The violet liquid evaporates in the flask, passes through a long crystal tube, passes through processes such as filtration, extraction, distillation, etc., and is condensed into a deep purple drop of pure liquid, which drips into a coolant flask that has been prepared for a long time. /read/103/

The black-robed old man who was operating in front of the alchemy table turned around, took off the cooling bottle sandwiched under the dropper, and carefully took out a drop, which dripped into a pot of iris blue gelatinous substance on the alchemy table—

"Boom!"

There was a muffled explosion, and a mixture of red and blue mist rose from the crucible.

The reinforced crucible and alchemy platform were safe and sound, and the old man had already prepared, and a cylindrical shield automatically condensed three inches from the edge of the crucible, like a chimney.

Removing the shield, the old man set up a single lens in his right eye, squinted to the crucible, and picked up a small piece of blue crystals containing a hint of red light.

"It's still not right, the purity can't go up...... Hey, this pot is wasted again, leave it to James! ”

The black-robed old man frowned and looked at it for a while, then cast a spell to remove the crystals from the pot.

At this time, the space on the side rippled slightly, and the water vapor in the alchemy room was extracted and condensed into a fog mirror.

"Master Larry, Master Kodiak is back at the station." Cassandra's voice rang out in the alchemy room.

"Oh? So fast? ”

The old man put down the crucible and turned around, took off the monocle of his right eye, and looked at the fog mirror.

In the fog mirror, the silver-white carriage with the tequila emblem stopped on the trestle.

Kodiak, also dressed in black robes, jumped out of the car, waved his hand, and the carriage disappeared in place, and Master Kodiak looked up and looked out of the fog mirror, as if sensing Taling's peeping.

"He's the only one coming back?"

Master Larry's old, calm eyes flashed with a gleam.

The fog mirror disappeared in front of Master Larry, who casually handled the crucible, and drops of dark purple pure liquid slowly condensed from the dropper on the side, but Master Larry stirred the blue colloid in the crucible. But no second trial was started.

It didn't take long for the fog mirror to condense out for the second time, and the half-body of Master Kodiak appeared in the mirror, and as soon as he appeared, he didn't even say hello, and spoke directly:

"The eldest prince is not dead, the Azure Order is indeed on that little girl, and—" He paused, "that little girl refused to go in 'there'." ”

In a rare way, Master Kodiak didn't ramble and went straight to the point. The fog mirror froze for a moment, and his figure disappeared again.

"'There'?!"

Master Larry froze and stopped moving his hands. Putting down the cauldron and looking up suddenly, Master Kodiak was gone.

He took two steps back and forth, suddenly put down the real yàn, and turned to leave the alchemy room. Step into your room.

"Cassandra, I hope only I know what is happening in this room."

"As you wish, Elder on duty." The face of a woman on the wall replied.

Then, the amber, translucent walls around the room darkened slightly, and the meridians inside that seemed to be pulsating blood vessels came to rest. The walls of the room turned an opaque dark brown.

Master Larry raised his hand and stroked the ring in his hand, which lit up slightly. A voice came from within.

"Larry?"

"Van Gogh, come over here."

His voice fell, and after a few breaths, a projection of Master Van Gogh appeared in front of Master Larry.

As soon as he appeared in the room, he turned his head to look at the walls on either side. Then he said, "Larry, what's going on?" ”

"Kodiak is back. He said......"

Master Larry repeated what he had heard.

"Wait, I'll ask him."

Master Van Gogh's words fell, and the projection disappeared in front of Master Larry.

Master Larry waited quietly, he knew that the other party was going to check the news, and the "he" in Master Van Gogh's mouth certainly did not refer to Master Kodiak who gave him the message.

After about half an hour, Master Van Gogh came back with a piece of sticky note paper in his hand, and his expression was a little strange. Such an abnormal look rarely appeared on his face, which destroyed Master Van Gogh's always strict and rigid aura, and also surprised Master Larry.

"It seems that you got an unexpected answer," said Master Larry, "what did he say?" ”

Master Van Gogh took the note and looked at it, as if he couldn't believe what was written on it, and then said:

"Ann. Lynn is a descendant of royalty; Odin secretly advanced to the Silver Sword Master, but at present, the fighting spirit has been abolished; And also...... The person with the highest authority in the dungeon can block the permission of anyone to enter. ”

Hearing the last sentence, Master Larry breathed slightly.

“…… Expected," they had already guessed about this, but now it was only verified, he paused, and said calmly, "It's a pity for that little girl. ”

"There's no pity, she does have the Azure Order in her hand, and because of her bloodline, the emperor will not allow her to enter 'there'." Master Van Gogh said.

"Yes."

For the royal family, the current number of legends is sufficient, and the royal family may want as many masters as possible, but they are not happy to see more new legends.

Master Larry nodded, "And what did he say?" ”

"Of course, I will continue to wait," said Master Van Gogh, "after so many years of waiting, it is not too late." ”

Master Larry nodded, and Master Van Gogh's projection dispersed and disappeared in place.

……

The palace is thousands of feet deep underground, and the emperor is also talking to a person hundreds of miles away.

"Silver Sword Saint ......" the short and thin old man opposite the emperor snorted deeply, "You really gave birth to a good son!" ”

The emperor's expression remained unchanged.

In the whole world, there are only two people who can reprimand him like this to his face.

These two people are far more than ten generations older than him, but although one stayed in the palace, he was deeply disgusted by the royal status and did not want to see him at all; One hasn't left Sword Saint Mountain once for nearly a hundred years, and the emperor hasn't really met face-to-face at all, and even this kind of air-to-air conversation is rare-

The most important thing is that they have guarded the royal family for hundreds of years, and the reason why Merlin has developed steadily for hundreds of years and has a stable status is all due to these two ancestors, and in front of these two ancestors who have made great contributions to the royal family, the emperor cannot afford to be an emperor at all.

"I did miss him, his talent, in fact, is still a long way from Yokjardan, I didn't expect it. He was able to reach that state,"

An inexplicable look rose on the emperor's face, "He...... It's a pity! ”

"Do you really think it's a pity?"

The short and thin old man hit the nail on the head.

The emperor's eyelids jumped.

"What if...... If he can really reach the Golden Sword Saint, I have also thought about it, it is a big deal to abdicate, anyway, with my current situation, I will not live for a few years, maybe, I will not have time to see that day. ”

The emperor was silent for a moment, the corners of his mouth slightly mocking. disappeared again, "Although I love the throne, but compared to the great cause of imperial inheritance and unification." That's nothing. ”

He has worked hard for this all his life, and even values it more than life.

The short and thin old man glanced at the emperor, and seeing that he really thought so, he nodded slightly, and his cold color eased slightly. Still a little stern:

"If that's what you think, you're very wrong! I don't think that kid is a pity at all, but only rejoicing! ”

"Great-Uncle Ancestor?" The Emperor looked surprised.

"Do you really think that only your species is the most blessed?"

The short and thin old man snorted coldly, and the disdain was extremely strong.

"We, the Merlin royal family, have produced strong people from generation to generation. Although in terms of quantity, it seems that the side branches are superior, but I have accumulated a lot of secret methods in the past generations. Basically poured on the lineage, how can the lineage that bears the responsibility of inheritance be worse than the side branches?

Otherwise, how do you think there would be me and Don Quixote's dead old monster? If there is no force to deter, you are really stupid to be those side branches, and you have no other thoughts at all?

Hum. Back then, I wasn't of the same generation as Don Quixote's old monster. But both of them are heirs, and you know why we didn't end up in that position? ”

"Not because of the Guardians?"

Of course, the emperor was aware of the generational relationship between the two uncles, and recalled the records in the genealogy, and said:

"Old Uncle Zu, you are a generation higher than Little Uncle Zu, it is said that the contemporary generation originally set you as a guardian, but then Xiao Shuzu appeared, with the magic road and age he walked, he is more suitable to become a guardian than you, you and Xiao Shuzu are inside and outside, and there are hundreds of years of stable development of Merlin."

Although the short and thin old man in front of him did not have the name of a guardian, he had guarded the Sword Sacred Mountain for more than three hundred years, and compared to Don Quixote who hid his identity and buried himself in the palace, the former was a veritable guardian.

It was also during the centuries that they guarded Merlin that Merlin gradually secured the position of the First Empire.

Although it cannot completely erase the merits of the emperors and the children of the imperial family, it has to be said that these two old men played the role of mainstays.

It's just that the short and thin old man has reached the age limit, if it weren't for the many rare treasures accumulated by Merlin for thousands of years to extend the life of the old man, I'm afraid the old man's life limit would be in the past few years.

And although Master Don Quixote is a generation younger than the old man, he is also over four hundred years old.

Fortunately, the descendants of the royal family are replaced by Mourinho and Natalie, and they will not be left behind, and Yorkiadan is even more pure blood and talented, after returning from the Tower of Babel, it is very likely that the replacement of the guardian will be completed before the fall of the two mainstays.

Because of the great contribution of the two uncles to Merlin and the importance of their position, the emperor did not think deeply about the issue of the succession of the two to the throne, but when the short and thin old man mentioned this, the emperor couldn't help but feel that there were some problems.

"You must be thinking, I am obsessed with cultivation and don't care about external things, and Don Quixote is most tired of this identity, and he is not a suitable candidate for succession.

Otherwise, as long as one of the two of us is suitable to succeed to the throne, as long as he sits firmly on the throne for two hundred years, maybe Merlin will complete the accumulation earlier than now, and even without borrowing the once-in-a-millennium time, he can expel the demons and complete the great cause of unification, right? ”

The emperor doesn't think there's anything wrong, internal stability is the foundation and foundation of foreign wars, just like him now, even if he is ten years younger, he will definitely be able to do more, and even in his lifetime, see the unification of the mainland!

But listening to the old man's tone, he obviously didn't think so, and of course the emperor would not nod his head in acknowledgement.

Seeing this, the short and thin old man snorted coldly, "If the emperor at that time thought the same as you, then now, there is nothing to do with you!" ”

It was hundreds of years ago, and the emperor didn't care about the old man's words, and asked, "Then what happened back then?" ”

"You don't have to think about it, it's not as complicated as you think it is,"

The old man snorted in displeasure.

"Tang Quixote and I really have no possibility of inheriting the throne, but it's not the power struggle you imagined, but back then, neither I nor my father and the emperor thought that cultivators were suitable candidates for succession.

Especially Don Quixote. After discovering his bloodline talent at the beginning, his father directly eliminated him from the ranks of heirs, and in terms of education, he was completely opposite to his brother, so he overcorrected him and made him into his current character.

If it weren't for the Guardian not being able to leave the Imperial City, he would have gone all these years! ”

The emperor's face froze, thoughtful.

"I don't know why the two generations of emperors made such a decision, after all, I have never been an emperor. But to say the old man, I have lived so long. I have never seen an emperor who reigned for more than fifty years, and I think there must be a truth in him. ”

The old man looked at the emperor and said lightly: "You have been on the throne for more than thirty years. Work hard to carry on the burden of your father, and govern Merlin prosperously.

Merlin is fortunate that these generations of emperors have no dim people, and they are in an orderly manner. Among them, you have made the greatest achievements, since you ascended the throne, you have done better than your wise grandfather Philip III, so for so many years, I have been guarding the Sword Sacred Mountain and have never interfered in state affairs. ”

The emperor was unexpected. The first time I heard the evaluation of myself from the old man's mouth, my body was shocked, and a layer of red appeared on my face.

His chest heaved slightly. Suppressing his feelings, he was about to say something, but he was waved by the short and thin old man.

"You don't need to be modest, I am most annoyed by these hypocritical modest words, since I say so. That's what you deserve, and I'm going to say it. It's not all good words, you keep listening. ”

The old man glared at the emperor.

"For thirty years, you have governed the major nobles under the royal family to the good will, this is your skill and ability, there is nothing to say.

Although I don't know anything about imperial power, according to what I think, you can govern this country smoothly in thirty years, and no one below dares to take the lead, so what about a hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years? ”

The old man glanced at the emperor, saw that his face was condensed, and said meaningfully: "At that time, either you will be crazy, or the people below will be crazy!" ”

The emperor was shocked.

He had already understood what the old uncle meant.

Over the years, power is like a pyramid, and the foundation from the bottom up maintains its stability:

Once the power held for a long time is out of balance, it is not that the emperor gradually forgets his prudence and destroys the Great Wall in vain arrogance under the influence of increasingly concentrated power; It is that the suppressed strata below are unbearable to be suppressed, and the crowd rises up and resists.

Either of these two may occur, it will directly lead to the collapse of Merlin's thousand-year-old foundation from the inside and be destroyed in one fell swoop.

The emperor's expression was solemn and thoughtful.

When the short and thin old man saw that he had listened, he said:

"Speaking of which, your two cubs are also interesting, just the opposite of me and Don Quixote, Odin won't talk about it, I heard that the kid who has been taught as a guardian since he was a child is also a little restless?"

Speaking of his youngest son, the emperor also sighed.

"That kid of Yokjadan is untamed by nature, and he doesn't know what's going on, obviously his education is completely different from Odin's, but he is bent on competing with Odin, if it weren't for the Ice Field, I wouldn't have known what he thinks,"

The emperor thought of something, and softened slightly, "But although he is young and vigorous, his centripetal force towards the royal family is deep-rooted. "In this regard, it is better than the current guardian, and it is a gain and a loss.

Of course, the short and thin old man understood the emperor's unfinished words and glared at him.

"There is only a donkey in this world that can't eat carrots, and there is no white paper that can't be blackened!"

The old man said coldly, "Don Quixote's donkey has been stereotyped, and he is bent on chasing the carrot that can never catch up, but your little cub is a blank piece of paper, which can't be blackened, so it must be the person who painted the wrong paint!" ”

The emperor's expression flashed, and a trace of suspicion crossed his heart, but when he thought back to the past, he couldn't find any traces at all.

He knew that the old man was dissatisfied with the way he had taught Yorkiadan, so he said:

"In fact, it stands to reason that the little uncle is the best person to teach York, but the little uncle is unwilling, and ...... I had no choice but to hand him over to Rice, so he never knew about the Guardian's existence and my plans for him, and it was indeed my mistake. ”

The old man knew what was behind the emperor's "and", wasn't it for fear that York Ardans would learn Don Quixote's temper, and that would be another trouble.

The old man himself had a headache about Don Quixote's character, the two of them hated each other, and he really couldn't say it, let Don Quixote teach the next guardian, maybe the emperor really handed over Jokjatan to Don Quixote, and he would still scold the emperor.

So he snorted angrily:

"Was it a mistake or an intention. You know in your own heart that if you fancy that kid and want him to inherit your position, then you must get a guardian to come out to me first! ”

He paused, "What do you think about the next emperor?" ”

He knew in his heart that Odin's cultivation level was exposed, even if the emperor said so before, but in his heart he wanted to say that there was no mustard at all, it was impossible.

"Odin's fighting spirit foundation is damaged, and there is no way to restore it......"

The Emperor's eyes twinkled. Finally, there was silence under the old man's sharp eyes, and after a while, he said, "I still do." Would like to take another look. ”

From this sentence, the old man could hear that the emperor had not made up his mind to give up the heir he had cultivated for more than 20 years, but he did have a shake in his heart, perhaps without the beating he had before. With the candidate of Yorkiadan, the emperor's vacillation will be even greater.

The old man had no opinion on the choice of the heir, if Odin's injuries could be recovered, he would have it, but now that Odin had destroyed the foundation of his fighting spirit, he was more at ease. In his heart, he felt that excluding the emperor's private feelings, Odin was indeed suitable.

However, now that the turmoil has passed, Odin's injury is undecided. I don't know if there will be any sequelae, he estimates that the emperor will not be able to make a decision so quickly, but just reminded:

"The heir must be decided early, and those guys below will be at a loss if they wait too long. None of your cubs are trouble-free. If the situation is disrupted because of this, it will be harmful to Merlin. ”

The Emperor nodded. On the question of the heir, he really should think about it.

"And besides, there's that girl......"

"You've already banned her permissions, what else can she do?"

The short and thin old man rolled his eyes and said:

"It's her Azure Order, you can probably guess how it came about!

His Majesty Gun Crown left this Azure Order at that time, to put it bluntly, this favor should be owed by Merlin, and you almost killed her - what did that little cub of your family do to others! ”

The Sword Saint Mountain had already received the words from Robert Sword Saint and Gabriel Sword Saint, and it was not at all surprised that the Azure Order would appear in Lin An's hands.

It was only after Lin An left the palace that the emperor learned about the existence of the Azure Order.

He coughed twice, but before he could show embarrassment, he saw the old man on the other side tilting his ears, as if he was listening to something, as if someone was talking to the old man over there, and then the old man gradually turned blue.

"What a self-inflicted death! I don't know how thick the sky is! ”

The old man roared, if it weren't for the fact that the emperor was facing just a projection, the splattering spittle stars would probably spray the emperor's head and face.

"You saw it! The emperor who has lived for a long time has a lot to think about, and he has not reached that level at all, so he dares to stretch out his claws! After that, are you going to kick the legend and punch me, an old man?!

There is a kind of day when he endures until he advances to the throne, and I can't kick him off the throne even if I let the old man go! Maybe I'll admire him a little bit!

Now it's okay, people can't steal it, and his face is lost, and I want my old man to wipe his ass! Where does my old man still have the face to find the Azure Spear Saint! People slapped me over, and I didn't have the face to hit it back!

- Idiot! No descendants!! ”

The old man flew like thunder, squirting a bunch of idiot waste snacks at the sky, and the scolding mixed with country slang rumbled through the empty space.

Before the emperor could speak, the old man's projection disappeared with a snap, leaving behind a deafening echo and the emperor with a green face.

……

Three days later.

The condensed, chaotic, clammy mist, like countless sticky and cold hands, dragged and blocked his steps, as if to drag him into the depths of the gloom that did not allow a trace of light.

Odin trudged through it for a long time, and finally broke through the haze, and a glimmer of light came through.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the face of a maid appeared in his sight.

The scarlet velvet mural behind her irritated Odin's eyes, reminding him of the bloodshot eyes before he fell unconscious, and suddenly he woke up and felt the pain and discomfort in his body.

"Your Highness, you're awake!"

At the call of the maid, a familiar guard immediately appeared in front of him.

Only then did Odin realize that he was not lying on the bed, his body was shaking slightly, his vision was a little swaying, and he seemed to be in a carriage.

The guard, who was a member of his guard, was now dressed as the captain of the guard, as if he had guessed Odin's doubts, and bowed his head and said:

"Your Highness, we are on our way to the Winter Palace. Captain Karl ...... them Already went to the Guards. ”

The guard paused, "Your Majesty has not disclosed your injuries, Perre's Red River is overflowing, the downstream harvest is not good, the southern front is attacked by the Ponto mountain people, and the southern army does not have enough manpower, Your Majesty ordered His Highness to lead the army to the battle, and now it is probably about to arrive at the rock fort." ”

This is undoubtedly a trick to hide from the world, and only the combination of real military intelligence and fake people can prevent those sensitive nobles in the imperial capital from discovering that the turmoil was caused by him.

The "Odin" who remains in the Guards is probably his stand-in.

(To be continued)

ps：

Thank you Yang Lingfeng for the big pink ticket, as well as the big reward from the examination party and the big reward from Mu Sheng! o(n_n)o~

Odin was sent out by his father, but he will soon make a comeback~ I have to say that he really took a straight flush, but he was too ambitious and impatient, and played a bad hand~

But he hasn't reached the point where he can't turn over now, at least in terms of ability, his brothers still can't replace him~