Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 269 The Opportunity for Zhuge Chongguang to Break Through to the Celestial Realm

After arriving at the military factory, Lu Chen called the two Mo brothers together, showed them the blueprints for the steam engine and the train, and explained the working principles of these two things.

After listening to Lu Chen's explanation, the two brothers felt as if a new world had opened up for them.

As craftsmen, upon hearing Lu Chen's words, they immediately realized the impact that steam engines and trains would have on the world, especially steam engines.

At this moment, Lu Chen said, "Mo Fei, you will stay at the military factory to be responsible for the research and development of firearms, so I will entrust the task of manufacturing steam engines and trains to your younger brother."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Mo Xing, who was standing to the side, excitedly said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Highness!"

Mo Xing was very interested in steam engines and trains; he wanted to see what changes these two things would bring to the world.

Moreover, Mo Xing firmly believed that these two things would definitely drive the development of this era. Lu Chen entrusted him with the task of manufacturing steam engines and trains. As the person who created these two things, Mo Xing would also be able to leave his mark on history.

Lu Chen then continued, "By the way, let's manufacture the steam engine and train in Dayu City. There aren't enough craftsmen in Yan City."

Although many refugees came to the North, greatly increasing its population, skilled artisans remained very scarce.

Most of the migrants are capable of farming, but getting them into industrial production requires a long period of training.

However, Dayu City is different. Almost every household in Dayu City is a craftsman. If the manufacturing of steam engines and trains is located in Dayu City, it will be much easier to recruit craftsmen.

Moreover, Lu Chen had another major purpose in manufacturing steam engines and trains in Dayu City: he planned to build a railway connecting Dayu City and Yan City once the trains were manufactured.

Dayu City has a population of several hundred thousand, and these people are very important to Lu Chen's industrial development, so Lu Chen does not intend to let them stay in Dayu City indefinitely.

Once the railway connecting Dayu City is completed, it will be easier for the people of Dayu City to come to Yancheng and return to Dayu City. In this way, the people of Dayu City will no longer have to stay in Dayu City for fear of being too far from home.

Mo Xing immediately understood what Lu Chen meant and said, "Yes, Your Highness, I will pack my things and return to Dayu City in a moment."

Lu Chen said, "There's no need to rush. I plan to inspect Dayu City in a few days, and you can return with my entourage then."

The people of Dayu City were, after all, subjects of him, the vassal king. The system had already determined the ownership of Dayu City for so long, yet Lu Chen had never been to Dayu City even once. Lu Chen felt that he had been neglecting the existence of Dayu City.

Anyway, there's nothing much going on in the North now. Even if he's not in Yancheng, there are people to handle the government affairs. The North's officialdom is already running smoothly, so his absence from Yancheng for a while won't cause any problems.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Mo Xing excitedly said, "The people of Dayu City will be overjoyed to hear that you are coming to Dayu City."

Lu Chen is the chosen one, the emperor that Dayu City has been waiting for for countless years. If Lu Chen were to personally go to Dayu City, the entire city would surely be in an uproar.

Hearing Mo Xing's words, Lu Chen smiled and then said, "That's enough for today. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll head back first. You should also quickly hand over the work at the military factory to others, and then go back and pack your things. I'll have someone come to pick you up in a couple of days."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lu Chen did not linger at the military factory. He left the factory and returned to the Northern Prince's Mansion, where he had Zhuge Chongguang summoned to his study.

He was going to Dayu City for a while, and he still needed to give Zhuge Chongguang some instructions.

After handing over the remaining tasks for the Northern Kingdom, Lu Chen thought of what the Xia Emperor had been doing recently, and then said to Zhuge Chongguang, "Grand Scholar, I recently received news that my father is joining forces with some Grandmasters from various forces, planning to take action against you."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Zhuge Chongguang smiled faintly, stroked his gray beard, and said, "I had long anticipated this day would come."

"When a Celestial Realm expert appeared in this world last time, many Grandmasters died. Now that I am about to break through to the Celestial Realm, naturally some people will worry that what happened before will happen again."

Seeing that Zhuge Chongguang didn't seem worried at all, Lu Chen asked directly, "I'd like to know how long it will take for the Grand Scholar to break through to the Celestial Realm?"

"The chaos in Jiangnan is almost over. Next, my father will most likely deal with the Northern Kingdom. He has probably already won over many Grandmasters. If you cannot break through in a short time, you may face a calamity."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Zhuge Chongguang replied, "Breaking through to the Grandmaster level is not easy. Although I clearly feel that I am close to breaking through and have even touched the threshold of the Celestial Realm, I still feel that something is missing."

"The Celestial Realm has transcended the realm of martial arts. Simply increasing one's strength is not enough to break through to the Celestial Realm. There must be a special rule in this world. Only by passing through this rule, or gaining the world's recognition, can a Grandmaster break through to the Celestial Realm."

"I suspect that the reason why that Celestial Realm expert from Xuan Yue Palace slaughtered the Grandmasters of this world was mainly because he wanted to break through to the next level."

"Everyone thinks he hunted Grandmasters recklessly to demonstrate the power of the Celestial Realm, but I think he had to kill so many Grandmasters in order to break through to the Celestial Realm."

Upon hearing Zhuge Chongguang's words, Lu Chen frowned.

So, it's highly unlikely that Zhuge Chongguang will be able to break through to the Celestial Realm in a short period of time.

This is troublesome. If Zhuge Chongguang cannot break through to the Celestial Realm, he may not be able to defeat the siege of Grandmasters.

Although he is now a Grandmaster at the pinnacle level and can assist Zhuge Chongguang, who knows how many Grandmasters his father can invite?

If it were one or two grandmasters, he wouldn't be too worried, but if it were five or six, he and Zhuge Chongguang probably wouldn't be able to handle it.

Although the Northern Kingdom has entered the age of firearms, firearms can only play a suppressive role against Grandmasters. They cannot play a decisive role in killing a Grandmaster.

Just then, Lu Chen suddenly thought of something. He then took out a Kaiyuan Pill from his system space and said to Zhuge Chongguang, "This is a Kaiyuan Pill, a type of immortal pill. It can temper your meridians. Try taking it and see if it can help you break through to the Celestial Realm."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Chongguang was stunned for a moment. After regaining his senses, he immediately said, "Your Highness, this is unacceptable. This elixir is so precious; how can it be given to me?"

Although Zhuge Chongguang didn't know what Kaiyuan Dan was and had never heard of it before, he knew its importance as soon as Lu Chen said it was a magic pill.

Anything even remotely related to immortals is precious.

Lu Chen said calmly, "I have many more here. Grand Scholar, please take them. For the Northern Kingdom, the value of a Celestial Realm cultivator far exceeds that of this elixir."

Seeing that Lu Chen had already said so, Zhuge Chongguang could not refuse any longer. He directly took the Kaiyuan Pill from Lu Chen's hand and said, "Then this old man thanks Your Highness."

After receiving the Kaiyuan Pill, Zhuge Chongguang put it in his mouth and swallowed it without saying a word.

After swallowing the Kaiyuan Pill, Zhuge Chongguang immediately felt incredibly relaxed. The next moment, countless bamboo slips seemed to appear before his eyes, flashing by in an instant.

In Lu Chen's view, Zhuge Chongguang's body was emitting a faint golden light, which looked very mystical. After a while, the golden light on Zhuge Chongguang's body gathered together, and then a golden beam of light shot out from Zhuge Chongguang's body, directly piercing through Lu Chen's study.

The strange phenomenon that appeared in the study instantly attracted the attention of all the people in Yancheng, and of course, the people in the royal palace as well.

When Lu Chen's wives and concubines saw the towering pillar of light appear in the study, they were all startled, thinking that something had happened to Lu Chen, and they hurriedly went to the study.

Soon, the courtyard outside the study was filled with people.

At this moment, Mu Zixuan also arrived outside the study courtyard. Seeing that Chu Yuqin and the others were all at the door and had not entered the study, she asked, "Sister Chu, what happened inside?"

Chu Yuqin replied, "I don't know either. Xiao Huan said that the Prince and the Grand Secretary are discussing important matters in the study and told us not to go in."

Hearing this, Mu Zixuan felt very puzzled. What were Lu Chen and Zhuge Zhongguang discussing in the study that would cause such a strange phenomenon?

At this moment, dark clouds gathered in the sky above Yancheng, growing thicker and thicker, as if the sky were about to collapse. The golden beam of light that shot out from the study was right in the middle of the dark clouds, followed by lightning and thunder within the clouds.

The thunder sounded like a dragon roaring in the dark clouds. The people of Yancheng saw a golden beam of light shooting out from the Northern King's Mansion. Moreover, such an unusual phenomenon appeared in the sky, and even a "dragon" appeared. They all thought that the heavens had approved of the Northern King, so the people of the whole city knelt down in the direction of the Northern King's Mansion.

At this moment, Lu Chen was stunned to see the golden pillar of light in the study not disappearing for a long time.

This has caused quite a stir.

Such a thick beam of light shot into the sky; probably all the people in the city have seen it. Moreover, this beam of light came from the Northern King's Mansion. How is he supposed to explain this to the people?

Lu Chen sighed. Well, let's take it one step at a time. Let's see if Zhuge Chongguang can break through to the Celestial Realm first.

At this moment, Zhuge Chongguang stood still, closed his eyes, as if he had entered a meditative state.

After an unknown amount of time, countless golden bamboo slips appeared in front of Zhuge Chongguang. Originally, those golden bamboo slips only appeared in Zhuge Chongguang's mind and could only be seen by Zhuge Chongguang. Now, Lu Chen could also see them.

Seeing these golden bamboo slips, Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that this world was even more amazing than he had imagined, and his understanding of it was probably less than one percent.

After swirling around Zhuge Chongguang's body for a while, the golden bamboo slips instantly entered his body. Zhuge Chongguang suddenly opened his eyes, and two golden beams of light shot out from them.

Zhuge Chongguang then took a deep breath, and all the golden light entered his body. Gradually, the golden beam of light that shot out from his body slowly dissipated.

Zhuge Chongguang adjusted his breathing, and Lu Chen quickly used the system to check Zhuge Chongguang's condition. [Name: Zhuge Chongguang]

[Position: Dean of Huanyu Academy, Grand Scholar of the Northern Kingdom.]

[Strength: Grandmaster Supreme Realm]

Loyalty: 100

Lu Chen was stunned after seeing Zhuge Chongguang's personal information.

The ultimate realm of Grandmaster?

Just like me?

Shouldn't it be the Celestial Realm?

Lu Chen immediately asked, "Grand Scholar, how are you feeling?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's question, Zhuge Chongguang sighed and then said, "I'm sorry to disappoint Your Highness, but I still haven't been able to cross that threshold."

This……

Lu Chen was speechless. The commotion was so great that it was clearly not something a Grandmaster could make. He thought that Zhuge Chongguang was about to break through to the Grandmaster realm, but he still hadn't.

Where does the problem lie?

Why can't we break through?

Could it be that, as Zhuge Chongguang said, a Grandmaster can only break through to the Celestial Realm by passing through some special rule of this world?

Just as Lu Chen was deep in thought, Zhuge Chongguang spoke up: "Your Highness, although I have not been able to break through to the Celestial Realm, I have already learned of the opportunity that will allow me to break through to the Celestial Realm."

Lu Chen asked directly, "What opportunity?"

Zhuge Chongguang replied, "As long as there are more and more scholars and talented people in the North, and I absorb enough literary and moral energy, I will be able to break through to the Celestial Realm."

"Just now, after I entered a meditative state, a voice in the darkness guided me."

"This is not much different from my previous guess. To break through to the Celestial Realm, everyone must go through a special rule and gain the world's recognition. Now that I think about it, the Celestial Realm expert from Xuan Yue Palace killed so many Grandmasters back then. It's very likely that he proved his Dao by killing. He had to kill a certain number of Grandmasters to break through to the Celestial Realm."

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "I see. In that case, I will have the Ministry of Education issue a document requiring every child aged six to sixteen to attend academy starting next week."

Lu Chen originally intended to promote universal education. He had long ago instructed the disciples of Xuan Yue Palace to teach the people of the Northern Kingdom to read and write. However, at that time, he only instructed the disciples of Xuan Yue Palace to teach the people to read and write, and he did not force the children of the people to read and write. Therefore, even now, many people still believe that reading is not important.

Since the opportunity for Zhuge Chongguang to break through to the Celestial Realm was the increasing number of scholars and talented people in the North, we should take advantage of this opportunity to quickly promote universal education.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Zhuge Chongguang quickly said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid that won't work. Nowadays, most people believe that they only study if they want to become officials, and that studying is a waste of time and money if they don't want to become officials. Moreover, for most families, children are also a source of labor. If we let our children go to academies to study, the people will definitely not be willing."

Lu Chen said calmly, "The implementation of any policy will always face obstacles. If we do nothing just because the people oppose it, we will not be able to reclaim the land ownership, and the Northern Kingdom will not have achieved its current level of development."

Seeing Lu Chen's resolute attitude, Zhuge Zhongguang said nothing more. Lu Chen then continued, "The Northern Prince's Mansion allocates a sum of money each year as scholarships. Students with excellent character and academic performance can apply, and those who are approved will receive the scholarships from the Northern Prince's Mansion."

"Furthermore, within fifty years, all students who are admitted to the higher academy founded by the Northern Prince's Mansion will be guaranteed a job after completing their studies."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Chongguang instantly understood Lu Chen's meaning. Lu Chen intended to use various methods to encourage ordinary people to send their children to study at the academy.

At this moment, Lu Chen sighed and continued, "To be honest, I don't know if it's too late to start now."

The Xia Emperor had been preparing to deal with Zhuge Chongguang for a long time, but they only started to carry out national education now. It is very likely that before their national education is even in place, and before Zhuge Chongguang has even broken through to the Celestial Realm, those Grandmasters will come to besiege and kill Zhuge Chongguang.

Zhuge Chongguang said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. Although His Majesty has long been preparing to eliminate me, everyone knows that I am a Grandmaster who is about to break through to the Celestial Realm. The people of Yancheng probably saw the strange phenomenon just now. Once this matter gets out, some Grandmasters may think that I have already broken through to the Celestial Realm and thus refuse His Majesty."

Upon hearing what Zhuge Chongguang said, Lu Chen immediately realized what was going on.

Yes, the commotion just now was so loud that the spies in Yancheng probably saw it all. If we can use this to make people mistakenly believe that Zhuge Chongguang has made a breakthrough, then Emperor Xia will naturally not dare to act rashly.

Although they themselves knew that Zhuge Chongguang had not broken through to the Celestial Realm, outsiders did not know, and very few people had ever seen the Celestial Realm, so who knew what it was like?

Thinking of this, Lu Chen smiled and said, "I understand what the Grand Scholar means."

"From today onwards, the Grand Scholar is now at the Celestial Realm. From now on, the Grand Scholar should not display his strength casually."

Zhuge Chongguang instantly guessed what Lu Chen wanted to do, and he immediately said, "Yes, Your Highness."

Lu Chen said with a smile, "Alright, let's call it a day. There was quite a commotion just now, and I'm sure there are already a lot of rumors circulating outside. I need to find someone to refute them."

Zhuge Chongguang then bowed and said, "This old man takes his leave."

(End of this chapter)