Chapter 362: 335 Moyun City

The carriage traveled on the Jianmu for a day and a night.

By noon on the second day, at a certain moment, Tang Zhao suddenly felt his whole body grow heavy, and he seemed to hear the rushing sound of tides in his ears; the sound seemed to come from outside, and yet also from within his own body.

The sunlight that had been constantly entwined around him suddenly flashed, and the sword hanging at his waist unsheathed itself, revealing the three-foot-long sharp blade that had not been seen for many days.

Then, he calmed down from the inside out.

That was the front line—the Suiyu had arrived.

Except for him, everyone else was very calm, as if they had been prepared for a long time, and the carriage was worthy of being reinforced by arrays, showing no abnormalities at all, not even much bumping.

Traveling on the Jianmu, the surroundings were always lush vegetation, and one could not see any changes in the scenery; the only sensation was that the types of vegetation had changed.

Originally, the growth underground was a northern forest dominated by pines and cypresses, but the further up one went, the colder it became, gradually turning into arrow bamboo and spruce forests, with clusters of arrow bamboo gray-yellow like withered grass, rustling in the wind.

Further up, there were not even trees, only meadows.

Tang Zhao had seen this kind of vertical distribution of plants on Jiugao Mountain, so it was not strange, but after passing a certain node, the plants suddenly changed, becoming denser and denser, with larger and larger leaves, and even southern plants like banana trees and banyan trees appeared. It suddenly turned into a tropical rainforest.

Not only the plants, but the air also suddenly became hot, and the heat instantly filled his nasal cavity, with a scorching sensation extending from his throat to his internal organs, as if he would spit fire with every breath.

"Is the front line this hot?" Although Tang Zhao, as a Sword Guest, would not sweat, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable. He was born in Yunzhou and was accustomed to cool weather; even on the hottest days, he had never felt such a temperature.

"It is just that this piece of Suiyu we are in is too hot," Li Yijian explained briefly. "Suiyu is just like this; the climate, environment, and water flow are all completely different, as if small worlds were pieced together. For example, this mountain range clearly has very gentle terrain, but it suddenly cuts off at a certain place, falling vertically, and behind it is a flat plain. Some places are unbearably hot, but walk two steps and it suddenly snows, then walk two more steps and it is muddy and difficult to traverse. Therefore, never act based on experience."

Tang Zhao was thoughtful and said, "No wonder it is called Suiyu."

In fact, such knowledge had been mentioned in books, but reading it was like reading a story, and it was hard to take to heart; only by experiencing it personally could one truly feel it.

"I heard that Suiyu was originally a large domain, with mountains and water, the alternation of sun and moon, just like the real world. It was only after it shattered and was chaotically mixed and spliced together by various forces that it became like this."

Tang Zhao stated the inference he had seen in books.

Li Yijian said, "Perhaps. After all, this is the lifeblood of some great sage, intended to block the collision of two worlds; it is impossible that it was created to be a shattered domain from the beginning, right?"

The Fire Seed Carriage rumbled forward, and when it reached a certain place, it suddenly shook and traveled downward.

The environment along this path changed again; the further it traveled, the worse the vegetation became. The originally lush forest gradually thinned out, and finally, even wild grass became rare. Only the exposed surface was deep red, like congealed, dried bloodstains.

This was already a desert like the Flaming Mountain.

It was not a sand desert, but a stone desert, without even sand or soil.

After traveling for another half day, when everyone was tired of looking at the red rocks, a large city appeared on the horizon.

The city wall was very tall and built entirely of rock; looking closely, there were also mysterious silver streaks of Strange Stone on it.

The shape of the entire city was very strange, just like a large Fire Seed Carriage. On the bottom row of foundation stones, there were round holes, like an anthill.

When Tang Zhao saw it, he thought those round holes were city gates, but his confusion was immediately resolved:

That Fire Seed Carriage turned around, with the pointed end facing outward, and the round end welded directly into one of the round holes, as if it were a component of this city.

"Qianjin City is absolutely closed because it is necessary to ensure the safety within the city."

Although Lan Xiuzhu was not a front-line soldier, she had served on the front line and knew this city very well. Moyun City was the city that directly connected to Yunzhou in the Human World, and the nominal City Lord was the Gaoyuan Marquis. Nine out of ten soldiers serving in the city, Martial Artists panning for gold, and merchants coming and going came from Yunzhou.

Nowadays, Moyun City is a rarely prosperous city in Qianjin City; although the population is only tens of thousands, the armored troops are also tens of thousands, and its strength is considered very formidable in the Suiyu.

The rise and fall of these small cities are closely related to the situation in the Human World. Once upon a time, the nearby Yuling City was also very prosperous, but ever since Lingzhou became a den for bandits, Yuling City went from bad to worse, gradually becoming a nest for various fugitives and rebels, and was finally breached from the inside by the Tianmo, becoming broken walls and ruins.

And because of the Gaoyuan Marquis's rectification, Yunzhou is flourishing, and Moyun City is becoming stronger day by day. In the end, people from the surrounding Lingzhou and Liangzhou also gathered here; if it were not for the difficulty of expanding Qianjin City, another perimeter should have been built long ago.

The Fire Seed Carriage entered the parking space. The door did not open; instead, many soldiers wearing Art Tool rings came from the city, checked the Fire Seed Carriage from top to bottom, and then opened the carriage door located on the inner side of the city wall.

Li Yijian and several Sword Guests including Tang Zhao got off the carriage first. Sword Guests can enter and exit the Suiyu freely, so there is no need for a detailed check. Those students still have to go through a round of checks to confirm that they are physically sound on the front line; if there are problems, they will be treated first, and if it really does not work, they will have to be repatriated.

Li Yijian said, "We are not entering the city; we will only rest in the branch city and then go directly to the examination site."

Tang Zhao felt a little regretful, but he understood—now is not the time to wander around, and there is no point in going to Qianjin City. Will there not be opportunities to come to the front line in the future?

Li Yijian said, "While resting, let us check the results of the written test. Those who are unqualified do not need to go to the examination site. Just arrange for them to serve in the city defense for a few days."

No wonder he brought all the students to the front line; it turns out he did not intend to let anyone go back, and some were even directly conscripted.

However, the students will be happy. Perhaps they will even be envied by other classmates—this kind of professional trial is fresh and interesting for a few days; it only becomes a drudgery when it lasts a long time.

The time for grading the papers was also quite fast. It is likely that while the students were sleeping in the carriage, there was a group of examiners working hard under the carriage.

"Everyone, do not delay; go directly to the branch examination site," Li Yijian said to the other Instructors. "Or do you all want to give the students a few more words of advice?"

Lan Xiuzhu smiled first, "That is not necessary. We have already said what we should say. Unless someone still wants to issue some new orders."

She looked at An, naturally implying his act of letting students attack the Land Inspection Department. An waved his hand and said, "Same here, nothing to say. The kids know what they are doing."

Since they all said so, Tang Zhao naturally had nothing to say. Taking advantage of the students looking at their grades, he got off the carriage and headed separately to the examination sites where he was responsible for invigilation and defense.

The Central Army here also arranged for a few people to follow. To be honest, the work is actually done by the Central Army soldiers; Tang Zhao did not participate in the early stages, so how could he do the work? It was nothing more than holding down the fort and having the intention of supervision.

The leader of the small team following Tang Zhao was a female officer who claimed her surname was Yin. She looked to be about thirty years old and was a Colonel. She appeared to be a Loose Practitioner, and her subordinates had a standard five-person team, which was a "elite team" in the traditional sense. The ordinary members all held the rank of "Shizhang" and were top-notch Knights-Errant.

But this kind of team was not the most powerful; the more powerful "Strong Dragon" teams required Sword Guests to lead, with Loose Practitioners as subordinates.

It is said that there are also teams formed only for major battles, consisting directly of five Sword Guests, executing special missions like "beheading" or "core intelligence."

The group set off with light equipment. Originally, flying on a sword was the fastest, but the Suiyu is dangerous, and the danger in the air is doubled, so even Sword Guests cannot easily fly on swords. They each carried their luggage and walked, with another special carriage carrying the equipment.

Originally, Colonel Yin wanted to invite Tang Zhao to get on the carriage to rest, but Tang Zhao refused—what is wrong with walking a few steps? It was just that he was a newcomer and did not know the situation; otherwise, riding the Six Dragon Carriage would have been quite nice.

Although Colonel Yin had the seriousness of an officer on her face, she was quite talkative. Perhaps seeing that Tang Zhao was young and easy to talk to, she took the initiative to chat. Tang Zhao also wanted to know more about the front line, so he asked her about the situation around Moyun City.

"Moyun City is still quite safe, and there are not many battles. After all, it is still some distance from the front line. When the city was built, it was considered that this area was stable, which is convenient for setting up arrays to ensure the stability of one side. Unless there is a great battle in Qianjin City, the troops in the city will be mobilized; most of the time, it is mainly for defense. Holding the line is the greatest merit."

"The last great battle? It was probably a year ago. There will be a great battle every year or two, and it is mainly a deterrent against the Tianmo Jie. It is not as worrying as the two evil factions, the Evernight Court and the Bu'er Yue. They are the ones who do not want us to be well at every moment. Especially since they hate us to the bone; after all, they are the main altar of the Holy Moon Sect."

"The Six Great Factions are not considered evil factions. It cannot be said that all the Six Great Factions stand with us; it can only be said that everyone fights side by side when the Tianmo come. There are many conflicts in normal times. For example, Caiyun Gui is trying to find that 'Sun-Holding Envoy' and has gone crazy; their style is hard to call righteous."

"Which faction are we? We are Qianjin City. Qianjin City is not one city, but many, many cities. It is the sum of the forces that come from the Human World to fight on the front line. Not only are there hundreds of thousands of troops, but there are also countless righteous people, free Loose Practitioners, and other capable people, such as Talisman Sword Masters. By the way, the Ouye Clan, known as the world's number one Sword Smith family, built a city on one side of Qianjin City; it is the Shengdi for Talisman Sword Masters. If you are interested, you can go and visit."

"There are many other interesting cities. Some large cities have a long history and can be traced back to ancient times. Their foundation is not inferior to the government. Some cities were built by the previous dynasty and are descendants of the previous dynasty who do not recognize the Great Jin. However, they are not pirates, and if they do not come to rebel, we do not care. There are also cities that drifted over from other places with the Suiyu, thousands of miles away; those are the ones with truly different customs."

"There are also cities that claim to be neutral, where even the Tianmo can go and trade with each other. Everyone does not allow it in name, but in fact, they turn a blind eye."

While talking and chatting, after a few hours, the examination site finally arrived.