Read Novel Full Chapter 144: The Flying Vessel
Chapter 144: The Flying Vessel
Seeing his junior brother utterly fearless and full of nerve, Pan Yunzhou thought better of saying anything further, lest this martial prodigy thought less of him.
The two of them quickly finished climbing the wooden gangway and stepped aboard the flying vessel.
It had a deck and three stories of cabin space, but no ship’s rudder, mast, or sail to be seen.
"Why bother with a deck at all? What’s the point? Couldn’t they have just made it all cabin space? Is it just to make it look like a ship?" Ding Songyan muttered to himself.
Pan Yunzhou knew nothing about mechanical constructs and could only pretend he hadn’t heard, so as not to reveal his ignorance.
Ding Songyan glanced at him and grumbled inwardly, Back in my past life, I would never have let a conversation drop like that when trying to make a good impression. Not knowing something doesn’t mean you can’t chat about it. Making people laugh is also a good thing. The worst thing is dead silence.
Just then, two attendants—a man and a woman—came forward to meet them. Both were attractive and carried themselves well, though their clothing was remarkably thin: one in a vermilion scholar’s robe, the other in a short jacket and gauze skirt, a stark contrast to the winter cold of the New Year season.
Standing beside each other, they spoke in unison.
"Honored guests, please step inside the cabin."
Ding Songyan glanced at the attendants, then walked toward the cabin at an unhurried, entirely unbridled pace. Pan Yunzhou, who had never experienced anything like this before, had his junior brother as a model to follow and managed to appear outwardly calm despite being a little stiff.
The moment they entered the cabin, both felt a warmth like spring. The floor was laid with thick carpets of exotic design, and copper pipes were faintly visible along the corners of the walls.
Two rows of tables and chairs were fixed into the floor, and bronze wall lanterns shaped like flowering branches extended outward from the walls around them, though none were lit.
Two martial artists were waiting inside, both in their twenties and wearing dark-red combat attire. The man had slight mousy features that gave him a mildly comical air; the back of his clothing was absent, replaced by a thick layer of long gray-white fur. The woman had ears like a wildcat, a faintly pink nose tip, and large, round eyes. She wasn’t especially striking, but had a bright, cute charm about her.
Taking in the two of them, and combining what he saw with Senior Sister Zheng’s briefing the day before—she being a seasoned flying vessel traveler—information rapidly surfaced in Ding Songyan’s mind.
Martial artists capable of flight as early as the mid Great Proliferation Realm...
The man should be from the Heavenly Pool School; the woman is clearly from the Fish-Dragon House...
The Heavenly Pool School and the Fish-Dragon House were both sects near Flame Capital, in the court’s orbit, and had close ties with the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Ingenious Mechanisms Bureau, the Martial Prohibition Bureau, and various commanders and generals.
For a sect like the Brightnight Sect, perhaps 20-30% of disciples might join the military, enter government service, or work for local offices. For the Heavenly Pool School and the Fish-Dragon House, it was over 70%, and they held no independent patrol authority of their own.
Of the two, the Heavenly Pool School had originally been a northern sect located on Heavenly Pool Mountain and wasn’t a top-tier power. When the dynasty crossed south, rather than submit to foreign rule, they followed and resettled in Flame Capital, keeping the "Heavenly Pool" name. Their specialties were the Wind-Rain Divine Sword and nighttime assassination. They could fly through the air at the mid Great Proliferation Realm, though not to great heights. At altitude, they could only glide down.
Quite a few other sects had made the same southward migration as the Heavenly Pool School. Some even renamed the mountains in their new territories, so that over time, peaks that had originally belonged to other regions effectively "appeared" locally.
The same had happened during past dynastic changes, repeatedly. As a result, the thing Ding Songyan found most confusing when reading the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas was the mountain names, river names, and geographical locations because they were almost completely impossible to match up.
Combining the characteristics of their techniques with their physical features, Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi had agreed that the Heavenly Pool School’s lineage derived from the flying squirrel:
Flying Squirrel: shaped like a rabbit but with a rat’s head; it flies on its back. The result of consuming it? Allows one to frolic in wind and rain and melt into the deep of night.
Because their flight came from the fur on their backs, the Heavenly Pool School could achieve at the mid Great Proliferation Realm what others couldn’t manage until the Dharma Realm. Someone like Ding Songyan or Zheng Ziming had to forge a void aperture and condense the corresponding wings before they could soar freely and even then, the speed was lacking.
As for those whose corresponding divine beast had no wings, or whose lineage lacked any such trait, they couldn’t fly even at the Spirit Platform Realm. They could only glide short distances on the wind.
The Fish-Dragon House’s lineage, by contrast, was suspected to derive from the dragon fish:
Dragon fish: shaped like a wildcat, cries like a newborn, four-legged and single-horned. The result of consuming it? Lets one ride the clouds and mist, pass through water and pierce mountains, and roam all nine provinces.
Masters of this sect could fly through the sky and manipulate clouds and mist, dive underwater, and pass through mountains and ridges. Their movement speed was also exceptional. Their weakness was close combat; they relied entirely on mobility, agility, and the principle that speed conquers all. Attaching themselves to the court and drawing on its mechanism resources was a fairly shrewd choice.
"Ding Songyan, Brightnight Sect." Ding Songyan cupped his hands in greeting.
Pan Yunzhou followed and gave his own name.
"Pan Yunzhou, Brightnight Sect."
Even though he was in a hurry to go home and retrieve the Myriad Stars Canon and hadn’t yet gone through the formal entry ceremony, Tao Wenshu had given her word, which meant that there would be no backing out. He was already a bona fide Brightnight Sect disciple.
"Ren Jiuyue, Heavenly Pool School."
"Wei Ling, Fish-Dragon House."
The two martial artists returned the greeting together, cupping their hands.
Ding Songyan gave Wei Ling a second glance—a neko-musume or catgirl wasn’t something you saw every day. From her physical features, he judged that she had not yet reached the late Great Proliferation Realm.
When Wei Ling did, a short fleshy horn would grow from her forehead. The dragon fish had a horn because it carried true dragon bloodline, and the Fish-Dragon House could convert to true dragon cultivation arts.
Once Ding Songyan and Pan Yunzhou had taken their seats, Wei Ling said in a youthful voice, "You may want to lock your chairs first. The takeoff can be a bit rough."
Seatbelts, essentially... Ding Songyan felt a strangely familiar sensation.
He gave an inward laugh, then worked the chair’s mechanism with practiced ease, letting the slim gold-and-iron rods wrapped in thick leather extend outward and lock him in place.
Pan Yunzhou swallowed with some difficulty, momentarily uncertain which was more dangerous: the long overland trek back to Eastern Plains Prefecture in Bao Province, or riding this flying vessel.
Seeing his expression, Wei Ling laughed.
"There’s no need to worry, you two. Brother Ren and I can both fly. Short of an enemy attack, even if this vessel broke apart, we could still bring at least four people down safely without a scratch."
Pan Yunzhou relaxed immediately on hearing this, and curiosity swiftly followed.
"You can actually be attacked in midair?"
"People who can fly aren’t common, but they aren’t rare either, especially in the Dharma Realm." Wei Ling was cheerful by nature and explained as she walked back to her seat with Ren Jiuyue. "Besides, Jiguren skilled in mechanisms don’t all serve Great Zhao exclusively. And martial artists who can summon lightning or wind can attack flying vessels too."
Otherwise there would be nothing to counter flying vessels, and air superiority is very important... Ding Songyan looked around with keen interest.
Not long after Wei Ling, Ren Jiuyue, and the two attendants had locked their own chairs, the flying vessel began to tremble. Its dozen pairs of gold-and-iron wings beat in unison, whipping up a violent torrent of wind.
A tremendous roar rose from beneath their feet, as though torrents of air were surging toward the vessel’s stern.
Then Pan Yunzhou felt himself flung upward, only to be caught by the leather-wrapped rods of his seat.
For the next quarter of an hour, he felt as if he had been thrown into a raging storm, tossed and shaken until his head spun.
Gradually the flying vessel steadied. The roaring continued unabated, but the jolting settled considerably, much like drifting in a boat on a lake.
This stable... how does it manage that? Ding Songyan couldn’t fathom the principle, and found the whole thing both astonishing and amusing.
"You can unlock now," Wei Ling told the two of them.
Ding Songyan, perfectly at ease as if returning home, worked the mechanism and waited for the leather rods to retract, then stood, picked up Frostshade, and walked to the side of the cabin.
The windows here were made from a special material resembling ice crystals. Even with gale-force winds howling outside and the cold pressing in, they did not crack.
No wonder the manufacturing costs are so high... Ding Songyan turned his gaze to the view outside.
The flying vessel soared like a great roc, gliding beneath the clouds without climbing too high, yet despite the churning air currents it remained remarkably steady. It was something Ding Songyan couldn’t work out no matter how he thought about it.
Watching the cities below shrunk to the size of toys and the crowds reduced to ants, Ding Songyan first felt a wave of nostalgia for his past life, then a stirring sensation.
Above and below are so starkly defined at this moment...
Above and below... the Six Directions...
Ding Songyan picked up Frostshade and walked toward the cabin door.
"Young Hero Ding, the gale outside is fierce. One moment of inattention and it could sweep you right off the vessel. Unless you have the strength to handle it, it’s best to stay inside," Ren Jiuyue said, rising to give the warning.
"That’s right," Pan Yunzhou agreed.
He was still shaken from the earlier lurching and jolting; even now he hadn’t dared undo the mechanism on his own seat.
Ding Songyan smiled and asked, "What level of strength would be needed to go out?"
"In terms of realm, the early Great Proliferation Realm is enough; but in terms of actual ability, fifth-rank Profound Discerned is preferable," Ren Jiuyue told him in all seriousness.
He himself was fourth-rank Mortal Surpassed.
Wei Ling was the same rank, though her rating was less of a true reflection. When facing stronger opponents, she would fly into the air and deploy mechanisms or hidden weapons. As long as the enemy had no counter to that approach, she remained undefeatable.
"Then I qualify." Ding Songyan gestured toward Pan Yunzhou. "I haven’t been ranked yet, but Senior Brother Pan has fifth-rank Profound Discerned ability, and I’m about on par with him."
You flatter me... When Pan Yunzhou noticed Ren Jiuyue and Wei Ling looking his way, he said honestly, "Junior Brother Ding’s ability surpasses mine."
Given his mature appearance and visible physical anomalies, Ren Jiuyue and Wei Ling had both taken Pan Yunzhou to be mid Great Proliferation Realm—at least fifth-rank Profound Discerned. And yet he was saying that his junior brother, who showed no physical anomalies at all, was stronger than him.
Worthy of being Sword of Rectitude Tao Wenshu’s personal disciple... both martial artists thought to themselves.
They actually knew quite clearly who Ding Songyan and Pan Yunzhou were. When Tao Wenshu applied to the Ingenious Mechanisms Bureau for the flying vessel, she had provided the relevant details; after all, such a costly mechanical construct would suffer no small loss if someone managed to sneak aboard to steal secrets or cause sabotage.
That was precisely why Ren Jiuyue and Wei Ling had not made small talk with Ding Songyan and Pan Yunzhou earlier.
Given Sword of Rectitude Tao Wenshu’s reputation, applying for a flying vessel on behalf of two disciples of modest ability meant there must be sufficient reason. This indicated the matter was not necessarily of great importance, but was certainly highly confidential. Time was not to be wasted on the road.
Once Ren Jiuyue and Wei Ling both gave a nod, Ding Songyan opened the cabin door.
A howling gale poured in at once, carrying a bone-deep chill that swept away the spring-like warmth.
Ding Songyan didn’t call upon the Chaos Realm; he endured the bitter cold and fierce wind and stepped out onto the deck, remembering to pull the door shut behind him.
The deck was already damp, the moisture continuously freezing into a thin layer of ice.
Ding Songyan stood by the ship’s rail, gazing up at the layered pale clouds overhead from time to time before looking down at the mountains and rivers below, as well as closing his eyes to feel the wind and cold.
His mind and spirit slowly sank into this expanse of sky and earth, searching and contemplating with deep focus.
Inside the cabin, Pan Yunzhou finally found the courage to undo his seat’s mechanism.
He left his seat, moved to the front of the cabin, and peered through the crystal-clear windows at Ding Songyan.
Seeing his junior brother enter that faraway, contemplative state again, Pan Yunzhou’s thoughts suddenly raced.
He hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself, pushed the door open, and stepped out while trembling.
He moved close to Ding Songyan and imitated him—gazing up at the sky, looking down at the ground, letting his body feel the wind—hoping to grasp something from this scene.
At the cabin doorway, Wei Ling and Ren Jiuyue stared, a little dumbstruck.
Are all Brightnight Sect people like this?