"Of course, I need to inspect your army first." Murong Xue paused. "Besides, you have to promise me something."

"What? Just say it."

Murong Xue asked with a serious face, "You know the technology I'm talking about is ahead of your time, something you're not supposed to have even in the future, so I hope you can build a peaceful world instead of slaughtering at will after you win the world with what I make."

"Okay. I promise you." Jiu Yan said.

Then the three went straight to the military camp.

It was not the best weather today. The drizzle blurred everything.

They could hear the soldiers cry from far away before they arrived at the camp.

Jiu Yan was in charge of the army now, but other princes were also aiming for the tally in his hand to command the army. Even the king, his father, wanted to take back the tally from him, but Jiu Yan would not let them do that. There was no place for him in the court, so how he would end up was obvious if he lost the tally.

The moment they got out of the carriage, Murong Xue looked around while walking on the muddy road. The military camp was not as grand as she expected. Outside the camp, there were soldiers guarding the four walls; inside the camp, there was only flat ground except for the buildings to store the weapons and the tents in which the soldiers lived.

At this moment, soldiers lining up at the center of the field were training in a phalanx.

Murong Xue followed Jiu Yan in, and a military officer who was leading the chanting trotted over to them at once. The officer got down on one knee. "Your Highness."

Jiu Yan waved his hand and said, "Lieutenant Liu, rise. Don't mind me. Go back to your training. I'm just stopping by."

"Yes." Lieutenant Liu made a bow with clasped hands and returned to his soldiers, but he seemed to have given Murong Xue and Feng Ziling a glance before he left.

"Let me show you around." Jiu Yan took the lead.

It was raining harder and harder as the needle-like drizzles intensified. However, Lieutenant Liu and the soldiers just ignored the rain and continued training.

A giant umbrella was sent to shelter Jiu Yan and the other two from the heavy rain at once.

"These are your weapons? What about firearms?" Murong Xue saw weapons like swords, spears, and armor in the storage, but she did not see any firearms.

She had guessed that this world was still in a backward state as she only saw several types of crops on the way back from the Infinite Forest. She did not even see water wheels used to water the fields. But she was still surprised by how backward it was now.

"What are firearms?" Jiu Yan felt confused. He knew fire, but he did not know how fire could be applied to weapons.

Murong Xue turned around. "Firearms are things like dynamite. In my world, a small pack of dynamite could blow up an entire military camp, not to mention nuclear weapons, which could destroy a city instantly."

"Nonsense." Jiu Yan waved his hand, but then he saw Mu Tian's calm face. "You mean it?" He could not believe it was true and he started to wonder who could fight against Mu Tian then if he was not the first one to meet Mu Tian.

In time, Mu Tian could rule over the world without his help. Thinking of it, Jiu Yan changed his face and he surveyed Mu Tian with wary eyes.

Murong Xue said to him, "You don't need to worry about me. I don't belong here. I'll leave this world soon or later."

Feng Ziling stood behind Mu Tian. If this world had not been confined, he and Mu Tian would not have taken the detour.

"I..." Jiu Yan wanted to deny it when Mu Tian saw through him, but he was unable to speak. It was true that he was afraid of Mu Tian just now.

People like Mu Tian could be both supportive and threatening.

Murong Xue said sincerely, "I know what you're worried about. In fact, we didn't help you for no reason. We have to find the strongest person if we want to leave here. We don't know what being the strongest in this world means, so could you help us leave here if we help you become the king of the world?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. Why do you need to find the strongest person to help you leave?"

Murong Xue asked, "Have you heard of the time tunnel?"

"The time tunnel?" Jiu Yan's voice became uncontrollably high and his face changed several times.

Murong Xue saw Jiu Yan's overreaction and asked, "Why? Do you know?" An expression of surprise appeared on her face. Things would be a lot easier if Jiu Yan knew about it.

However, Jiu Yan shook his head and looked away. "No, I don't."

Murong Xue doubted, "But you seemed to have quite a reaction to what I said."

"I've only heard of it. Just leave it. We were talking about firearms just now."

Murong Xue frowned. She would never interfere with the development of this world if she had other ways to leave here. This backward world should develop at its own pace no matter how slow it would be. She did not know whether speeding things up was good or not. "Wait for a couple of days. I'll make some samples for you."

"Show me your weapon-making workshops next. I want to see your craftwork."

"Okay, but it's not here. We need to return to the city. Let's go."

Murong Xue and Feng Ziling followed Jiu Yan in silence. She knew Jiu Yan was hiding something. She just hoped it would not get in their way.

There were fewer people walking down the road as it was raining, so the usually crowded street became quiet and there was only the sound of rain.

People in the weapon-making workshop were very busy, and sparks were flying around. The shirtless ironsmiths were hammering the blades, the crashing sound of which was earsplitting, so they could not hear anything even if they shouted in each other's ears.

Murong Xue and the other two needed to watch out for the hammers as the workers concentrating on the work had no time to take care of their safety.

The sparkles burnt holes in their clothes, but no one minded it. Murong Xue was busy checking the furnaces, the melting point, and so on.

After a while, the three's clothes were all wet with sweat, so they walked out.

Jiu Yan asked, "What do you think?"

With her head bent in thought for a while, Murong Xue answered, "I need some time to think it through. You'll get a reply in a couple of days."

Murong Xue did not want to change too many things as it would waste too much time. Jiu Yan's response to the time tunnel bothered her as well. It made her feel uneasy as she did not know why Jiu Yan was unwilling to tell her what he knew about the time tunnel. She had been with Jiu Yan for quite a while. Although he was not as close as Feng Ziling to her, she regarded him as her friend.

Before she offered to help Jiu Yan, she had been observing what kind of person he was. She did not decide to tell Jiu Yan her plan until she was certain that he was not a brutal man.

Jiu Yan answered with a grave face, "Okay, but we don't have much time. The faster, the better. Moon Country and Fire Country will pay a visit to us next month, but what they really want is to test our military strength to make their battle plan. We have to do it as soon as possible."

"Next month? It's such short notice." Murong Xue needed to have test trials even though she had modern knowledge. "Okay. I understand. Give me two days, and I'll let you know my answer."

The three came back to Prince Yan's residence. Jiu Yan went to work in the study while Murong Xue and Feng Ziling returned to where they lived.

In the room, Murong Xue sat down and said, "Don't you think something is wrong with Jiu Yan?"

Feng Ziling nodded. "Yes. He must know about the time tunnel."

Both of them noticed Jiu Yan's strange response at that time.

"What do you think? If we decide to interfere..." Murong Xue was hesitant now.

"It's better than more people die as the war is prolonged. If you really can make bombs, I believe fewer people will die in the war. It's better to end the war as soon as possible for the common people. Besides, I think Jiu Yan is an ideal candidate to assume the position. He will be a good king." Feng Ziling said.

"Yeah. I want to do it because I feel the same."

Taking out a pen and a stack of paper, Murong Xue started drawing and writing down the measurements.

While the common people were busy making a living as usual, people in the imperial palace were aware of the incoming changes, and they divided groups and started to conspire. At night, men in black came to meet and left one after another.

Jiu Yan was overwhelmed by the situation. He could not only pin his hope on Mu Tian. He had the responsibility to protect his country. His trustworthy subordinates brought more and more disturbing news, but he was unable to take care of them all at once.

At the same time, Feng Ziling only had Mu Tian in his eyes. The only thing he needed to do was to protect Mu Tian. Since he could not help Mu Tian with the bombs, he just reminded Mu Tian of the time to eat and sleep, hoping Mu Tian could relax a little bit.

Murong Xue kept searching her memory for all the technologies and she kept drawing. The floor was buried with balls of paper and the desk was messy. Feng Ziling had tried to clean it up, but Murong Xue gestured to him not to interrupt her.