Shen Wanyun's face immediately turned bitter. Going out on a training expedition with Qin Mu was absolutely a苦差事 (thankless task).
Last time, when their group followed Qin Mu to the Southern Borderlands for training, they first encountered the Nine Abyss Gate, the Corpse Immortal Sect, and the Hongshan Sect raising the dead to massacre cities, then met the Heavenly Wave City's Heavenly Demon King wreaking havoc, and later fought in the rebellion-suppression battle at Great Xiang City—throughout his entire life, he had never experienced so many deadly ordeals!
After returning to the capital, it took Shen Wanyun a long time to recover. He had previously trained at Qingmen Pass, fighting against barbarian soldiers on the battlefield, but at least that was soldier against soldier and general against general. How could it compare to training with Qin Mu?
Training with Qin Mu meant constant warfare between sects, even summoning demon gods. At Great Xiang City, sect master-level powerhouses were everywhere, with hundreds of Celestial Being and Life-and-Death realm experts!
Just thinking about his training experiences with Qin Mu still gave Shen Wanyun chills.
He had also heard about some of Qin Mu's encounters after this training—being chased by countless experts when returning to the Great Ruins for New Year, causing another uproar at the Great Thunderclap Monastery, and upon his return, actually participating in the Daoist sect and Great Thunderclap Monastery's plot to kill the Emperor, rescuing the Emperor and the State Preceptor, then returning to the capital to kill Crown Prince Ling Yuxia!
If he had to undergo these things himself, he would have died over a hundred times already.
He had made up his mind not to go out with Qin Mu, but unexpectedly, the Crown Prince specifically named him this time—it felt like being sentenced to death and waiting for execution.
He wondered if this Holy Religion Master was born under an unlucky star, bringing disaster wherever he went.
Seeing his grim expression, Qin Mu comforted him: "This trip won't be dangerous. Crown Prince Ling Yuxu was originally from our Imperial Academy, an old acquaintance with good relations. He's heading out to provide disaster relief, but he's bringing Ministry of Works experts. In my opinion, this isn't about suppressing rebellions or anything—it's about inspecting manufacturing facilities in various regions, clearing snow mountains formed by the heavy snow disaster, or building bridges and dams. There's no danger."
Shen Wanyun said mournfully: "I hope so."
Si Yunxiang, however, seemed disappointed: "No danger..."
The three of them followed the steward to their respective rooms in the Divine Power Residence, with the steward arranging them very close together—all three houses were adjacent.
Qin Mu said to Shen Wanyun and Si Yunxiang: "I don't know when we'll return from this trip. You should each find some divine powers to cultivate."
Shen Wanyun's eyes flickered as he suggested: "Yue Qinghong and Que Que are about to break through and become divine power users in a couple of days. Master, since we share both fortune and hardship, and this trip is about enjoying good fortune, why not bring them along?"
Qin Mu laughed: "What you say makes sense. Before the Crown Prince departs, anyone who has mastered divine powers will come along."
Shen Wanyun's spirits lifted immediately, and he hurried off, thinking to himself: "If we're going to die, of course it's better to do it together, lively and整齐!"
Si Yunxiang blinked and extended a slender white hand toward Qin Mu. Qin Mu took out his book token and placed it in her hand. Si Yunxiang cheered and immediately left.
The book token for the Divine Power Residence only granted access to the second floor of the Celestial Records Tower, while Qin Mu's token could access the third floor to browse the scriptures. Every time she went to the tower, she had to borrow Qin Mu's token.
The Imperial Academy had the Heavenly Craft Hall, similar to the Heavenly Demon Sect's Artisan Hall and Heavenly Craft Hall. The Heavenly Craft Hall focused on mechanical manufacturing, spiritual weapon refinement, shipbuilding and bridge construction, and road and vehicle construction—all works of the hall's scholars.
The Imperial Academy was jointly created by the State Preceptor and the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, so its various halls' teaching often mirrored the Heavenly Demon Sect's halls. This was also why the Yan Kingdom was looked down upon by orthodox sects like the Great Thunderclap Monastery and Daoist sects.
Scholars from the Heavenly Craft Hall often went to serve in the court's Ministry of Works after graduation. The scholars Crown Prince Ling Yuxu brought this time were mostly from the Heavenly Palace Academy, while the others were Ministry of Works officials.
Many Ministry of Works officials came from the Heavenly Craft Hall and were considered classmates with Qin Mu.
In the Ministry of Works, the Minister of Works held the highest position, followed by the Vice Minister.
The court's Vice Minister of Works was the Heavenly Demon Sect's Heavenly Craft Hall Master Shan Youxin.
The Ministry of Works was divided into four bureaus: the Works Bureau managed urban civil engineering, the Land Reclamation Bureau managed land measurement and distribution, the Provisions Bureau managed vegetables, fruits, and grain, and the Water Bureau managed water conservancy projects.
More than half of the directors and assistant directors in these four bureaus were Heavenly Demon Sect hall masters and incense masters, while many other officials were also disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect. The remaining minority were scholars from the Imperial Academy.
The Heavenly Demon Sect and Imperial Academy occupied almost all positions in the Ministry of Works.
Applying knowledge to practice, the Heavenly Demon Sect's Heavenly Craft, Artisan, Vegetable, Rain, and Agricultural halls were all needed talents for the Ministry of Works and could all enter the court's Ministry of Works.
Therefore, when Qin Mu saw the officials Ling Yuxu had brought, he couldn't help but look peculiar—more than half were people from his Heavenly Demon Sect.
Shen Wanyun, Yue Qinghong, Que Que, Wei Yong, and Si Yunxiang also arrived. Shen Wanyun had been beaten black and blue by them but looked quite proud.
Si Yunxiang, seeing the Ministry of Works officials Ling Yuxu had brought, couldn't hide her surprise and quietly asked Qin Mu: "Master, is the Crown Prince also one of us?"
Qin Mu was somewhat tempted and said to Ling Yuxu: "Your Highness, have you heard of the Heavenly Saint Sect?"
Ling Yuxu quickly changed the subject: "Everyone's here. Let's set off as soon as possible. Father Emperor's order this time is to inspect the geography of all provinces and commanderies across the nation, check water conservancy and city defenses after the natural disaster, measure land in various regions, and examine grain, provisions, and vegetables. At each location, I will question the local officials while you inspect the local hydrology, city defenses, land, and provisions, cross-referencing both sides."
The officials all acknowledged.
Ling Yuxu continued: "Whichever province or commandery we visit, if water conservancy or city defenses need adjustment, or if officials and powerful families are annexing land, or if provisions are insufficient, we must report truthfully."
The Minister of Works hurriedly said: "Your Highness, the nation is so vast with so many provinces and commanderies—it will likely take two or three years for a complete inspection!"
Ling Yuxu laughed: "That's why I've secured a fast ship, which should arrive soon. It's the fastest ship in our nation, called Cloud Chaser. They say it was built with divine craftsmanship. Later, when you board, you'll see its pill furnace—quite marvelous. And it's an iron-hulled ship!"
Many Ministry of Works officials looked peculiar and coughed repeatedly, while some looked at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu also looked peculiar—the Crown Prince seemed to be talking about Fan Yunxiao's Cloud Chaser pirate ship.当初 Qin Mu had refined five such treasure ships: three large ones belonging to the Heavenly Demon Sect, and two smaller ones—one belonging to Qin Mu and the other given to Fan Yunxiao.
During the ship's refinement, many of the present Ministry of Works officials had been there!
"Perhaps the next dynasty's emperor will be one of my Heavenly Saint Sect's Heavenly Kings or Protectors."
Qin Mu mused: "Crown Prince Yuxu has too much fate with my Heavenly Saint Sect."
The Heavenly Craft Hall Master quietly said to Qin Mu: "Master, a few days ago Incense Master Fan approached me, saying he wanted to exchange for a larger ship. I was puzzled, but it seems Incense Master Fan was doing business with the Crown Prince."
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After Ling Yuxu and the others waited a moment, a wooden-patterned tower ship slowly flew in from midair, gradually descending to land before the Imperial Academy's mountain gate.
Fan Yunxiao and a group of bandits, dressed impeccably, stood at the ship's bow and bowed in greeting: "Greetings, Crown Prince. Greetings, Holy Religion Master."
Ling Yuxu quickly turned to Qin Mu: "Holy Religion Master Qin, is this ship your Heavenly Saint Sect's property? The price is outrageously expensive—how black-hearted!"
Qin Mu comforted him: "Your Highness may not know—they used to be bandits, so their hearts are a bit black."
Ling Yuxu was stunned.
Everyone began boarding the ship when suddenly another Imperial Academy scholar ran up, boarding the ship and saying: "I'm late." It was a very handsome young gentleman.
Ling Yuxu hurried forward and whispered: "Sister, why are you here?"
The handsome gentleman was actually Ling Yuxu in men's clothing, laughing: "You won't let me come, but I asked Father Emperor, and he permitted me. Herding boy!"
She left Ling Yuxu standing there and ran to Qin Mu's side, her eyes curving into crescents: "Do you recognize me?"
Qin Mu hesitated: "Fatty... Sister Yuxu!"
Ling Yuxu's anger turned to delight. She punched him in the chest, laughing: "If you dare say that, I'll knock you off the ship."
Seeing his sister punch Qin Mu's chest—looking heavy but actually light—Ling Yuxu couldn't help but grunt. His little sister seemed to listen to him less and less.
Si Yunxiang came to Qin Mu's side, looked at Ling Yuxu, smiled without speaking, and lowered her head to tease the dragon麒麟.
Ling Yuxu looked at her retreating figure, eyes flickering, and laughed softly: "Herding boy, I'm going to change clothes."
Ling Yuxu hurried over: "Sister, men's clothing is fine, men's clothing is great—you look especially good in it!"
"Really?"
Ling Yuxu nodded firmly.
The tower ship rose into the air and headed toward Jiazhou, three hundred li away. Jiazhou was located downriver, and two thousand li further east was the Eastern Sea. The Ministry of Works had once built a bridge spanning the Tu River there, crossing twenty li of river surface.
The hundred or more people on the ship looked down and saw that the bridge's center was broken, missing about a li of bridge surface and piers. It was likely that during the snow disaster, when the weather was extremely cold and the river surface frozen, ice mountains formed on the river and slid downstream from the upper reaches, smashing the bridge.
Now the river waters rushed violently, making bridge repair extremely difficult.
The treasure ship descended upon Jiazhou City, and the city's governor quickly came to greet them. Ling Yuxu instructed: "Governor, mobilize the divine power users and hand them over to the Vice Minister of Works to repair the great bridge."
The Jiazhou governor immediately mobilized the divine power users in Jiazhou City. Several hundred divine power users followed the Heavenly Craft Hall Master to the river surface, with Qin Mu and the others also coming along. They were wondering how to repair the bridge with such turbulent currents when they saw the Heavenly Craft Hall Master and the group of divine power users shout together. Their magic power surged, and the great Tu River waters immediately flew upward, arcing through the air and traveling five or six li before falling back into the river.
Within a five-to-six-li range, the river was empty—even the riverbed had no water stains, as the hundreds of divine power users had drained all water from the mud as well.
"Everyone, melt stone to connect the bridge!"
At the Heavenly Craft Hall Master's command, many divine power users with Vermilion Bird spiritual constitutions stepped forward. Large furnaces were set up on the riverbed, and stone materials were placed inside. The divine power users each施展 their powers as fire birds circled the furnaces, melting the stones into molten rock. Another group of Ministry of Works officials stepped forward, using magic power to control the molten rock's shape, pouring it into stone pillars.
After a moment, stone pillars rose from the riverbed one after another. Many Ministry of Works officials flew over from a nearby great mountain, transporting precisely cut stone materials. Stone slabs were laid down methodically.
One hour later, the great bridge was complete.
Qin Mu's heart trembled with admiration: "This is truly a divine miracle—divine craftsmanship!"