Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

Don't press it at people. Press it in an open area.

"Like this?" He stretched out his right hand and pressed the button of the flashlight.

With a humming sound, golden light burst forth from the top of the phone, gathering into a three-foot-long golden column. Within this column of light surged the surging power of creation, encompassing all things in the universe. Divine Sword also radiated waves of overwhelming pressure.

"*Jinling Yayan*!" Zhu Xianxun took a step back. "It's truly an innate spiritual object! When you first used it to make a phone call, I knew it had more functions than just this. Kendo truly requires enlightenment! I finally understand what this sentence means."

Shangluo tried to swing it—the pressure dissipated with his swing, and even the air was distorted by the burning.

"Oh! Awesome!" Zhu Xianxi clapped his hands. "Looks like you're the one who holds the sword! I'm not kidding, you're swinging it around like a windmill, no one dares to get close!"

"Oh! Is that all???"

"Of course. It's just a ranking, just a salary and empty reputation, what's the point of risking your life? Wouldn't it be a huge loss to be stabbed to death by your sword? It's you, it's you. Do you want to try your sword? Come on, here's some manuscript paper. The manuscript paper will be thrown away after it's not used. Come and try it. I threw it away!"

Zhu Xianxun threw a piece of paper, and Shangluo swung his sword to cut it. Despite the sword's immense pressure, it failed to ignite the paper before contact. With one swing of the sword, the paper split in two mid-air, the cracks showing faint traces of blackening, but not much. It seemed as if the divine sword's pressure didn't even bother to ignite mortals, to cause divine fire to flow.

"Come again, come again!" Zhu Xianxun threw out a stack of paper this time. Shangluo circled in the air for a while and cut the manuscript paper into paper flowers flying all over the sky.

"Oh!!! Let's try this table again! This table! Oh no, I got a little carried away. I can't ruin the table. How about trying this one? Wait a minute."

He lowered his head and rummaged through the cupboard, pulling out a stainless steel bowl. "This bowl for feeding the dog isn't worth much, and the metal won't be wasted if it's broken. I can just take it home and melt it down. Are you ready? I'll throw it away if you yell! Oh! I feel as happy as New Year's!"

"Throw it!" The rice bowl flew into the air, and Shangluo raised his hand and struck with a sword -

"Zizila!" The beam of light suddenly dimmed. The "hilt" emitted a few final, shapeless flashes of lightning, and then fell silent, like the last few drops of water from a faucet.

The scratched part of the rice bowl was burned red, but only half of it was cut, and the other half was still hanging on it.

"No power?" Zhu Xianxun asked.

[Not even a bit. I've used up everything I saved over the past few days.]

"Yes, there is no electricity." Shangluo replied to Zhu Xianen.

"Swords really need to be maintained. I heard that the more powerful the sword, the greater the consumption. Try the Qi Hai quickly." He handed over the bottle.

Shangluo held the bottle in his left hand and the mobile phone in his right hand.

"How do I raise this?"

"I remember that the Wudang Sect has a sword-raising pot to hold spiritual liquid. But your sword only has a blade when it is drawn out. How do you maintain it? How about this." He squatted down again and looked in the cabinet.

"Here's a small tripod that can be used as an incense burner. Why don't you put the plaque in there and soak it? That way it won't be wasted."

Yes, just soak it in.

Soaking the phone in water felt a bit strange. But it wasn't a real phone, so it was fine. But he always felt it was inconvenient to have to pull out a cauldron to soak it, and he had to find a more convenient container to "maintain the sword" later.

He placed the phone into the cauldron with his right hand and poured the liquid medicine onto it with his left hand. Like water pouring into scorched earth, the liquid medicine seeped in immediately.

【Ah~~ I feel so good, so comfortable. I’m finally not hungry anymore.】

"How long will this bottle last you?"

It depends on how you use it. When you turn on the flashlight, it doesn't matter what you're cutting; it's measured by time. This bottle should last for about 300 seconds, so you don't have to keep it on all the time; you can wait until the light is in place before turning it on.

"But don't you know that touchscreens are troublesome? Nowadays, car computers must have physical buttons to be useful. How can I type blindly if it's all touchscreen?"

[Hey, do I need to teach you how to use a phone? The button is just a switch; you can trigger it in other ways. For example, you could bind it to the flip function—turn it on, then flip the lid to retract, and close it to light up. This way, you can draw and sheath your sword with a flick of your wrist—sleek, stylish, and energy-efficient.]

"Then can you eat more at once? It's really troublesome to have to recharge every 300 seconds."

"My belly is so small, how can I eat more? I think you'd better prepare a lunch box or something. Don't look at the dog food bowl on the ground! I'm not going in! I want a nice bowl."

Chapter 120 Salted Fish Stab

"You're a real expert at welding. Are you from a family of craftsmen? Is your father a skilled fitter? Do you know how to weld?"

"Ah, haha. Hahahahaha." Shangluo laughed awkwardly a few times, "Well, this is a long story."

He remembered the hammer he gave Apollonia when he was helpless at the welding table. It was simply the beginning of a dream.

"It seems you really can do it! Then this 'sword' in your hand, can it be welded? I see some scorch marks on the cuts."

Apollonia answered directly:

[Yes, but it costs extra. Heating is one of the most fuel-intensive functions, so I turned it off before cutting. You can turn it on if you need it; it's in the app. You can also add other properties. For example, if the blade isn't long enough, you can extend it up to 40 meters.]

"Forget it." Shangluo felt that the "default length" set by Apollonia was quite reasonable.

The blade is three feet long, or one meter long. This is a moderate length for a sword, and the blade has virtually no weight change when it appears.

Yet, the sword remained incredibly difficult to wield. Holding it in his hand, Shangluo felt as if the other end of the sword contained a high-speed "gyroscope." While still heavy, it required considerable wrist strength to change its direction. In other words, while easy to hold, wielding it was a struggle.

"The extra length doesn't increase weight, but it does change the 'torque,'" Apollonia reminded her. "So I adjusted it to 1 meter. This is a more convenient length. The longer it is, the more biased the torque becomes. At 40 meters, you won't be able to swing it at all. But it's great for thrusting with a lance. You can use it as a killer move—what's it called? Salted Fish Thrust? I gave it a nice name!"

"Then thank you very much."

Let's create a spell! Saying the command "Salted Fish Thrust" will adjust the flashlight's parameters and switch it to "Salted Fish Thrust" mode.

"You're happy with my social death, right? Are you some kind of social death demon? Do you want to absorb my social death energy?"

[Tsk, you're really shameless. Anyway, I've added you in. The default password is 'Salted Fish Thrust'. You can change it yourself when you have time.]

"How's it going?" Zhu Xianxun looked at him expectantly. "Can you weld?"

"Yes, it's not a big problem, but I need to inject a little more spiritual energy into it."

"That's easy. Official business expenses, of course, must be reimbursed. If you can weld at high temperatures, I'd actually like your assistance. Are you aware of the major project the Longjiang Shipyard is undertaking?"

"Is it the battleship 'Lianshan'?"

"It seems you know. If you had seen the battleship itself, you would have seen the many golden lines on it. That's the divine chrome coating. You should also have realized that it wasn't just another battleship. It was the 'Zhu Xian Ship.'"

"Zhu Xian Ship???"

"Yes. According to Daozu's order, that warship was built specifically to slay celestial beings, even immortals. Although it requires a celestial being to man it, it ensures that the court maintains absolute military superiority in the event of a possible disaster. However, we encountered some minor problems during construction. The divine chrome coating had some minor flaws during installation. Can't you cut the coating open and reapply it?"

[No, no, no, no!] Apollonia was frightened by this suggestion. [Absolutely! You absolutely cannot use this sword to cut the divine chrome!]

"Ah, what's going to happen?"

"It will explode! Remember that hammer strike? It'll be a very violent explosion! You only created a divine spark that time. If you actually use this sword to cut the divine chrome, there will probably be an unimaginable explosion! Unless you really want to die together, you absolutely, absolutely must not do this! I'm not kidding."

He could only shake his head at Zhu Xianxi: "No, this can't be used to cut the divine chromium."

"Ah, that's a shame. I'll ask you again when you've made some progress. Right now, it seems you're the closest to the 'solution'. And please keep this in mind. If you find a solution, please let me know—then there'll be one simpler task left. Let's get this done before school starts."

No. 8-19 Zhuque Avenue, Jinyiwei Yamen.

"Did they fall that deep?" Shangluo pulled back the carpet and saw a huge, dark, human-shaped hole in the ground. The surrounding ground had been squeezed and deformed, and even cracks appeared at the base of the wall.

Qi Liu, who was watching over the warehouse, explained, "We're about three meters in now. Although the soil below has been compacted, it's still slowly falling. We've reinforced the cave walls, otherwise it would be a disaster if it collapsed, and we wouldn't be able to find it. Fortunately, you came back to clean up before things got out of hand. So let's get started. Do you need any tools?"

"Not for now." Shangluo put his schoolbag aside and took off his school uniform jacket and folded it on the schoolbag.

He originally wanted to jump directly in, but the hole was three meters deep and it was pitch black and he couldn't see the depth. He was afraid that he would sprain his ankle if he jumped in directly.

"That's easy. I'll give you a hand."

Qi Liu reached out and grabbed him, leaning down little by little, and lowering Shangluo so that his toes touched the ground.

"Standing steady? Then I'll let go."

With a click, Shangluo stepped on the armor. It must be said that the "sound quality" of this armor has always been very good, and it can make a pleasant sound every time it is struck.

Like last time, he opened the back cover and went in. Apollonia was also connected to the armor, and the light curtain in front of the armor was also lit.

I'm online now, feeling good. Hey, I just like to read it every time. Is everything ok?

Shangluo moved his fingers first: "No problem, everything is normal. How long can it last?"

[Don't worry, the phlogiston concentration is up to standard. It'll last about 10 minutes. If it's not enough, just add more. You guys don't need carrots here. I've printed the usage time in the upper right corner. You can use it as you wish.]

After getting confirmation, Shangluo supported himself with his hands and stood up.

As expected, the weight that could have crushed the ground disappeared. He moved freely inside, with unexpected ease, as if he were wearing nothing. He tried a "horse stance" strike, and it went off cleanly. He could even trot and leap.

"Hello, is everything ok down there?" Qi Liu asked from above.

Shangluo stood up and gave a thumbs up, everything was normal.

Okay, that's five updates today. The next update will probably be around 6pm, see you in the evening.

Chapter 121 The Return of the Golden Armor

Pulling an ordinary rope, Shangluo, wearing golden armor, climbed out of the pit.

Qi Liu instinctively took a few steps back. In his mind, even with the might of a mountain, this armor wouldn't be able to be opened. But now, he could pull it up with just a rope, and it didn't seem that heavy.

It wasn't until Shangluo stood firmly on the ground and the floor tiles didn't crack that he tentatively reached out his hand:

"Shangluo, let's shake hands."

"Like this?" Shangluo, who was inside the armor, stretched out his right hand and shook hands with Qi Liu.

"Then you release the force and see if I can lift your hand. Okay? Did you release the force?"

"Yeah, it's unloaded."

"Is it really getting lighter? Wait, don't move. I'll hold you. Turn around."

Shangluo stretched out his arms, letting Qi Liu embrace him like pulling a carrot. He exerted force with both hands and actually lifted him up.

"Um???"

After putting it down, Qi Liu circled around him several times.

"Shangluo, do you know what I'm thinking? I think this might reveal some characteristics of the divine chrome. It's not heavy, but it's being pulled by some force deep in the earth, so it manifests as 'weight'. And after you activated it, this pulling force disappeared, so it returned to the weight of normal metal. What did you feel when you wore the armor?"

"I don't even feel like I'm wearing armor? It even feels lighter."

He asked Apollonia in passing.

[Hmm] Apollonia fell into thought, [I really don't know why the divine chrome is so heavy.]

"You don't know? Isn't your shell made of divine chrome?"

Your brain is still full of neurons, so do you know how they work? So I wouldn't necessarily know unless I consulted the Akashic Records. However, the name "Shen Chrome" seems to be one of yours. If you were to inquire about its specific properties, it would likely take a long time to iterate or search—iterating is exhausting, and searching would occupy the Akashic Records process.

"Let's forget about that for now. It doesn't really need to be that thorough to be useful anyway. If I get more information, can I increase the speed of the search?"

Of course. If you can experimentally discover many of the properties of chromium, your search will be much faster. For example, if you can obtain 70% of the information, the remaining 30% can probably be found quickly. After all, two points define a line, and three points define a surface. You need to provide information to narrow the search scope.

"Hmm," he suggested to Qi Liu, "Should we do a force analysis to determine the direction of that pulling force? Perhaps the force isn't vertically downward. A triangulation method should be sufficient."

"Let's talk about it later, after you've recovered. I'm afraid you'll fall again and make another hole. Besides, this kind of dangerous experiment needs to be reported."

That's true. Shangluo himself wasn't in a hurry to ask; it was the imperial court that was waiting to build the large ship. As for whether or not to use this armor, that was Apollonia's business. Apparently, Apollonia didn't need to understand the properties of divine chromium to mobilize him.

So let's just go to the meeting first and discuss it later. If there are any problems later, we can solve them later.

Qi Liu watched Shangluo drive the golden armor back to its original position, and he finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in his heart for so many days.

"Okay, I'll take care of this pit."

"Then I'm going to school." He put on his school uniform, picked up his schoolbag and was about to go out.

"Huh???" Qi Liu suddenly exclaimed from behind. Shang Luo was startled, thinking that something had happened to the golden armor.

"Shangluo, are you the chief swordsman of the inner court now?"

"Really? So soon? How did you know?"

"I was just about to send a quick message to His Majesty the Emperor, saying that everything here was settled. But when I opened it, I found that he had dragged you into the discussion group for the Thirteen Imperial Guardians. Goodness! When did you start practicing swordsmanship? Why didn't I see you with a sword ready last time?"

"Ah this"

"Secret? Tsk, that's really not nice. But be careful. I might not mind it too much, but others might. The Swordmaster's seat has been vacant for years, and since no one has taken it, there's no way to adjust the ranking. If you take it, someone might want to challenge you."

"Oh, can I refuse?"

"If you refuse, you'll lose your position as the number one swordsman. But since you've been recognized by His Majesty the Emperor, you must be quite capable. I won't bother myself with that."

"Hehe." Shangluo gave him a mysterious smile, a smile that was full of confidence. Now that he had this "flashlight" in his hand, he was confident that no one would dare to challenge him.

After all, swords are meant to kill. While other methods have their own purposes, like thunder cultivation to draw closer to the Way of Heaven, or profound cultivation to gain knowledge, the swordsman's sword is inherently meant to kill. Kill one person every ten steps, and leave no trace in a thousand miles.

The Thirteen Guardians of the Imperial Palace merely "ranked" the Imperial Qigong practitioners, and they didn't determine anything. The Imperial Court's resources were generally in excess, and every Qigong practitioner had access to sufficient resources. Therefore, there was no need to fight tooth and nail for a ranking; it was more of a matter of reputation.