They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

Charlotte:?

----

Clock tower.

Su Xiaoqiang, who had just completed the transfer procedures, received the magician apprentice qualification certification from the Faculty of Law and Politics, which manages the student records.

The procedure was handled smoothly. With Emiya's order and the dean's guarantee, and Charlotte's protection, she, who had almost no prominent family background in the "other world", actually received high-end and luxurious treatment like a VIP.

The glow of the expensive classical crystal chandelier placed in the corridor swayed overhead.

After walking around the clock tower, Su Xiaoqiang discovered a variety of departments and corresponding department buildings. In fact, she didn't understand what the research subjects corresponding to different departments were. Anyway, law and politics probably corresponded to the administrative department in a general company.

She walked to the door of a separate room with a thick set of course materials in her arms, reached out and gently turned the smooth and bright brass handle, and the sounds from inside the door gradually became clearer.

"You bastard Emiya, you actually called me an otaku! This is a serious discrimination against my professional identity! Discrimination!"

Su Xiaoqiang opened the oak door, but found that the person sitting inside was not the elegant and petite Western prodigy who was focused on magic experiments as usual, but the irritable Charlotte who was inflated like a pufferfish.

Blonde Charlotte held her cell phone and started typing away after complaining for a while, blatantly forgetting the magic apprentice who had quietly entered the room.

"...I took note of what you said about me being a stay-at-home mom!"

Emiya's reply still seemed insincere to Charlotte, and even had a hint of venom in it: "Sorry, sorry, I'm a person who occasionally accidentally tells the truth."

"Hey, hey, hey! Do you still want my help? I can actually contact the person your friend from Atlas Academy is looking to recruit!"

"Really? Thank you so much! I'll contact Su Enxi after this is done and arrange two more discounted material quotas for you at the Secret Corpse Anatomy Bureau!"

Charlotte's breath nearly choked as she read this, her angry expression instantly deflated. The words of the wealthy Emiya immediately struck the Clock Tower prodigy in the face.

"Wow! Are you serious, Emiya? Don't go back on your word with me?"

Knowing how difficult it was to obtain materials from the Tomb of Nidhogg, and how few of them were leaking out, Charlotte suddenly jumped up from the sofa, leaving Su Xiaoqiang, who was waiting there, puzzled.

What kind of magical gold did this little girl get? How could she change her face so quickly? Is it reliable to give her such a person a magic instructor?

Charlotte still ignored the young magic apprentice Su Xiaoqiang's messy thoughts. She paced back and forth in front of the desk with great interest and energy, her slender fingers pressing the keys of her mobile phone frantically.

"That's a deal, no regrets! I'll immediately assign you dozens of professional, high-quality candidates to fulfill your friend's request!"

Although the recruitment requirements sent by Emiya were written in a very awkward manner, Charlotte, with her sharp eyes and discerning vision, saw through them immediately:

Isn't this just a replica of the Kassel Equipment Department!?

After some calculations in her mind, Charlotte was in a good mood. She put down her phone, looked at Su Xiaoqiang who was still waiting for the explanation of the lesson, and said, "Let's go. No more lessons. Let's go out today!"

"Ah?" Su Xiaoqiang was stunned. Didn't they agree on tutoring beforehand? Why did this girl act so recklessly?

"What?! Don't apply stereotypes to magic practice. Magic practice is not something that can be done overnight. You need to understand the balance between work and rest, and the unity of knowledge and action."

Charlotte's words were sincere, but in fact, she just thought about what Emiya had just said about her being a otaku, and she felt a little angry, so she insisted on dragging Su Xiaoqiang out.

"The study of magic must come from practice and go to practice. Practice determines your understanding of magic, and understanding reacts to practice..."

Su Xiaoqiang thought to himself, "What the hell are you talking about? You just don't feel like teaching today and plan to go out for some fun? Is it really necessary to say it so twistedly? Humph, Westerners have one rhetoric after another, and their style of doing things is not at all straightforward..."

----

Shenzhou, Queen Wa Palace.

This place, where the legendary Nuwa goddess "refined stones to mend the heavens and kneaded earth to create humans," is a renowned tourist attraction on the mainland. Surrounded by mountains, the peak itself resembles a throne from a distance. The palace is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and a river flows beneath them.

However, beneath the mountain buildings, within the mountains that no one can explore, there are vast hidden spaces.

A damp and cold breath filled Wazhu's nose, and her slender snake tail slapped the smooth stone railing impatiently. Scattered voices echoed in the vast underground palace, like three-dimensional images of the I Ching hexagrams projected around the conference table where Wazhu was sitting, as if they were surrounding the table, lowering the guests present in the form of a remote conference.

"Have you decided yet? While establishing and managing a large number of branch campuses across the continent requires considerable investment, the reward is an early access to the initial version of the Thought Platform! If you miss out, you'll miss out. Think it over carefully, and if you want to withdraw, do it now."

Wazhu's tone and attitude were not very gentle, or rather, she needed to create and give people the illusion that she didn't care whether there was one more or one less participant.

"But... this, Master Nuwa..." said a voice at the bottom of the long table, represented by the image of the Qian Gua, "the opportunity to become an immortal lies within this thought disk. Are you serious?"

In their last collaboration, they agreed to act for the Zhou family's leader Wa, using magic information as a guide, and also started to run a school and recruit disciples.

This time, the Nuwa Lord promised them a chance to become immortals, requiring them to contribute their family strength to form a unified magic organization, accept management, and establish a systematic mechanism. In other words, they would unify and accept this so-called thought disk system to achieve collective maintenance and sharing of magic...

This is equivalent to them providing money and manpower, giving up their influence, and allowing the Zhou family to become the leader of the world's aristocratic families.

Perhaps over time, the control of the aristocratic families over the institutions will become increasingly weak, and the situation of regional influence fragmentation will be completely destroyed by Lord Wa's move.

Therefore, it is natural that some people will be unhappy about driving everyone in this way, but more people are in a state of wait-and-see and hesitation, and do not refuse for the time being.

Because the magic information from last time was really useful, so no one can guarantee that this time, Lord Nuwa really has no way to become an immortal.

After all, there are still many hidden things in this world that have not been discovered by the hybrids.

Open your eyes and look at the world. Heroic spirits, the Holy Grail War, godslayers... Monsters and demons are becoming more and more numerous, as if the world changes with every passing day. Therefore, the aristocratic families gradually let go of their arrogance, truly believing that they could no longer remain complacent.

They really want to improve!

"...Haha, the chance of becoming an immortal is certainly real, but the problem is that individual aptitudes vary greatly, and this is also reflected vividly in magic. I can't guarantee that all of you are immortals."

Lord Wa said with a forced smile.

"By the way, if you don't believe me, then just look at my performance."

She held out her hand.

"!" The hexagram projection beside the conference table was flickering clearly, as if it was shocked by the scene in front of it.

It turned out that when one looked up, the ceiling above the underground palace was actually firmly integrated with the mountain wall. Wa Lord stretched out her hand upwards, without any chanting, and the rushing water suddenly formed -

Water vapor surged, rising in the vast underground space and turning into rolling clouds. Flashing lightning shuttled through the clouds, and in an instant turned into heavy rain and thunderstorms!

Whoosh!

Lord Wa put down her hand again, and the rain and thunder disappeared in an instant.

A great magic trick that can only be completed through extremely long chanting or grand ceremony was completed almost in the blink of an eye. It was so magical that it seemed like the magic of an immortal!

“…” Even the aristocratic families who were clearly opposed and dissatisfied fell silent.

According to the magic information originally obtained by the Zhou family in the trade, although the magic performance methods they obtained enriched their own means, they still had considerable limitations.

At least the scene before them was beyond their understanding.

It's just like someone who is still using 1G2G network to browse the phone, and is surprised by the upgraded package of "Tianyi 3G, it's so fast!"

As a result, I suddenly ran into a 5G user.

How the hell do you play this!

"If the Thought Disk really has the opportunity to become an immortal, my Bai family would like to be the first to join!" A steady voice came from the "Kun Gua" not far away.

Wazhu nodded in satisfaction. The situation began to change. With the first one, the second and third would follow. With the mentality of "I can't live without what others have", the negotiations were quickly completed, and everyone gritted their teeth and accepted the "idea package".

She was about to leave when she suddenly received a report from a nearby family member. Hey, Emiya happened to be here for a tour?

Chapter 293 If this continues, the secret party will be destroyed!

Wei Gong and Lao Tang never expected that they would run into people from the Zhou family while traveling.

No, the Zhou family's territory should be in Xiangyang, which is far away. The Wahuang Palace is obviously just a tourist attraction built in the mountains... No, that's not necessarily true. After all, Tang City in Xiangyang is also a local attraction. Isn't it still occupied by members of the Zhou family?

"Is this really also the Zhou family's?"

“Not really.”

When the two were led into the hidden space under the mountain, Lord Wa, who emerged from the underground palace, finally saw the familiar faces she had not seen for a long time, and greeted them with a happy smile.

"This place isn't the Zhou family's main ancestral home. Normally, no one lives there permanently, leaving only a few people to guard the underground. Although it's uninhabited, it can be considered a major ancestral land used for ancestral worship."

Both Wei Gong and Old Tang were close acquaintances of the Zhou family, so Lord Wa had no reservations in explaining.

Of course, this is the family history of the past. In order to develop the thought disk, the current Wahuang Palace has added new uses.

Emiya nodded, his eyes slightly widening as he surveyed the area. So, the Zhou family's ancestor was indeed Nuwa. According to mythology, Nuwa's biological father was the "Lei Ze Dragon God." Given the ancient history of this world, where dragons were the dominant race, Nuwa was essentially the heir of the dragon bloodline.

"Yes, Shirou, thanks to the inspiration you provided, the initial version of the thought disk can now officially enter the trial stage."

Wazhu smiled and held one of Emiya's arms. The fresh and elegant fragrance instantly dispelled the dampness of the underground space, and the smooth and soft skin gently rubbed against the elbow.

As for Old Tang on the other side of the road, after this scene happened, he immediately put his hands behind his back, raised his head and whistled, pretending not to see it.

"Eh? What do you mean, what is my inspiration?" Emiya recalled the time he spent at Zhou's house. It seemed that the research progress of the thought disk was completely stuck at that time.

"That time you suddenly called me from Japan."

What Wa Zhu was actually talking about were the "inner scenes" Taoist secrets from the Zhou family during the Holy Grail War, including ancient Taoist books such as the "Huangting Sutra".

In order to complete the inherent barrier, infinite sword system, Emiya once discussed these things with the Lord of Wa, and he successfully constructed the mental landscape through the inner scene method.

Judging from the tone of Lord Wa's voice, she seemed to have gained something new from that exchange?

"It's about refining Qi into spirit. I've said that before."

"The so-called magic training is merely a means of gathering and refining life energy and concentrating it within the human body. It's a method of refining essence into qi. The next step in cultivation is to achieve the fusion of qi and spirit."

Emiya nodded as he listened to Wa's theory. This was the approach they had discussed earlier.

It seems that in the method that Lord Wa understood, the way of inner visualization is the key to refining qi and transforming it into spirit, and one of the elements of truly becoming an immortal.

And in this world, there's the Nibelungen, which is essentially a re-skinned version of the inherent barrier. If it were in Shenzhou, it would be a completely different story, right? Perhaps it's a blessed land where immortals cultivate?

"Indeed, the human body is a microcosm, while the universe is a macrocosm. Ultimately, the human body and the universe are mutually exclusive. The first step in cultivating the Dao, completing the refining of essence into energy, is to use energy as a channel to connect with the universe. Going one step further, using the mental imagery of the landscape as a channel, we begin to communicate with our will and thoughts..."

"Finally, the Refining Void and Harmonizing the Dao is achieved, where one's body is completely integrated with the heaven and earth. Once one reaches this stage of cultivation, one can be called a true celestial being, becoming one with the Dao of heaven and earth itself."

The fact that Wazhu became the head of the family at such a young age was certainly due to his great talent, so he spoke eloquently and repeated the conclusions he had drawn from the Taoist scriptures and old papers.

"...The Great Dao of Heaven and Earth." After hearing the words of the Lord Wa, Emiya murmured. He recalled the nature of this world—a super-giant inherent barrier, or in other words, a closed world enclosed by a canopy. The various Nibelungs and inherent barriers were merely imitations of this world structure.

The Thought Plate uses the diverse landscapes of China as a reference to create its interior, forming a blessed land and cave paradise. Is it a variant of the inherent barrier form?

Lord Wa smiled without saying anything, as if she wanted to keep him in suspense. She took his hand and walked through the long corridors and conference halls, all the way to the depths of the underground palace.

She stretched out her hand and pointed in a certain direction. Emiya and Old Tang opened their eyes and saw the end of the downward road. It was an extremely wide space that had been excavated. The flowing mercury mixed with the alchemical solution circulated in the space to form a whole.

Huge blurred light and shadows are projected from it, turning into a three-dimensional landscape model - if you squint carefully, you can find familiar miniature mountain and river scenery in it.

It is as if the mountains, rivers and earth have been transformed into pure inner scenes and integrated into it.

Looking around, the moving miniature landscape looked like some ancient creature breathing, with a slight hissing sound echoing in the air. The complex hexagrams formed dozens of pure lights and shadows that intertwined all around, arranged and operating in a regular pattern, just like a sophisticated and ingenious calculation machine.

Emiya blinked, "This is... the thought disk? No, this is just a part of the thought disk, right?"

It looked like a large power calculator, like the central mechanism built to run some larger system.

"You can say that."

Lord Wa nodded and suddenly clapped her hands.

"Thought key pattern, inspiration."

The world began to change.

The dark underground environment filled with moist water vapor was covered with countless narrow white cracks in just a moment. Then the surrounding environment was torn and dissipated like fragile pieces of paper that were cut randomly, and the vast and strong light surged and filled the field of vision.

"what?"

Emiya had a sense of déjà vu of an inherent barrier opening, and he himself had experienced it, so of course he could remember this unique experience.

"Wow, what an awesome spell! This place actually has a whole other world!"

Old Tang was also screaming nearby, and was so shocked by the sudden beauty that he ran around in a disorderly manner.

Emiya also opened his eyes speechlessly and looked at the magnificent mountain and river scenery where "the sky was connected to the clouds and the morning mist was connected". The hazy sky light at dawn and dusk covered the whole area, and the misty air floated up from the mountainside.

Green trees grow on the steep cliffs, the crisp chirping of birds echoes between the peaks and valleys, the gurgling water makes a tinkling sound, and looking down from a high place it looks like a pure white silk thread, snow-white waves crash against the shore, and schools of fish swim slowly in the undercurrent.

Is this a permanent barrier? If so, its scale is far too large.

No, according to the design of the thought disk, this thing should be a system similar to a cloud-based shared network disk. To put it bluntly, it is a huge network that integrates the thoughts and magic of all magicians into one.

So this place...

Wazhu explained softly, "This place was not created by me alone, but by the entire Zhou family, and even by generations of our ancestors."

"Ancestors?"

"Wuhuang Palace is the ancestral home of my Zhou family. If the Thought Disk is to achieve a massive scale, it cannot be accomplished by one person alone. It requires the gathering of many, many more thoughts. Only in this way can this mental landscape be indistinguishable from the real world... Shirou, do you still remember 'Dragon-Breaking Terrace'?"

"……Um."

Emiya wondered what the connection was between the Dragon-Breaking Platform and this Thought Disk?