does not particularly care about these.

These two years, he has devoted all his energy to lecturing, while simultaneously collaborating with part of the court's clear-stream faction to establish academies, vigorously promoting education and transmitting the "Zhang Learning" philosophy.

Actually, within the court and society, pure "Zhang Learning" does not have strong appeal; among the many schools of Great Qian's literary world, the response is merely ordinary.

But unexpectedly, among the audience of the Divine Grotto Observatory, which consists largely of cultivators, the response has been tremendous.

Many cultivators deeply agree with this philosophy.

The idea of investigating things to extend knowledge is to trace the origin of the development of all things; the cultivation world is now in an era where this idea is undergoing drastic transformation; tracing the origin of all things' development, investigating things to extend knowledge, unknowingly aligns with this prevailing trend.

For this, Zhang Jian has already received multiple invitations from the Divine Grotto Observatory to go there and lecture to its many disciples.

……

At this moment, inside the Jingtai Hall, Emperor Jingwu is summoning the leader of the Black-Clothed Guard, Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu is currently reporting the findings of the Black-Clothed Guard's surveillance during this period.

It is nothing more than the movements of many civil and military officials inside and outside the court.

The Black-Clad Guard itself also has the duty of monitoring all officials.

However, these past two years, the Black-Clad Guard's attention has been entirely focused on the various vassal princes, as the Emperor demanded.

The Great Qian imperial clan is numerous; since the founding emperor of Great Qian, adult princes have mostly been enfeoffed as commandery princes, and even as princely lords, then sent to their fiefdoms to oversee their vassal territories.

"How are the Zheng Prince and the Han Prince?"

At this moment, Emperor Jingwu is still most concerned with these two princes: Han Prince Wei Yao and Zheng Prince Wei Chi.

These two once missed the throne by a hair's breadth, and likely harbor no lack of resentment in their hearts.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu said: "The two princes' conduct…… Han Prince Your Highness has, during this period, maintained a regular routine each day, going to the Han Prince's office in the morning and returning to the Han Prince's mansion in the evening, diligent in state affairs, extremely self-disciplined!

As for the Zheng Prince, during this period he has spent most of his time drinking and making merry, entertaining guests lavishly, indulging himself in wine and women, in the bedchamber……"

Emperor Jingwu, upon hearing this, furrowed his brows and waved his hand, signaling Zhao Hu to retreat.

At this moment, Emperor Jingwu sat before the imperial desk, his gaze sweeping over the long imperial clan list before him, his expression gloomy.

"Who exactly is the Reverse Dragon?"

Before departing, Chao Mu had mentioned to him that the Great Qian dragon vein had been backlashed by the Former Shu dragon vein, causing dragon qi to overflow and giving birth to many hidden dragons, but within the dragon vein itself, a Reverse Dragon had also been born.

This Reverse Dragon will become a hidden danger to the Great Qian imperial clan.

However, after two years of observation, he has still been unable to pinpoint the target.

As time passes, that Reverse Dragon is constantly growing, increasing its strength without cease.

Emperor Jingwu constantly feels uneasy sitting or lying down, as if a thorn is in his back.