Chapter 659: with translation of chapter title

Three days later, the Heavenly Works Institute underground test field.

Yue Fei walked out of the test area and removed his armor.

Zhao Lao Nian remained immersed in the data, waving his hand without looking up:

"Marshal Yue, the data is very useful!"

"I'll show you the improvement plan in three days!"

Yue Fei nodded and left the test field.

Chen Wen waited outside the door.

"How?"

"The resonator's effect is significant."

Yue Fei reported truthfully.

"Under strong interference, it can weaken the transformed beasts' defenses by nearly forty percent."

"Good."

Chen Wen turned around.

"Follow me."

"I'll take you to see something."

The carriage drove toward the western city wall.

They climbed the seven-story stone tower, the highest in Xijing City.

The wind howled fiercely.

The light curtain shimmered faintly on the horizon, like a translucent wall connecting heaven and earth.

"One hundred twenty li."

Chen Wen said.

"This is the closest major city of the Chen Dynasty to the light curtain."

Yue Fei gazed into the distance.

Ripples on the light curtain's surface flowed slowly, silent and profound.

"My lord brought me here not just to see the scenery, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Wen pointed at the light curtain.

"You have fought there for many years."

"Now standing here and looking, what do you feel?"

Yue Fei fell silent for a moment.

"It's like being separated by an invisible wall."

"The wall beyond is on fire, and we watch from this side."

"We want to save them, but we can't get through."

"What if I tell you—"

Chen Wen turned around.

"One day in the future, this wall will undergo a change."

"We will confront the enemies beyond the wall head-on."

"What will you do?"

Yue Fei's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Train the troops."

"Stockpile grain."

"Forge armor."

"When the confrontation comes—"

He paused.

"Let them see what a true Chinese army is."

"How long will it take?"

"As little as three years, as much as ten."

Yue Fei said.

"Although the Chen Dynasty's military is strong, the enemy has the entire False Song world as its base."

"Moreover, the Iron Crow Army's methods are cunning; we must not underestimate them."

"Therefore, we must not only have a strong army, but also establish resolve."

Chen Wen said.

"We must make every Chen Dynasty soldier understand—"

"Beyond the light curtain lies another China on a different road."

"We and they will eventually determine whose path is the orthodox one."

He looked at Yue Fei.

"Are you willing to fight for this?"

Yue Fei did not answer immediately.

He looked toward the light curtain again.

For a long time.

Yue someone has but one purpose in this life.

He spoke slowly.

Expel the foreign barbarians, restore our Chinese realm.

The False Song Imperial Court has betrayed me, but the Chinese realm has not.

The Chen Dynasty, having inherited the legitimate succession of the Chinese realm, protects the land and pacifies the people—

He turned and knelt on one knee.

Yue Fei is willing to fight for this Way.

Chen Wen helped him up.

Remember your words today.

In the future confrontation, the vanguard position will surely have a place for you.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder by the window.

The fierce wind swept up their robes.

Chen Wen suddenly frowned.

He closed his eyes.

The System Interface violently fluctuated in his mind.

The Lv. 6 experience bar had overflowed to the extreme, nearly breaking the limit.

But he forcibly suppressed the urge to break through.

It is not yet the time.

He could feel that the System was 'urging' him to level up.

It seemed as if some urgency was driving all of this.

At the same time—

A strange resonance came from the direction of the light curtain.

It was not a sound.

It was a deeper, rule-level tremor.

It was as if huge gears were slowly turning far away.

My lord?

Yue Fei sensed something amiss.

Chen Wen opened his eyes.

A golden flash flickered in his eyes and vanished.

The light curtain's rules... are being reinforced.

He said in a deep voice.

Reinforced?

Yes.

Chen Wen gazed at the light curtain.

The Iron Crow Army is strengthening control.

And also... adjusting the nature of the barrier.

He paused.

I can feel that the energy flow on both sides of the light curtain is becoming asymmetrical.

The west side is becoming increasingly 'heavy', while the east side is relatively 'light'.

What does this mean?

It means they want to completely lock away that world.

Chen Wen said.

It also means—

He turned his head to look at Yue Fei.

When the two worlds confront each other in the future, they will seize the advantage of the barrier.

If we want to break the situation, we need a means to penetrate the barrier.

Yue Fei gripped the windowsill.

The stone was icy cold.

The Heavenly Craft Institute's resonator—

That is merely the beginning.

Chen Wen said.

What we must do is develop a whole set of technologies to counter nether energy and influence the rules.

This requires time.

Moreover, it requires—

He gazed toward Xijing City.

To fundamentally raise the Chen Dynasty's Fortune Momentum.

The two descended the tower.

During the carriage's return journey, Chen Wen kept his eyes closed, meditating.

He was sensing the subtle connection between the System and the light curtain.

After the Lv. 6 experience overflowed, his perceptual ability greatly increased.

At this moment he could 'see'—

The light curtain is woven from countless fine rule lines.

These lines were originally evenly distributed, balanced on both sides.

But now, the lines on the west side are becoming increasingly dense and complex.

It seems as if someone is weaving a great net on the other side.

While on the east side, the lines are relatively sparse.

This asymmetry will cause the rules to tilt.

"Yue Fei."

Chen Wen suddenly spoke.

"Here."

"After returning to Xijing, you will do three things."

"First, when teaching at the Martial Lecture Hall, you must not only lecture on tactics, but also on 'why we fight'."

"Make the officials of the Chen dynasty understand that we face not only the Northern Yuan, but the entire force distorting history."

"Second, the reform of Bei Jing's defenses—I give you full authority."

"Shi Dun will cooperate with you."

"Third—"

He paused.

"Form a special research team."

"Personnel will be drawn from the Tian Gong Institute, the Jing An Si, and the Martial Lecture Hall."

"Dedicated to studying the light curtain's rules, the properties of yin energy, and the application of Fortune Momentum."

"This team has only one mission: to develop technology capable of influencing, or even penetrating, the barrier."

Yue Fei's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"When will the research team be formed?"

"We can begin preparations right now."

Chen Wen said.

"But remember, this is absolutely secret."

"Besides you, me, Zhao Lao Nian, and Shi Dun, no fifth person may know the full plan."

"Understood."

The carriage entered Huangcheng.

Chen Wen had Yue Fei get off the carriage first.

"Go attend to your business."

"I need to go to the Jing An Si."

"Yes."

After Yue Fei got off, the carriage turned.

The underground chamber of the Jing An Si.

Qian Gui had already been waiting.

"Your Majesty, the latest data from the light curtain observation post."

He handed over a thick stack of charts.

Chen Wen quickly flipped through them.

The charts showed that over the past seven days, the energy density on the west side of the light curtain had risen by fifteen percent.

The east side remained basically unchanged.

The barrier's thickness increased by about three zhang.

The density of the rule lines on the west side was twenty percent higher than on the east side.

"They are 'reinforcing' the barrier."

Qian Gui said.

"The observers speculate that the Iron Crow Army may be preparing some kind of large-scale ritual."

"It requires completely isolating external interference."

"Not only that."

Chen Wen set the charts down.

"They are building a defense system."

"To prevent us from later scouting or influencing."

He walked up to the map.

"Clear the civilians within three hundred li of the west side of the light curtain, deploy troops, encrypt the energy nodes—"

His finger traced that region.

"This is no longer mere rule."

"This is building a wall."

"Then we…"

"We will also build a wall."

Chen Wen said.

"But not a physical wall."

It is the wall of Fortune Momentum.

He turned around.

Issue orders to all prefectures to increase publicity of the 'Northward Aspiration' concept.

Gazettes, storytelling, and school textbooks must all reflect one point:

Beyond the light curtain lies a Huaxia on another road.

The two Huaxias will ultimately decide which is orthodox.

Let every subject of the Chen dynasty understand——

What we bear is not just our own peace.

Qian Gui stood solemnly.

Yes.

Chen Wen walked to the window.

Night had already fallen.

The light curtain flickered faintly in the distance.

He could feel that the system's overflow state had reached critical.

But the opportunity for breakthrough seems closely tied to changes in the light curtain.

The Iron Crow Army was reinforcing the barrier.

The system was urging an upgrade.

There must be a connection between the two.

Qian Gui.

Chen Wen suddenly said.

Present.

Send people to strictly monitor all observation stations of the light curtain.

Any energy fluctuation or rule change, no matter how slight, must be reported to me immediately.

He paused.

I have a premonition——

Soon, something major will happen.

Understood.

Chen Wen left the Jing'an Si.

He walked alone on the palace road.

Moonlight showered down.

The System Interface hovered silently in his mind.

Lv. 6, overflowing.

Only a final push is needed.

He was not in a hurry.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the Iron Crow Army's next move.

Waiting for the two worlds to truly enter the moment of confrontation.

When that time comes——

Only then will an upgrade be meaningful.

He looked toward the west.

The light curtain was silent.

But beneath the silence, undercurrents surged.