Infernal Artist

"What do you think about machine creations?"

"In the collection of books I have read, there are very few books on science and technology. There are only more than 1,600 books. However, I learned some knowledge when I was alive. I am not very interested in mobile armors. What I can say is about bombs. Manufacturing and spaceship construction, let’s talk about bombs first…”

"So, what do you think about the secrets of magic?"

"I have solved some magical problems, and the library has more than 10,000 books. Most of the valuable content revolves around dissociation and other instant death spells. I have to say that this knowledge system is a bit too simple. Rough, in fact, magic is a very complex power technique. Generally speaking, the knowledge system should be divided into six categories. Specifically, it is like this..."

"What do you think of the gods in purgatory?"

"This is an interesting topic. I have observed them closely. They actually have many disputes. These are not included in the collection of books. I can talk about a few..."

The carriage drove for a certain distance, and suddenly Du Lei's voice came from inside:

"Out of town."

"Yes." The coachman responded.

The carriage turned around and drove all the way out of the imperial city.

It ran at a fast speed and stopped slowly by a lake in the south of the city.

The three of them got off the carriage.

Du Lei and Jace took out a handkerchief together and wiped the sweat from their forehead and back of neck.

"Quite good, Liu Ping."

"Yes, Liu Ping, your knowledge reserve is quite good and it is worthy of us bringing you here."

The two of them took Liu Ping along the lake for several miles, crossed a narrow wooden bridge, and arrived at an island in the middle of the lake.

Deep in the island, there is a black castle.

"Take the letter left by your teacher and knock on the door." Du Lei said.

"Don't you two come together?" Liu Ping asked in surprise.

The two scholars shook their heads together.

"Originally, you were supposed to undergo qualification review at No. 21, Fudeng Road. Unfortunately, Fudeng Road was destroyed and many people died." Jace said.

"Fortunately, you met us - we temporarily acted as qualification examiners to check your knowledge and found that you have met the standards for membership." Du Lei said.

"You are qualified to come here directly." Jace said.

Liu Ping looked at the dark castle and always felt that something was different from what he imagined.

He suddenly said: "My teacher said that the communication between naturalists is mainly the sharing of knowledge."

"Yes, that's right." Du Lei said.

"Yes, yes." Jace said.

Liu Ping looked at the castle and said anxiously: "But why do we have such a big building?"

Du Lei solemnly said: "What's the problem with this? We are the backbone of the empire, and all progress in the entire country is first driven by knowledge."

Jess said: "If a country doesn't have any respect for the owners and creators of knowledge, and doesn't even give them such decent land and houses, how can this country survive?"

Liu Ping nodded silently.

This reason successfully convinced him.

But for some reason, he always felt that the expressions of the two people opposite him were a bit subtle.

Maybe--

Maybe I just said too much?

"Okay, I'll go then."

Liu Ping said.

After walking through the long boulevard and walking to the dark castle door, Liu Ping stretched out his hand and knocked on the door.

An illusory eye appeared on the door. It was as big as two Liu Pings, looking down at Liu Ping.

A ray of light shot out from his eyes and hit the letter of introduction in Liu Ping's hand.

"Verification passed, transmission begins."

Eyeball said.

Liu Ping suddenly disappeared from where he was.

Du Lei and Jess watched this scene from a distance.

"Do you think he would be surprised?" Du Lei said.

"Who can't be surprised? I was so scared that my legs were shaking," Jace said.

"Hahaha, shall we do this?"

"Every new scholar who joins must be scared once. This is an established rule."

"Yes."

…

The world is spinning.

I don’t know how long it took, but a piece of hard metal suddenly appeared under my feet.

Liu Ping landed lightly on it.

He looked around and found that he was already standing in the spacious castle hall.

Through the glass window, you can see Du Lei and Jace talking under the shade of a tree in the distance.

A voice sounded:

"Welcome, new joiner."

Liu Ping looked around, but didn't find the person he was talking to.

"Who is your Excellency?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Me? In fact, we have met before."

In the center of the hall, a huge diamond-shaped cube quietly emerged.

Its surface is composed of countless cards, which are constantly changing and combining. Whenever some cards are successfully combined, they immediately break away from the surface of the rhombus cube and fly into the void and disappear.

In the diamond-shaped cube, endless cards are generated anytime and anywhere.

It releases cards one after another without stopping for a moment, as if it never tires.

Liu Ping stared at the diamond-shaped cube and saw a line of small words quietly appearing above it:

"War Machine·Sequence."

It turns out that this is the empire's war machine!

As expected, the diamond cube said: "Liu Ping, I am the war machine of the empire and the caller of all human cards."

Liu Ping was shocked and said: "I obviously want to join the ranks of naturalists and exchange knowledge with each other, but I don't know why I am in front of you?"

"Because every naturalist must receive corresponding recognition and authority from me."

A card suddenly sprayed out from the diamond-shaped cube and flew in front of Liu Ping.

"Given that you already have an introducer, under my witness, you passed the test of Du Lei and Jace——"

"This sequence gives you the basic rights of a naturalist."

"Take it, Liu Ping."

Liu Ping stretched out his hand and held the card.

With a "bang" sound, the card suddenly turned into an exquisite silver emblem and fell into Liu Ping's hand.

"This is the emblem of the Erudite. With it, you have access rights and can go to those unknown places for research without being blocked by anyone." The war sequence explained.

"So, the naturalists are actually taking orders from you?" Liu Ping asked.

War Sequence said: "As naturalists, you are all knowledgeable people. You should know that even the Royal Library only has more than one million books, which is far from enough for the use and development of the empire -"

“So, it’s up to you to explore and summarize the unknown.”

"With this emblem, when you gain new knowledge, explore new secret realms, and discover ways to deal with those border monsters, as long as it is conducive to the existence and continuation of the empire, you can redeem various rewards from me, from knowledge to equipment. to treasures, everything.”

"In addition, as a new member of the Erudite Association, I can answer a question for you free of charge."

"I do have a question." Liu Ping asked.

"What's the problem?" War Sequence asked.

"I once protected His Highness in Frostwind City. I want to know why you didn't protect him all the time and put him in such danger?" Liu Ping asked.

"Please note that I am not omnipotent. I have to take care of the entire empire. I also have to respond to the requests of every member of the royal family, implement countless war strategies, and many things that you cannot know." The war sequence responded.

Liu Ping smiled.

He held the silver emblem, put it back in his pocket, and said to the other party:

"Thank you, I understand."

——This emblem is equivalent to a pass to all frontiers of the empire.

The empire definitely needs people with intellectual literacy to discover and explore the unknown areas around it, both for self-preservation and for development and growth.

As for the emperor's parasitism...

I just made an inference and there is no evidence at all.

Furthermore--

How do you explain yourself?

Could it be that he became Qian Zhouwu's master, inferring from the information from Qian Zhouwu's mouth?

The prison knight's secret must not be exposed, otherwise he is seeking death.

You can only start from other aspects.

The war sequence made a buzzing sound: "Liu Ping, your knowledge reserve is quite amazing. I look forward to you helping this sequence grow further. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Liu Ping said.

His figure flashed slightly, left the castle, and appeared on the avenue outside again.

"How is it, everything goes smoothly?" Du Lei laughed.

"To be honest, I was surprised." Liu Ping said.

"It's okay, I was surprised the first time." Jess said with a smile.

Liu Ping couldn't help but take out the silver emblem and said silently: "I want to know something."

The emblem suddenly responded:

"New scholar Liu Ping, you need a certain amount of merit points to consult."

"Your current merit points are: 0."

Liu Ping was stunned.

Du Lei patted him on the shoulder and said: "Knowledge can indeed be shared, provided you contribute a certain amount of knowledge."

"Exchange knowledge or other intelligence for merit points?" Liu Ping asked.

"Yes, work hard and strive to gain something in academics or exploration." Jace also said.

Liu Ping put away the silver emblem and asked:

"Two, I would like to ask, why haven't I seen any other naturalists?"

Du Lei and Jace looked at each other and sighed in unison.

"Most people are active on the frontiers of the empire, exploring various treasures, unknown objects, and strange species." Du Lei said.

"There is an expedition team that just came back." Jace said.

"They were originally going to take a break and be responsible for your membership test," Du Lei said.

"But they're all dead," Jace said.

Liu Ping said: "No. 21, Fudeng Road?"

"Yes." Jace said.

"Who killed them?" Liu Ping asked.

"I don't know. Both the police station and the military are investigating, and there is no conclusion yet." Jess said.

Liu Ping suddenly felt something in his heart.

Qian Zhouwu was from the military. If he caused such a big trouble this time, let alone the royal family, the military itself would conduct a frantic investigation into his affairs.

I just had a chance to enter the military headquarters.

"You two, I have to go back to the city." Liu Ping said.

"Let's go back together." Du Lei said.

The three of them walked towards the outside of the island.