Chapter 130: Duanmu Ancestor was mad
Xia Wangfu, secret room.
In the blink of an eye, patches of frost condensed on Lin Yan's body.
Wisps of cold air fluttered around.
It's inexplicable, it makes people feel a little fairy.
"It's such a domineering power, if a person with weak cultivation swallows it, I'm afraid that it will condense into ice in the blink of an eye, but fortunately, I not only have the cold and icy true qi of Ming Yugong in my body, but also the fiery true qi of the wedding dress divine skill, so it's nothing."
Don't think about it anymore, Lin Yan's operation has already fused the Ming Yugong and the Dharma nerves, as well as the wedding dress magic skill of the Congenital Mixed Yuan Gong.
The two true qi of yin and yang suddenly traveled through the meridians of the whole body, helping it refine the inner dan.
Just an hour.
The first Inner Pill was refined and absorbed.
And Lin Yan also obviously felt that his cultivation had been further improved.
Especially Ming Yugong's icy true qi.
The increase is most pronounced.
But.
After Ming Yugong's Ice True Qi increased, it did not affect the balance of the two True Qi, on the contrary, under the operation of the new Wedding Dress Divine Qi, these two True Qi will balance and adjust themselves.
It seems that it will always be in a state of perfect balance.
And!
After refining, Lin Yan did not feel any discomfort.
"It's not bad, just a small inner pill has improved my third blood quenching effect a lot, and it is estimated that if I refine the big inner pill, I can complete the third blood quenching and step directly into the fourth level."
Murmured.
Lin Yan gave up refining another small inner pill.
Directly take out the large one.
This Neidan is too big.
Lin Yan couldn't swallow it directly, so he simply let it levitate in front of him, release his true qi through his hands to surround and refine, and then extract the energy in it into his body.
Wisps of cold qi continued to draw out from the inner pill and surged towards Lin Yan's body.
The size of the Nedan is also shrinking.
Wait until it's enough to swallow in one bite.
Lin Yan opened his mouth and sucked.
Nedan flew straight into his mouth and swallowed it.
Inner Dan in the abdomen.
The refining speed suddenly increased several times, and it continued to shrink at a faster speed.
And at the moment.
The secret room was already covered with a large number of frost ice crystals, and the temperature had also dropped to a terrifying level, and even frost seeped through the thick stone walls of the secret room, seeping outside, and a piece of frost also formed on the stone walls outside.
In the blink of an eye, several hours passed.
The largest Inner Pill was also refined and absorbed by Lin Yan.
Suddenly.
An even more terrifying vibration of qi and blood shook like thunder in Lin Yan's body, and even the air shook with it, spreading and surging around.
Really!
As Lin Yan expected.
After absorbing and refining this large inner pill, the blood in his whole body had completed the third quenching and directly entered the fourth quenching realm.
Open your eyes.
In Lin Yan's eyes, the two true qi of yin and yang rotated, as if the sun and the moon were rotating.
After a few moments, all the visions dissipated.
Lin Yan's body floating in mid-air also slowly fell, and then his legs fell apart and the soles of his feet hit the ground.
There was a nonchalant smile on his lips.
"After successfully completing three complete blood quenching, I feel that the blood in my body is constantly renewed, and now that I have stepped into the fourth blood quenching, this feeling of rebirth has become even stronger.
"Ice and Fire Ninefold Blood Quenching Method!
"Sure enough, it's an anti-heaven magic technique!
"When the ninefold blood quenching is completed, I will be able to quench the divine blood, and at that time, my strength will also reach a level that no one in the same realm can match, and the foundation of the martial arts will also become flawless."
Lin Yan is looking forward to that day.
The remaining Inner Dan, he did not continue refining.
Anyway, it's not enough to complete another blood quenching.
Just keep it for now.
Maybe it could be used for something else.
Out of customs.
Lin Yan explained the Fifth Ruixue, and then took advantage of the night to leave the imperial city.
Duanmu family.
Duanmu Lingkong, who received the news, had a touch of absolute coldness in his sharp eyes.
"Humph! You're finally willing to leave the Imperial City. Old Qiu, if you accompany me, you must make sure that this surnamed Lin will not escape. β
If Lin Yan had stayed in the imperial city, Duanmu would not dare to make a move.
After all!
Anyway, Lin Yan is also the current saint who is the same king as King Xia, if he blatantly does something to him in the imperial city, it is no different from slapping the face of the royal family.
So during this time, Duanmu Volley has been waiting for an opportunity.
And not far from him, there was a thin old man with a hunched back, gray hair, and a gloomy expression, and the old man nodded.
"Yes, Master!"
The figures of the two men soon disappeared.
Duanmu Cheng had already sensed the departure of the two, and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth: "Hehe, I really can't sit still, but it has nothing to do with me."
"Humph! The people of my Duanmu family will never die in vain! β
In Duanmucheng's opinion.
Lin Yan is from the Zhu family, and he is a genius who is so talented that people are jealous.
Such a genius must not be used by the Zhu family.
Can't even let him grow up.
Gotta kill.
Gotta die.
Otherwise, when the Xuan Realm opens half a year later, the Zhu family's luck will be even stronger.
"This time the Xuan Realm is opened, my Duanmu family must win the biggest luck among them, and the rumored secret treasure of the Xuan Realm must also be my Duanmu family."
β¦β¦
Outside the Imperial City.
The corners of Lin Yan's mouth pursed into an indifferent smile.
At the time of leaving the palace.
He noticed that there were people watching near the palace.
"It's quite positive to keep up so quickly, and it's quite affordable to look up to me, it's actually two out of the world, but unfortunately, if it was before, I might still feel a little headache, but now it's ......"
Lin Yan was now confident that he could easily kill the two masters of the Rebirth Realm.
After all, every time he completes a blood quenching, it is equivalent to breaking through the blood quenching realm and stepping into the rebirth realm.
Complete three blood quenchings.
It is equivalent to repeatedly breaking through the Quenching Blood Realm three times.
And.
The internal strength he cultivated was still three times to break the limit, and he fused the Ming Yu Gong and other powerful mental methods of the super wedding dress divine skill.
Even if the other party cultivates a superior one-grade mental method.
Nor is it his opponent.
Lin Yan deliberately slowed down a little, but the other party had no intention of rushing to make a move.
Until five hundred miles away from the imperial city.
Duanmu Lingkong and the old man surnamed Qiu appeared and blocked Lin Yan's way.
There is no one here.
There is no village in front of it.
After not in store.
It's totally a great place to kill people and seek revenge.
Duanmu with a gloomy face stopped in front of him, and the old man surnamed Qiu, who had a gloomy expression, cut off the rear, and the two sandwiched Lin Yan in the middle.
Lin Yan looked back and forth.
Both are strangers.
Never seen before.
Moreover, the qi and blood light of these two people, Lin Yan had not sensed it in the imperial city.
"It seems that when I sensed the entire Imperial City, there were still many places that I couldn't sense, either these two people were in the Imperial Palace at the time, or they were not in the Imperial City, or there were other places where there were formations such as isolation or concealment, which affected my perception."
Lin Yan muttered secretly in his heart.
But it doesn't matter.
These are two small experience packs delivered to your door.
Don't collect white, don't collect.
"You're Xia Wang Lin Yan, right?" Duanmu said in a deep voice.
Although Lin Yan's name has been heard countless times.
But it was also the first time he met Lin Yan.
Lin Yan chuckled: "Follow me so far before you are willing to show up, and you can accurately say my identity and name, the two of you should be from the imperial city, let me guess, you are...... People from the Duanmu family? β
Duanmu said coldly: "You guessed very accurately. β
Lin Yan smiled: "There is no way, two masters who have entered the Holy Realm suddenly stopped me, and they followed me all the way from the imperial city, if you think about it carefully, it can only be someone from the Duanmu family." β
Duanmu Lingkong's eyes narrowed slightly: "Oh? King Xia knows that our Duanmu family will send someone to follow you? β
Lin Yan spread his hands: "No way, who asked Duanmu Mingyang to go with me to find Yan Nantian's treasure, but he died, but I came back alive, if you Duanmu family don't come to me, I will feel even more strange." β
Duanmu volley faintly guessed.
The death of his son Duanmu Mingyang is mostly related to Lin Yan.
But he still suppressed the anger churning in his heart.
"I was just about to ask King Xia for advice, how did my son Duanmu Mingyang die?"
Lin Yan said in surprise: "Didn't Duanmu Mingxuan tell you?" β
Duanmu said in a deep voice: "I want to hear you say it in person." β
Lin Yan spread his hands helplessly.
"Hey...... I killed it. β
"What?!"
Duanmu Volley and the Yin Owl Old Man were both stunned.
Lin Yan killed?
No way!
No way!
Not to mention that he is just in the Quenching Blood Realm, even if he is out of the rebirth realm, it is impossible to kill Duanmu Mingyang.
And at this very moment.
Lin Yan's hand suddenly had an unsheathed embroidered spring knife.
"It's like this."
Call......
Lin Yan made a move.
"Strange and Strange!"
Three flame tornadoes suddenly rose from the ground, two of them merged into one, enveloping Duanmu in the air, and the other appeared in the rear, enveloping the old man surnamed Qiu of the Yin Owl.
This scene came too weirdly and too quickly.
The raging and furious flame tornado caught the two of them off guard.
They were controlled in an instant.
There is no way to get out in the first place.
They could only run the exercises to resist the raging cutting and strangulation of the flame tornado, but in the blink of an eye, the clothes on their bodies were cut into scorching cuts.
And not before they can get used to it.
Lin Yan's embroidered spring knife that rose up took advantage of the trend and slashed downward.
"Strange Cold!"
Between the whistling, three ice tornadoes fell directly from the sky, and two of them also rolled towards Duanmu volleys, and merged into one, crushing Duanmu volleys to death with a powerful control effect.
Another ice tornado continued to attack the old man.
Although the control effect is significantly weakened.
But it is impossible for the old man to break free easily.
And at this very moment.
Lin Yan's eyes suddenly froze.
"Thunder and Fire Vault!"
Cracking sound......
Bake Bake Bake ......
Moment!
A large number of terrifying thunder and flames appeared on Lin Yan's body, as if the Thunder Fire God Monarch had descended into the world, and a large number of thunder and flames were also born out of thin air in the void, resonating with the thunder and flames on his body.
Lin Yan's body was surrounded by thunder and flames.
Silver-white thunder lines and fiery red flame patterns attached to the surface of his skin like magical glowing streaks.
Lin Yan's breath rose in an instant.
"Thunder Slash!"
Phew!
As soon as the thunder moved, Lin Yan's figure disappeared in an instant.
And in the void where Duanmu volleyed in the sky, thirty-six earth-shattering thunder swords flew out in an instant.
Boom......
Boom......
Thirty-six thunder knives were slashed out from different angles, each with a terrifying thunder divine might, as if it wanted to cut everything, and even the void led a large number of thunderbolts, raging and exploding.
This is just the end here.
Lin Yan didn't hesitate, turned around and flashed towards the old man again.
Thunder slash, reappear!
Boom......
Boom......
Thirty-six more world-shattering thunder knives flew out in an instant with a sharp and incomparable momentum, and each knife landed on the body of the old man with unmistakable accuracy.
Meantime.
The void also exploded with a large number of violent thunder.
Call......
Lin Yan waved his arm and shook the knife.
A small amount of blood on the knife fell down the blade to the weeds on the ground, and the embroidered spring knife disappeared directly.
At this time, Lin Yan took advantage of the situation to strike two more Nantian God Fists and bombarded the two of them fiercely.
Bang! Bang!
Under the shock of the fist, the bones of Duanmu Volley and the Yin Owl Old Man's body were shattered.
The two of them each spurted out a mouthful of blood, and their hearts were directly shocked.
Died on the spot.
In fact, Lin Yan didn't need to fight the last two punches.
But.
He estimated that Zhu Zongyou and Shangguan Xiangpeng were looking forward to him performing these two magical skills and showing his might in the rivers and lakes.
Then make up for the two punches and create a little illusion.
Anyway, it won't consume any true qi.
In a blink of an eye.
The thunder dissipated, and everything returned to calm.
"Hey...... Are you stupid? Duanmu Mingyang of the Bone Changing Realm died in my hands, what's the use of the two of you coming over from the Rebirth Realm, isn't this a free gift? β
Lin Yan shook his head for the two.
Stupidity!
Poof! Poof!
Duanmu Volley and the Yin Owl Old Man fell to the ground one after another, looking terrified, and they didn't bat a glance.
γDing! Kill the transcendent martial artist who has entered the Holy Realm and is rewarded with 18 martial arts points; As the envoy of the Jinyi Guard, you can increase your martial arts value by an additional 90 points. γ
γDing! Kill the transcendent martial artist who has entered the Holy Realm and is rewarded with 18 martial arts points; As the envoy of the Jinyi Guard, you can increase your martial arts value by an additional 90 points. γ
[Available Martial Arts Value: 831]
Lin Yan didn't know these two people, and he didn't know their names.
So.
The system prompt doesn't even show the names of the two men.
At the same time.
Imperial City, Duanmu Family.
Duanmucheng, who was meditating with his eyes closed, originally had an extremely mysterious balance of aura on his body, but suddenly, the aura trembled suddenly, and Duanmucheng's eyes suddenly opened, revealing a look of horror on his face.
"What?! Volley...... He's dead?! Who killed him? Is that Lin Yan, the king of Xia?
"Nope!
"Impossible! He is just a blood quenching realm cultivator, and it is impossible for him to kill in the air, is it ...... Was it the person who killed Mingyang who shot and killed the volley again?
"This person is a person who secretly protects Lin Yan, the king of Xia?
"Who the hell is it?"
Duanmucheng believed that it could not be the ancestor of the Zhu family.
Because the ancestor of the Zhu family is the same as him, he is even more afraid of death than him, and it is impossible to do something that violates the blood oath and increase the calamity of the blood oath to himself.
But who is it?
Who is protecting Lin Yan, the king of Naxia?
Bang!
A life card representing the old man surnamed Qiu also cracked at this time.
Duanmucheng's eyes suddenly shrank again.
Another dead one?
Bastard!
Who killed them?
Rumble!!
The terrifying aura vibrated from Duanmu Cheng's body, spreading a hundred feet away.
Duanmu Cheng is simply mad!
In just one month.
The Duanmu family lost one Bone Changing Realm and two Birth Realms, such a blow could simply force a medium-sized dynasty directly into the death realm.
For the Duanmu family, it is also an incomparably huge loss.
After all!
It was already extremely difficult to cultivate a transcendent sainthood.
What's more, you have to grow into a realm of rebirth and bone change?
This month, except for the beginning of Duanmucheng, the top combat power of the Duanmu family has been directly hollowed out by half.
Such a loss.
Even Duanmucheng felt unbearable.
In the Imperial City.
The ancestor of the Zhu family felt the energy released by Duanmu Cheng just now, and his heart suddenly became clear.
"It seems that the person who was tracked out by the Duanmu family is afraid that he is dead, so Duanmu Cheng will be angry like this, right? That little guy is really surprising, it's not bad that Zong Yu can get acquainted with such a genius. β
Ignore it no more.
The ancestor of the Zhu family closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.
The other side.
After Lin Yan easily killed Duanmu Lingkong and the Yin Eagle Old Man, he touched the two of them, and in addition to some silver taels and silver tickets, he unexpectedly obtained a high-quality dagger.
It is carved with a black phoenix with wings spreading, and a black bloodletting groove.
"Black Phoenix Dagger?"
Lin Yan thought of a top-grade dagger on the Divine Soldier List.
Gently wave between.
The sharp edge of the dagger seemed to be slicing through the air, and two streams of air slid back and separated along the dagger.
"Hehe, you guys came all the way to send experience and things, how embarrassed am I?"
Lin Yan chuckled and put the black phoenix dagger into the system space.
At the same time, he also gained an additional 18 martial arts points.
[Available Martial Arts Value: 849]
"It's only more than 800 martial arts points, and it's really not easy to get together 4,000 points and let the wedding dress magic skill break the limit for the fourth time." Lin Yan couldn't help but murmur.
The only one is still the Southern Heavenly Divine Fist of the Perfection Realm.
Lin Yan also decided not to add points for the time being.
After all, it wasn't necessary.
The consummation realm is completely sufficient.
Or continue to accumulate martial arts value, break the limit of the wedding dress, and the benefits will be greater.
Let's go, continue to move towards the Shifting Flower Palace.
As for the bodies of those two men.
Just stay there.
Embroidered Jade Valley!
This is the place where the Flower Shifting Palace is located, which is regarded as one of the forbidden places of martial arts by countless martial arts people, and it is also a place where a hundred flowers bloom, like a fairyland outside the world.
For hundreds of years.
Within a hundred miles of the Shifting Flower Palace, few male martial arts people dared to approach.
Those martial arts people who coveted the beauty of Invite Yue and Pity Star either died in the Flower Shifting Palace and became flower fertilizer; Either his martial arts are all wasted, and he is thrown out of a place a hundred miles away from the Shifting Flower Palace, leaving his life and death to his fate.
But that's right.
There are still some male martial arts people who do everything possible to get close to the Shifting Flower Palace, wanting to see the "peerless faces" of the two palace masters, as if they have fallen into a demon.
After all!
After living for two or three hundred years, she can still maintain the peerless appearance of a little girl in her twenties, and maintain the effect of eternal youth, which is really reverie, and I can't wait to see it, and even kiss Fangze.
Of course.
More people still kept their sanity and did not dare to easily set foot within a hundred miles of the Shifting Flower Palace.
And a hundred miles away from the Shifting Flower Palace, there is a small town that is developing quite well.
Because.
The purchase of all kinds of materials in the Shifting Flower Palace is all carried out in this town, and every time the required amount is required, the merchants can make a lot of money.
In time.
A large number of merchants settled in this town, and some martial arts people who wanted to see the peerless style of the two palaces of the Shifting Flower Palace also came to this town, and the town became prosperous, and it was even called Shifting Flower Town.
As soon as Lin Yan arrived in Yihua Town, he saw an extremely lively scene.
There is even a feeling of returning to the imperial city.
Merely.
Compared to the scale of the Imperial City, the scale of the Shifting Flower Town is really far behind.
But its liveliness is no worse than that of the Imperial City.
Hawkers are calling for buys along the streets.
Dirt dogs roam around.
Children chase and fight.
The whole Yihua Town is full of people, busy with traffic, and full of vitality.
Suddenly, two men, covered in blood, were thrown on the street by a group of veiled women.
When the women had finished throwing them, they turned and left.
But the people in the town of Shifting Flowers didn't look surprised, just looking at it with a chuckle.
"Huh...... It's two people who don't know whether they are alive or dead, and they are close to the Shifting Flower Palace in order to see the peerless demeanor of the two palace masters of the Shifting Flower Palace, really, why bother? β
"That's right."
"There are so many beauties on the beauty list, who do you think is bad, you have to go to see the two palace masters of the Shifting Flower Palace? What's more, their rankings are all in their twenties. β
"It's okay now, martial arts have been abolished, and you have become a wasted person, how can you live for the rest of your life?"
"Brother Tai, why do you say that they are close to the Shifting Flower Palace, instead of sneaking into the Shifting Flower Palace?"
"You're new here, aren't you? Hehe, if the two of them have already infiltrated the Shifting Flower Palace, it will not be the abolition of martial arts and thrown here again, but the flower fertilizer that has become the Shifting Flower Palace. β
"Shhh...... Is it so ruthless? β
Lin Yan didn't expect it either.
As soon as I arrived here, I witnessed a scene of the "persecution" of martial arts people in the Flower Shifting Palace.
These two people, one body meridian was abolished.
The next life is really a "miserable" word.
Let's be honest.
People are just close to the Shifting Flower Palace, not entering.
This will abolish other people's martial arts.
The Shifting Flower Palace is really ruthless.
"You're mistaken."
Suddenly, a voice sounded, making everyone around look stunned.
Because, it is one of the people who has been stripped of the meridians who speaks.
I saw him sit up with difficulty, gasping for a few breaths, and then he said weakly: "Lao Tzu didn't go to see the two old women of Ying Yue and Lian Xing, Lao Tzu approached the Flower Shifting Palace for Shui Yanrou." β
"What?!"
"Shui Yanrou? The second-ranked beauty on the Tianji beauty list, Shui Yanrou? β
"Shui Yanrou is a person from the Flower Shifting Palace?!"
"Isn't that right? As far as I know, Shui Yanrou is a native of Shuiyun City in the south of the Yangtze River, how did she become a person from the Flower Shifting Palace? β
The people around him all looked confused.
Lin Yan also heard news related to Shui Yanrou for the first time.
"Water Cloud City? Shifting the Flower Palace? β
Lin Yan thought about it carefully.
He had seen from the map of the dynasty collected in the Fusi of Beizhen that Shuiyun City and the Shifting Flower Palace were separated by more than 1,300 miles, and the eight poles could not be beaten.
But now.
Shui Yanrou has obviously been involved with the Shifting Flower Palace.
Lin Yan is here.
Originally, I was idle, to see what the legendary Invite Yue and Pixing looked like, but I didn't expect that now it is two beauties plus one, and there is one more Shui Yanrou.
Is this to be doubly happy?
But.
Lin Yan didn't come here with the purpose of picking up girls, at most to appreciate it and see what the two sisters, Yingyue and Lianxing, who had already left an impression in their minds before, looked like.
In addition, he wanted to inquire more about the Xuan Realm.
Lin Yan thinks.
It would be better to know more about the Xuan Realm and be well prepared in advance.
After all, opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.
So.
Lin Yan came to the Flower Palace, in addition to wanting to see what the two legendary palace masters looked like, more to see if he could learn more about the Xuan Realm, rather than picking up girls.
Of course, it doesn't matter if you can't find out about it.
I can see what Invite Yue and Pian Xing look like, satisfy my curiosity, and that's it.
Anyway, the most important thing is to improve the strength.
The strength is strong enough, and any conspiracy can be cut down with one sword!
Just when these thoughts flashed through Lin Yan's heart.
Another martial arts person who had been stripped of his meridians couldn't help but curse: "Bastard! Bastard! Those people in the Flower Shifting Palace are all bastards, they are crazy, I said that I was just passing by, just passing by, but they didn't listen to my explanation at all, so they abolished my meridians, I ...... Woo...... Woo......"
The man couldn't help but sob.
A big man.
Crying like a child.
But those who are watching around can understand it.
After all, they are all from the rivers and lakes.
The abolition of the meridians is equivalent to the total loss of martial arts.
All the efforts in martial arts in the first half of his life almost turned into bubbles at this moment, and they were all wasted.
Unless you can find a spiritual elixir that repairs the meridians.
But that kind of miracle medicine.
And how can it be so easy to find?
Another martial arts person who had had his meridians abolished next to him gently patted the shoulder of the person who was crying, and comforted: "Brother, isn't it just that the meridians have been abolished, what's the big deal, look at me, can't I still be able to move?"
"And!
"As long as I can see Shui Yanrou's beauty, even if I am allowed to die, I am willing."
"I'm not like you, woo...... I...... Woo...... I just really passed by there, and I didn't know that these women in the Flower Shifting Palace were crazy, I ...... Whining...... I also have to learn martial arts to avenge my parents. But now, what do I take revenge? Woohoo......"
Everyone shook their heads helplessly.
Reason with those women in the Flower Shifting Palace?
I'm afraid it's not crazy.
The people in the Flower Shifting Palace are all people who lack vitality and emotion.
Describe them in one word.
That's "cold"!
Cold, cold!
They are never reasonable, and only abide by the rules set by the lord of the palace.
As long as you don't break their rules.
They won't even look at you.
But if you break their rules.
I'm sorry about that.
They will not hesitate to enforce the rules of the Flower Shifting Palace.
Either kill you.
Either abolish you.
From the discussion of everyone around, Lin Yan had a general impression of the current Shifting Flower Palace, that is, Shifting Flowers Palace does not welcome men, and men are not allowed to step into the Shifting Flower Palace.
Very domineering!
Very strong!
But this is the territory of the ancient dynasty.
As a martial arts sect, so domineering, aren't you afraid that the ancient dynasty will send troops to encircle and suppress it?
"I have a doubt, and I ask you guys to help solve it."
Lin Yan clasped his fists at the person next to him.
Everyone looked at him and saw that he was dressed in a brocade robe, and he was so polite, and they smiled politely one by one.
"Brother Tai has anything you want to ask, just ask."
Lin Yan said: "This world is so big, could it be the king's land, the Shifting Flower Palace does not allow men to step into its hundred miles range, what if the army of the imperial court passes by here, they are also so strong, dare to abolish the meridians of all the men in the imperial army?" β
Thanks to "Little Poplar Leaf" for the tip!
Thanks to "CynicismΒ°_Ed" for the tip!
Thank you "Mr. August Shichiku" for the tip!
Keep asking for a monthly pass!
Ask for a commuter pass!
Ask for a commuter pass!
(End of chapter)