The Xixia Peak at the outermost edge of Yunshan Mountain has a very gentle slope, and the blue-colored mountain body spreads out on the vast plain in the middle reaches of the Lanjiang River.
Numerous exquisite pavilions and courtyards are built along the mountain, which look like terraced fields from a distance. Those are the other courtyards of the Song family. The "Wendao Manor" occupies the entire peak, looming in the mountain mist most of the time.
The four generations of the Song family belonged to the same family, and Mrs. An Guogong, who was about to celebrate her centenary birthday, was still in power. I heard that not everyone is qualified to enter the manor, let alone live in it, so the surrounding land has become a sought-after geomantic treasure, and after decades, such a spectacle has been formed. Among them, the one with the best scenery and the best terrain naturally belonged to each branch of the direct line.
Walking all the way up the mountain, Qianye had a deep understanding of what it meant to be a high-rise building, a home of bells and lanterns, and even the occasional maids who hurried past were dressed in brocade and sash.
Retro-style buildings are everywhere, and the perpetual tower and steam pipeline are either painstakingly covered with specially designed scenery, or spent a lot of time buried deep underground at the beginning of construction, so as not to damage the landscape.
While Qianye was feeling emotional, he vaguely understood why the ancestor of the Song Clan would amend the rules of the successor exam thirty years ago.
Compared with the cities of the Zhao Clan he had seen before, the Song Clan pursued flashy details of life and consumed a lot of resources in unnecessary places. Perhaps it was too extravagant for the upper echelon of the empire.
They finally reached above the middle of the mountain. This height is quite prestigious in the Song Clan. There are seven or eight courtyards in a row among the trees, with little difference in size and style, obviously built at the same time.
However, from the repairs and maintenance of each courtyard and the entry and exit of servants, it can still be seen that the "Cloud Deep Hall" that Song Zining entered was quite lonely and quiet.
It was only after Qianye walked in that he discovered why this loneliness came from. It turned out that most of the courtyard was closed, and only a small courtyard on the east side was cleaned up as their place to stay for the past few days.
This "Yunshen Hall" is still under the name of Song Zining's father, but Song Zining quit the power center of the Song Dynasty because of his frailty when he was a child. He has been resting in "Wendao Manor" all year round. Never live here.
As for Song Zining himself, there was another courtyard with a garden by the river below the mountain, where his concubines and most of his followers were placed. However, in order to be able to prepare for the big exam in peace, Song Zining, Qianye, and another guest warrior will live here for the next few days.
The side yard is not big, and it is decorated in a quiet and ancient style.
The courtyard is covered with bluestone slabs, leaving only mud at the four corners. Several clumps of green bamboos are planted, two plantains are planted, a strange stone is placed, and an ancient octagonal well is added, which looks like it is out of the world.
Even if Qianye didn't like this style, he couldn't help but praise, "It's a good place."
Song Zining took a large stack of documents from the guard who stayed behind, and greeted Qianye into the main hall, saying, "The layout in the courtyard is actually a force circle, which can double the force of nature at dawn every day. You can do it tomorrow." You can try it and see the effect."
Qianye was taken aback, feeling very speechless. I don't know how to praise the designer for not only focusing on art but not forgetting practicality? It's still worth sighing that they even have to create some artistic conception for a power-gathering circle.
Song Zining flipped through the documents in his hands as he walked, and took out a few pages and stuffed them to Qianye, which were the materials for the heir examination.
He said: "Your guest status has been registered, and I will arrange someone to take you to pick up equipment in a while. It is getting late now, and I will go to the library and practice room tomorrow. Wait for me to have dinner together in the evening."
After finishing speaking, Song Zining turned around and gave the guards a few more instructions, including the placement of the wounded before, before leaving in a hurry. Next, there are a lot of things waiting for him to do, not only to rush to "Wendao Manor" to greet a bunch of elders from Mrs. An Guogong to his father, but also to report to several elders and report on the recently assigned transaction result.
Qianye sat down in the quiet hall, flipped through the information Song Zining gave him, and shook his head.
Even he, an outsider, can see that Mrs. An's reform of the heir assessment has actually failed. Song Zining's experience is proof.
Due to the lack of direct descendants of the Song Clan, the ranking method has always been different from the other three Clans, regardless of hall number or room head, but a descendant system of one generation and one sequence of teeth. Song Zining is a great-grandson, ranking seventh, which shows that the number of direct descendants is small. The Song Clan has a tradition of suppressing offshoots by direct lineage, and has firmly grasped the clan power for hundreds of years.
With such a shortage of direct descendants, a son with Song Zining's qualifications would be designated as the marriage partner of the gentry because of his lack of cultivation potential. You must know that the age for enlightenment of the original force of the family is from six to eight years old, so there is plenty of time to correct the test results.
But Song Zining chose to enter the Huangquan training camp when he was eight years old, which shows his situation at that time. A large part of the reason for this situation was that his father was not in the center of power, so even the blood of the direct line that should be valued lost its protective effect.
If a family has narrowed its cultivation of children to such an extent, the direct lineage of those who are not in power cannot obtain resources, and it will inevitably slowly become a pool of stagnant water.
However, the Song Dynasty, with the characteristics of the Shang family, did not have the need to defend the fief and expand the territory, so they did not feel the threat of death and war, which largely covered up the consequences of this narrowness. So much so that today, it cannot be reversed by changing a system, because the system has lost the soil for implementation.
This clan with the most wealth has the weakest force. I don't know if those in power have seen the shadow behind the flowers and brocade.
After Qianye rested for a while after reading the materials, a personal guard came to report and drove him to the arsenal of the Song Clan's outer gate. He learned from the guards that Song Zining's other guest warrior would arrive tomorrow night, so he would be the only one going to the library tomorrow.
The Song Clan has invested a lot of resources in the heir exam this time, especially the benefits for guest warriors are extremely generous, mainly in the opening of military equipment and libraries.
After the guest warrior registers, he can borrow a set of equipment from the arsenal of the outer gate. As long as he wins three or more games in the group arena, he can buy it at half price. If you win five games, it is completely free.
This is equivalent to paying for life. Although it is said that it is a life-and-death arena, it is impossible to fight without hesitation when encountering the children of the Song clan, but when two guest warriors meet together, if each party has old grievances, it is very likely Separate life and death.
Not to mention the family library, which is rarely open to outsiders. Although there are restrictions on open bookshelves, it is still an extremely rare opportunity to read on the spot. If you are lucky enough to see a book that is just suitable for you, it is equivalent to serving the family for ten years.
Only after Qianye arrived did he realize that the so-called outer sect arsenal was almost the size of a small town. He followed Song Zining's personal guards across the threshold, and saw an old man falling asleep in a small space separated by two desks beside the door.
The personal guards found An Renyi's name in the registration book, and then reverently woke up the old man, saying, "Old Lu, this is the guest warrior of Seventh Young Master, now come to choose the equipment for the big exam."
The old man slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Qianye.
When he opened his eyes, Qianye only felt that there was a flash of lightning in the room, and he couldn't see anything for a while. And the bright feeling still exists in the consciousness, as if the whole body is also left in the electric light, every detail is clearly visible!
Qianye was horrified, and instinctively ran the Song Clan's Ancient Scroll, and the pure Dawn Origin Force emanated from the nodes. At this time, he didn't even dare to activate the latent ability of the blood, all the blood energy was contracted, and the dark gold blood energy rushed back to the heart for the first time, sinking into the depths together with the ability rune.
The old man's gaze swept Qianye back and forth several times, "It's Qi Shao's man, he looks good, let's go in! Remember to tell him the rules." The old man said, and slowly closed his eyes again.
The personal guard hurriedly said, "Don't worry."
After finishing speaking, the two of them were about to step into the alloy gate in front of them.
Elder Lu suddenly said behind them: "Young people tend to be impatient. The arsenal is huge, and there are a lot of things in it. Don't worry, pick slowly. The Song family is so big, there are always good things."
Hearing the words, Qianye turned around, nodded politely, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your guidance."
Elder Lu waved his hand and began to doze off again.
The arsenal of the outer door is open to guest warriors as the area of level 4 weapons and level 5 force guns.
In the environment of the ring battle, the original force gun has limited room to use, but Qianye can't get out the twin flowers, so he randomly chose a medium-range pistol, and then focused on the melee weapon.
Qianye walked and watched all the way, picking up a weapon from time to time to measure its weight, and brandishing it a few times. The weapons he started with were getting heavier and heavier, but whether it was a battle ax or a heavy hammer, he always felt that he was not very comfortable.
The personal guard followed Qianye all the way, with a puzzled expression on his face. Like Qianye, he was at the eighth level, so he had a little understanding of the standard weight of these weapons, but he was very surprised to see how light Qianye was as light as a feather.
He couldn't help but hold the long hammer that Qianye had just put down, and he couldn't help being surprised that it didn't move at all. Looking at Qianye's slender and slightly thin figure, his eyes are full of admiration.
Slowly Qianye had already turned the area half a circle, when suddenly an epee leaning against the wall in the corner fell into his eyes.
It was half as long as an ordinary saber, close to the length of a two-handed giant sword, but the blade was only slightly wider. The body of the sword is dark without any gorgeous decorations. But Qianye's eyes were involuntarily drawn to him.
He walked over, stretched out his hand to hold the hilt of the sword, and wanted to lift it up to have a look, but unexpectedly fell down, and the sword almost fell out of his hand.
Qianye was taken aback, this was several times heavier than all the weapons he had tried before. The second time he didn't take his guard lightly anymore, he grasped his strength, and finally lifted the long sword steadily, put it flat in front of his eyes, and slowly pulled the scabbard away.
The blade is dark and inconspicuous, neither particularly sharp, nor is it the weird design of Wufeng.
There are several original force patterns on the sword spine, which are simple and rough, with a primitive beauty. However, that also means that this force array cannot have any complicated functions, just like everyone with high attainments, it is difficult to tell a story of hype in just a few words.
Qianye looked at it several times but couldn't confirm the material of the sword. If there is something special about it, it might lie in its surprisingly heavy weight.
The more he looked at it, the more he felt that this long sword seemed to be an unfinished work, like a piece of peerless material, but the carver only carved a few knives and put it down casually.
Qianye turned the blade around and saw two words: Dongyue.