Volume 3: Star Tower Chapter 52: The Enfeoffment Order
Although there are many interesting aspects of time travel and this world did not disappoint Tang Zheng, but the lack of a scroll to return to the city was a really terrible experience.
Tang Zheng looked at the stars in the sky with a wry smile. He could only ensure that he was walking in one direction, but he could not guarantee that this direction was the direction back to the dormitory.
It took him about half an hour to walk through the woods.
In front of the woods, there is an open space of about two thousand square meters. Looking up, after passing the open space, there is another woods.
"How could there be such a large open space in the forest?" Tang Zheng didn't think it was formed naturally at first glance.
He moved a little closer to the edge and saw astonishingly complex patterns on the ground.
And that's just the edge.
The deeper you go into the center, the more array patterns you can see. By the time Tang Zheng reached the center, the array patterns on the ground had actually formed an effect similar to "naked eye 3D", sometimes rising into the air and sometimes being bottomless.
However, those who stepped onto this array would only find that it was actually a flat surface. The three-dimensional effect was different from the three-dimensional effect in the dark engravings such as the Rain Flower Seal. It just looked three-dimensional...
"What is this?" Tang Zheng was standing in the center of the purple-gold array, but he didn't feel any fluctuations in star power. "Well, this is not a martial arts training ground."
Of course, there is no need to set up a martial arts training ground in such a remote place.
The only place he had seen such a large-scale formation was in the martial arts training ground of Tangjiabao. However, Luo Fei had now designed a brand new formation for the entire Tangjiabao. Tang Zheng was looking forward to seeing what he would see when he returned to Tangjiabao.
The Qinling Academy is very quiet during the day, and even quieter at night.
Tang Zheng slowly walked to the center of the formation and saw a strange shape reflected in the sky.
Like... a map?
"It can't be a treasure map, right?" Tang Zheng complained with a smile.
If you are in the game, you can often find a cliff by following the rhythm of getting lost, jump in and take a look, oh, there is a cheat book.
He had just started laughing when he heard a voice behind him: "Unfortunately, it's not."
"Oh... that's a pity." Tang Zheng didn't panic when he heard the voice. Instead, he continued to smile and said, "Then where is this place?"
He didn't look back.
But the voice behind him was silent for a moment, as if it was a little puzzled by the still calm chuckle in Tang Zheng's voice.
It’s so late at night, and judging from the way Tang Zheng appeared here, he must have lost his way.
However, this attitude of "If I'm lost, I'm lost. It seems like it could be fun", and the fact that he was not surprised to hear someone answer him, is really a bit curious.
"Are you a student who comes to participate in the martial arts competition of the academy?" The quiet footsteps behind him seemed to be one with the academy. However, because of these footsteps, the silence of the academy seemed to have an inexplicable feeling.
Only then did Tang Zheng turn around.
What he saw was a young man of about his age, wearing a light purple python robe with black embossed patterns and silver threads. There was a smile in his eyes that could only be described as "appropriate". He was obviously smiling, but it was almost indistinguishable from not smiling.
The young man's clothes were not very luxurious, but standing in this thousand-square-meter purple-gold array, he seemed to be integrated into the whole... However, it was a bit too integrated.
It is so perfect that it seems as if he does not exist.
"My name is Tang Zheng, from Yisu Academy." Tang Zheng looked at the stranger and behaved as he pleased for the time being. "Is this not some forbidden area of Qinling Academy? Maybe I am being presumptuous?"
“No.” The young man shook his head. “There is no forbidden area in Qinling Academy. We can go anywhere. This… is the enfeoffment order of the Tianqin family.”
Here is the enfeoffment order.
This sentence structure actually sounds problematic.
It is either "This is the enfeoffment order" or "This is where the enfeoffment order is." What does "This is the enfeoffment order" mean?
Tang Zheng subconsciously lowered his head and looked at the intricate array patterns on the open space, then raised his head and looked at the reflection of the sky.
Is this a secession order?
Oh oh oh…
Here is... the order of division!
Anyone in Xingyao Continent is familiar with the Enfeoffment Order, because it is one of the eighty-one guiding stars that ensures that there are almost no territorial wars among so many noble families, sects and forces in Xingyao Continent!
The territory outlined by the feudal order is the territory that a noble family can rule, and not even an inch more is allowed!
As a result, all the forces within the territory were concentrated on dealing with foreign enemies.
Of course, what the specific enfeoffment order is like, what is the basis for demarcating the territories of the major families, and how to make those families who have obtained the enfeoffment order and other powerful people abide by the rules of the enfeoffment order, only a group of people standing at the highest point of the pyramid in this world know.
"Heh, the enfeoffment order... is it so big?" Tang Zheng had always thought that the enfeoffment order was just a token, and sometimes even thought jokingly about what would happen if he asked Ban Yilou to forge one.
But now looking at this "token" that is several thousand square meters in size, he is really not sure who can forge it.
The young man nodded.
In the entire forest, the only sound was the falling of leaves. The young man was in such a vast world, and it seemed as if nothing could stay in his heart. He had an indescribable feeling of emptiness.
"Brother, you know this place so well... Are you from Qinling Academy?" Tang Zheng said with a smile, "Maybe you will be my future opponent?"
The young man shook his head and said, "No, I'm from the White Deer Academy of the Xue family in northern Shanxi. As for my opponent... probably, who knows now?"
His voice seemed distant and gloomy. It was unclear whether this was self-deprecation or a hint that Tang Zheng had no chance of fighting him. But it seemed neither.
Tang Zheng didn't ask any further questions, just nodded.
"Oh." The young man seemed to remember something and asked, "Are you lost?"
"Unfortunately...it's true!" Tang Zheng spread out his hands and smiled without any embarrassment.
“First, walk half a mile in the direction where the Taiyin star power is the strongest, then walk two miles in the direction where the Ziwei star power is the strongest, and then find the direction where the Tianji star power is the strongest and walk straight ahead, and you can go back.” The young man said, pointing in a direction.
"Your way of giving directions... is quite special." Tang Zheng laughed.
"Not only warriors, but also every plant and tree in Xingyao Continent will react to star power. In the direction where the Taiyin pulse is the strongest, the plants will become more and more lush, and there will be more broad-leaved plants. You can determine the direction with a little comparison. As for the direction where the Ziwei pulse is the strongest..."
"Okay, thanks. I understand." Tang Zheng didn't need to use natural judgment. After he came out of the Su Shi Xing Tower, he could roughly determine which direction and which star power was stronger even without the star needle. However, this was the first time he met the same person.
The Bailu Academy of the Xue family in northern Shanxi?
Tang Zheng had never heard of it.
A second- or third-rate family, a second- or third-rate academy, should be similar to the Yisu Academy. I just didn't expect that in such an unknown academy, there would be such a person who would be remembered at first sight.
"Thank you. I haven't asked for your name yet, brother?" Tang Zheng asked with a smile before leaving.
"I'm Fang Junji." The young man raised his hand towards him.
Tang Zheng nodded, and did not ask Fang Junji what it meant to come here in the middle of the night to peek at other people's enfeoffment orders. He smiled and turned away.
Fang Junji looked at his back for a long time.
After Tang Zheng's figure had completely disappeared, Fang Junji whispered to himself: "Getting lost and getting to the dragon vein of the Tianqin family... Even if the main star of Ziwei is in the zodiac, it should be impossible, right?"
…
After Tang Zheng determined the direction, he directly used his footwork and martial arts to go back.
However, when he returned to the dormitory after all the trouble, it was almost dawn.
Fortunately, the Qinling Academy was quiet enough during the day. He slept until noon and then got up, starting to study the secret carving skills and his own secret martial arts at the same time.
For more than ten days, I lived this relatively peaceful life.
Students from different academies competed with each other, communicated with each other, and even had some budding romances. Of course, there were also some minor conflicts...
Some academies are relatively close to the Qinling Academy, and can be reached in three or four days, while some academies are far away, and it takes at least twenty days to get there. After arriving, one has to rest, adjust, adapt to the climate, view the venues, etc.
Just one month passed in the Qinling Academy .
Tang Zheng sometimes really felt that their practice of setting off on the same day regardless of the distance was a bit stupid. For example, the academy of their Changyuan Leng family was relatively close and could be reached in a few days, so they could completely postpone the time of departure.
"If you can come to Qinling Academy earlier to prepare, why do you want to postpone the departure time?" Instructor Zou was puzzled when he heard his argument.
"What preparations need to be made?" Tang Zheng looked at the weather. Since the Tianqin Family and the Changyuan Leng Family are directly adjacent to each other, there is not much difference in climate. The formal martial arts arena will not be open for the time being, so he really doesn't know what preparations to make.
"Anyway, come early if you can. Otherwise, what if something happens on the way and you're late?" Instructor Zou couldn't explain why. "It's like this every year. At least you can pick a good room first."
"Oh, that's true..." The place where Tang Zheng and his family lived was indeed quite nice.
Tang Zheng didn't understand at first, but then he thought, this is the same mentality as the candidates who arrived at the examination venue at six or seven o'clock during the college entrance examination.
Now, nearly two hundred academies from forty noble families have all arrived.
This year's academy martial arts competition will officially kick off!
"Get ready well. Tomorrow, it's up to you." Instructor Zou patted their shoulders, his smile obviously showing some nervousness.
But, the tragic thing was that it seemed like no one was nervous with him. Some snapped their fingers, some hummed, some just nodded, and then everyone went their separate ways.
After everyone had left, Instructor Zou stood there alone and waved his hand dryly: "Well... they really have everything planned out."
