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"Such pure energy..."

Outside the barrier, the scholar unabashedly placed his pale hand upon the gigantic bubble, feeling it incredibly soft and delicate, just like a real bubble. But if one were to poke it forcefully, they would find that no matter how much strength they applied, it could not be punctured.

The scholar closed his eyes and said faintly, "Such immense energy without any impurities, if we could utilize it all, it could blow us to pieces in an instant."

As soon as these words were uttered, the faces of the Princess Royale and others changed. She had been fooled by a formation from Chen Qing before, and was now extremely sensitive to such things.

"You’re being modest, senior." Chen Qing smiled, lightly tapping the bubble. He chose a casual corner where the color of the bubble momentarily shifted, and a hole appeared. Chen Qing then confidently walked through it first.

The Princess Royale watched with knitted brows and a heavy heart.

She was no ignorant warrior, and she paid close attention to the matters of magicians, which was why she had married into a Sorcerer Family.

Although not a magician herself, she knew quite a bit about techniques, more so than many magicians of the Fifth Rank.

She understood that such a large array was not only difficult to set up, but even more troublesome to control—much like the array within the Imperial Palace.

Without one of the top ten magicians controlling it, even the Emperor himself did not feel safe, fearing it could explode at any moment.

And yet, Chen Qing seemed to control it with such ease...

This massive array under Chen Qing’s personal control was indeed a terrifying prospect!

"Aren’t the seniors coming in?" Chen Qing asked from inside.

There he stood, the hole he had created in the bubble remaining open, and not a hint of spiritual power was seen swirling around him, which startled all those of a sorcerous background.

An array that could be controlled without spiritual power?

Was this some sort of deception?

However, as the creature from the West Sea had mentioned, the array... possessed power of unmatched purity and overwhelming magnitude; it couldn’t possibly be fake.

The next moment, the scholar moved, leading the way as he went in first.

Behind him, five creatures enveloped in black miasma emerged from a ship, following the scholar, each step leaving behind a footprint that seemed to corrode the very ground, significantly increasing the pressure felt by everyone.

The Princess Royale and Fifth Elder Shen squinted their eyes. They were not mistaken; these creatures... their entourage possessed a quality surpassing that of their own royal guards by far.

It seemed the other party had found a way through some channel to obtain bodies capable of hosting top-tier entourage. If they were not mistaken, those few... might be of a duke’s level...

It looked like their side had to accelerate experiments on duke-level bodies!

The Duke of Wei and others wore dark expressions. The creatures beside that monster, without a doubt, were all of a duke’s standard, and even the Duke of Wei himself felt unsure about his ability to subdue any one of them!

The creatures from ancient times were indeed powerful, and the internal strife within the Imperial Court could not persist much longer. Otherwise, should these creatures grow stronger, the darkest days of the Human Race might well be repeated!

"Let’s go, your highness..." the Duke of Wei spoke, "If everyone else has the courage to go, surely we can’t lose to a mere bug, can we?"

The words were full of provocation, but neither Fifth Elder Shen nor the leading creature glanced back at him.

The Princess Royale offered a faint smile and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with the Duke of Wei into the array where Chen Qing was.

"Lord Chen, this is truly spectacular..." the Princess Royale was the first to speak after entering the array, "If I remember correctly, when you were given control of Nanming Prefecture last month, this place... was empty. In just a short month, Lord Chen, you’ve really been generous!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the various power players present revealed a strange light. Everyone was aware that such a large array could not possibly have been created in just one month!

This thing... definitely had a huge flaw, and was even quite forced!

While pondering, a scene captured their attention.

A large ship approached the wharf, and upon closer inspection, one could see that it was a merchant ship filled with the rich aroma of wine, clearly specializing in the transport of alcoholic beverages.

Soon after, many more merchant ships arrived. Although not as large as the wine ship, they were still sizeable. Clearly, the number of merchant ships entering and leaving could not be small—a minimum of four to five thousand people!

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the ship and Chen Qing standing beyond it.

They would not believe that this enormous array could operate indefinitely. The trade in Jiangnan was booming and yet, Chen Qing had not prepared well for blocking the river. Now they wanted to see, with so many ships and so many people coming and going, how Chen Qing would handle it.

Even if this demonstration was prearranged, as long as it was performed in its entirety, they would be convinced. With so many people coming and going, and that many ships approaching the wharf, any unnaturalness would be noticed by the top magicians present.

But another surprising scene occurred.

Chen Qing showed no intention to move; the next second, several armored soldiers glided down directly from above the barrier.

Yes, they glided. Inside the huge bubble, they moved as naturally and harmoniously as fish in the sea, rapidly gliding through the hundred-meter-high sky and arriving in front of the wharf.

Then, just like Chen Qing had done, the soldiers tapped the giant bubble, and a number of holes naturally appeared at the wharf below, each aligning with the unloading spots of the dozens of merchant ships. One soldier per hole inspected the goods being delivered.

This was far more convenient than the city gate...

Because the city gate could only open one entryway, whereas here, a dozen soldiers had created a dozen entryways, drastically increasing the efficiency compared to the city gate inspections.

At that moment, all the magicians were stunned.

Those soldiers... like Chen Qing, they operated the gigantic array without using any spiritual power.

One could say Chen Qing personally took action, perhaps using some special method, but these soldiers too?

How did they do it? Can ordinary people control arrays?

"Is that... even possible?" The Princess Royale was stunned, turning to look at her husband behind her.

The Family Head of the Fei clan snapped back to reality, his face still somewhat slack, and slowly shook his head when he heard her, "Theoretically, it’s highly unlikely..."

In his heart, though, a myriad of complaints were bubbling up. As a top-tier magician, he was even more incredulous of the scene before his eyes than the Princess Royale was; had he not seen it with his own eyes, or if his father swore on it before him, he wouldn’t have believed it possible!!

Those beside them looked at one another, also finding it incredible because if ordinary people could use arrays, then the status of magicians would never be lower than that of warriors, seeing that both could truly form a strong alliance!

And what was the meaning of the posture of inspecting goods at this port? Did it imply that Nanming Prefecture’s future inspections would commence at the dock using this array?

This enormous energy shield—surely they weren’t telling them it was intended to be activated permanently from now on?

They all knew, Chen Qing... did it deliberately for them to see.

However, even so... they were still profoundly shocked. Even if it was a performance, what had been demonstrated was far too terrifying...

"A technique of the Dragon Palace?" The scholar couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes..." Chen Qing nodded with a smile, "This is one of the inheritances from the Dragon Palace, and it’s an external one, no less. Presumably, the elder has also seen the descendants of the array masters who guard the Dragon Palace, right?"

The scholar nodded, "I’ve seen them, array masters, memories from a long time ago. I didn’t expect to see it revived by Lord Chen. You truly are an impressive person."

"You flatter me, elder." Chen Qing smiled, "Shall we continue on then?"

"Yes..." The scholar nodded, following Chen Qing without hesitation, while the others slightly hesitated, but they all followed as well. After all, they were inside already, and not following now would be a loss of face they couldn’t afford.

The deeper they walked, the more everyone could feel the vigorous spiritual power surrounding them. Even the scholar could feel that the sunlight did much less harm to him, and his gaze towards Chen Qing grew somewhat inexplicable.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Nanming Prefecture, they saw many soldiers gliding through the sky with the help of the array. For a moment, everyone strained to maintain their composure.

If Chen Qing’s soldiers could use the power of this array to move through the sky like fish in water, what else might they be capable of?

Setting aside whether an invasion was feasible, even if one managed to break through, inside this place, dealing with these soldiers would likely lead to great disadvantage!

But in this world, does such a thing truly exist?

An array that can be used by ordinary people?

"Maybe Lord Chen could introduce us to it?" The Princess Royale asked with a smile, "What else can your array do that’s strange and peculiar?"

"This array?" Chen Qing smiled, "This is a new research project by the students, and many features are still under development. Let me think... Ah yes, we’ve been experimenting with a new feature recently—it allows ordinary citizens to use this array to send goods to a designated spot.

This can save a great deal of labor costs, and it will make life much more convenient for the people. "

"How do they send it?" The youngest son of Duke of Wei asked dumbly.

"Well... just like this." Chen Qing took out a jade pendant and casually placed it in the air, when suddenly a bubble formed from nowhere, carrying the jade pendant aloft and then vanishing into the huge bubble above. The onlookers watched intently as the jade pendant... glided through the air to the city’s interior just like the gliding people.

"That’s possible??" People like Duke of Wei were immensely shocked!

Would that mean in the future, sending anything within the city wouldn’t require any manpower?

The Princess Royale and others were even more astonished. They, who were adept at techniques, understood what this implied. The meaning within the other party’s words suggested that in the future... ordinary citizens could also use this array.

That meant one thing: the array could differentiate friend from foe. It would be usable by their own people, but not by outsiders. If faced with outsiders, it could automatically defend!

But how could that be possible?

"So in just one month, Lord Chen could create such a thing, also from that so-called Dragon Palace?" The Princess Royale asked rhetorically, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Even now, she couldn’t believe that Chen Qing’s array was really practical for combat; it was more probable... that it was just for show!

"Indeed, it comes from the Dragon Palace..." Chen Qing smiled, looking at the Princess Royale’s wary eyes without concern, and casually said, "Please, everyone, come inside. We’ll discuss in detail once we’re there."

The crowd followed Chen Qing inside without a fuss. This time, Chen Qing brought up the rear, watching the group ahead of him and taking a deep breath within his heart.

He knew that everyone was doubtful, that no one believed in the array.

And indeed, this array had enormous flaws, as it was hastily built using rune stones.

So... this was a magic trick, and the essence of magic is that though everyone knows it’s a trick, they just can’t see through it!

"Has Lumings arrived?" Chen Qing sent a message to Chen Ying in the distance.

"As you expected, on the way!!"

"Then prepare well..." Chen Qing said with a cold laugh, "The weight of the premier duke of the land... ought to be enough!!"