Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Faced with the Taiping Ling's heartfelt words, Empress Murong said in a low voice, "He has lived a life of glory and heroism, and I don't want him to ruin his reputation in his later years."

Although Empress Murong did not mention a specific name, Taiping Ling knew that he was referring to Xu Xiao, the King of Northern Liang.

"Your Majesty..." The Taiping magistrate wanted to say something, but Empress Murong waved her hand to interrupt him, saying, "Is this matter settled? Has the Taiping magistrate lost confidence because of Xu Xiao?"

Upon hearing this, Taiping Ling sighed, then bowed and left the palace. As he walked out of the palace, he glanced back at it, his eyes immediately hardening with determination. Since the Empress had made up her mind, he would no longer try to take advantage of Beiliang; he was determined to defeat Beiliang honorably.

"Little Xiao, convey my order: immediately send someone to summon Tuoba Bodhisattva to the capital." After Taiping Ling left, Empress Murong stood for a long time before speaking to the old eunuch serving beside her.

Watching Eunuch Xiao's figure disappear into the distance, she murmured to herself, "Decades have passed, we've both grown old. Before you pass away, I wanted to see you one last time..."

Empress Murong spoke year after year, her voice growing softer and softer until it was barely audible, but tears welled up in her eyes.

----

Kuaiji City, Yuezhou.

The military examinations continued in full swing. After learning about the selection process for military scholars, only 500 military students chose to continue taking the exams, while the others had no choice but to give up because they were not skilled in horsemanship.

The promotion strategy remained at 10 to 1. From 500 martial arts students, 50 martial arts scholars were selected. After becoming martial arts scholars, these people could serve as squad leaders, commanding 150 people. If they were assigned to one of the 81 counties in Yuezhou, they could temporarily serve as county lieutenants, commanding the county troops within that county.

"The selection of martial arts candidates will take place in two days. They will be tested on military strategy. Any candidates who wish to take the exam can register now," Shen Qing said with a smile, looking at the 50 martial arts scholars selected below.

So far, the martial arts examination has been going smoothly. Although Qi Jiajie tried to cause trouble, Shen Qing skillfully defused the situation, and everything is proceeding according to the original plan.

"Lord Shen, may I ask a question? If we choose to continue participating in the selection process, and we fail to pass the martial arts examination, can we still choose a military position according to the standards for martial arts scholars?" Li Gang asked loudly, leaning on his cane.

Upon hearing Li Gang's words, Shen Qing glanced at him in surprise. He hadn't expected that Li Gang could pass the riding test. But then he realized that Li Gang was lame and would certainly not be able to keep up with others on a normal walk in the martial world. That's why he had to practice riding skills so that he could get around more easily every day.

Shen Qing and Zhao Kai exchanged a brief glance and nodded, saying, "The Yue Prince's Mansion can agree to this proposal for the exam. It would be best if you could advance further, but even if you fail, you can still receive the current treatment."

With Shen Qing's guarantee, the 50 martial arts scholars had no more worries and all agreed to participate in the martial arts examination the day after tomorrow.

At night, Qi Jiajie sat cross-legged on the bed in the inn, his sword resting neatly on his lap. As a top swordsman, he followed the way of the sword with sincerity in his heart and sincerity in his sword, and he did everything with sincerity and righteousness and meticulousness.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out, and Qi Jiajie's tightly closed eyes snapped open. He reached out and caught a secret letter wrapped with stones. The letter was from Zhao Gou, and it told him how to deal with what was to come.

Inside the prefectural governor's mansion, Shen Qing bid farewell to Zhao Kai and returned to his own courtyard. He then sat in the courtyard chatting with Xuan Yuan Qingfeng and the old sword god.

"Qingfeng, senior, the martial arts competition is about to come to an end. I would like to invite Hawkeye and Doflamingo to attend the ceremony. What do you two think?" Shen Qing said, looking at the two of them.

During the Battle of Iron Gate Pass, he rushed over with Hawkeye and Doflamingo to rescue Zhao Kai, and then rushed to Tai'an City without stopping. He didn't have a chance to properly entertain the two as hosts. Therefore, Shen Qing plans to take advantage of the end of this martial arts competition to invite the two to visit again and strengthen their friendship.

Friendships should be reciprocal; that's what it means to give and take. You can't always ask someone for a favor; otherwise, the friendship won't last.

As soon as Shen Qing finished speaking, a look of surprise immediately appeared in Xuan Yuan Qingfeng's beautiful eyes. Although she had been to the pirate world before, she had only fought with pirates on the sea and had not experienced the customs and culture of the other world at all.

Hearing that Shen Qing planned to go to the One Piece world again, he naturally wanted to go with him and satisfy his curiosity.

"Shen Lang, you must take me with you this time, okay..." Faced with Xuan Yuan Qingfeng's coquettish pleading, Shen Qing felt his bones lighten and agreed without any hesitation.

The old swordsman looked at the two who were clearly disgusted, clicked his tongue, and said, "Youth is truly wonderful." His words made both Xuan Yuan Qingfeng and Shen Qing blush with embarrassment.

He then said seriously, "Young Shen, your idea is good. We should indeed reciprocate. Both the blond kid and Hawkeye are quite good and worth befriending. They will become your help in the future."

At this point, the old sword god scratched his chin and said, "It's just that crossing between the two worlds is really inconvenient. If there were a stable passage, it would be of great help to you."

A single word can be a wake-up call; though the speaker may have meant nothing by it, the listener took it to heart. The old swordsman may have just spoken casually, but Shen Qing felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his heart. He had always relied solely on time travel and had never truly considered whether it was possible to create a spacetime tunnel spanning two worlds. If it were possible to connect the two worlds, the benefits would be immense.

Shen Qing immediately fell into deep thought, various ideas constantly surfacing in his mind, trying to find a way to do what the old sword god had said.

"Shen Lang? Shen Lang, what's wrong?" Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, seeing Shen Qing's unusual expression, hurriedly called out in a low voice.

Shen Qing was immediately interrupted from her thoughts. After regaining her senses, she looked at Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, who was looking at her with concern, and smiled gently, "Silly girl, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something, to see if we could realize the idea of ​​connecting the two worlds that the old senior mentioned."

Although his train of thought was interrupted, with this goal in mind, Shen Qing could continue to conceive of the interdimensional passage. If it could really succeed, the benefits would be enough to make anyone laugh.

Without further ado, the selection of martial arts candidates will begin the day after tomorrow morning. Shen Qing and the old sword god discussed it and decided to go to the One Piece world first thing tomorrow morning. By the time they take into account the time for charging and traveling back, they can return on the morning of the day after tomorrow and make it just in time for the martial arts competition.