Chapter 2275: New Invention

Zu An was originally lamenting that Ji Xiaoxi was truly a good girl, worried about her father's reaction even after running away from home.

Upon hearing Xie Daoyun, he was curious, "What is it?"

"Brother Zu, please come with me," Xie Daoyun said, biting her lip slightly. She thought, "Thankfully I have this excuse, otherwise it would be so embarrassing."

She then led them to an open field in the suburbs, where a strangely shaped ship was sitting.

Many commoners were gathered around, pointing and discussing:

"How is this ship on land?"

"There are no logs underneath, so how will it be pushed into the river?"

"Whoever designed this thing must be missing a screw!"

Hearing these comments, Xie Daoyun's face darkened. If Master Shen Xuzi heard them, he would probably be fuming with anger on the spot.

At this point, she introduced it to Zu An: "This flying ship was developed by Master Shen Xuzi based on some of your initial ideas. Afterwards, he asked Master to design several large flight arrays, and with the help of other teachers, it was finally successfully constructed."

Lately, she had dedicated significant effort alongside her master to various arrays, including flight arrays, wind-element arrays, levitation arrays, drag reduction arrays, and the sail system. Especially when she remembered that it was Brother Zu's concept, she worked tirelessly, and her mastery of array formations advanced by leaps and bounds.

Even her master praised her and called upon everyone in the academy to learn from her.

Zu An was truly surprised and delighted. He had merely mentioned it casually at the academy, thinking about whether such a thing, common in sci-fi movies and novels from his previous life, could be created in this world.

He had initially thought it would be very difficult to achieve, but unexpectedly, those geniuses in the academy's back mountain had actually made it!

"By the way, where are Mr. Yan and Shen Xuzi?" Zu An looked around but didn't see them.

"They've been too tired lately, so they specifically entrusted this task to me. Since I was involved in designing some of the arrays, I also know how to operate and maintain it," Xie Daoyun said, her face slightly flushed.

When she first heard the news, she was quite puzzled why the two weren't coming. But now, recalling her master's meaningful smile before they left, she realized he must have seen through everything and was secretly creating an opportunity to help her. "Oh, how embarrassing!" she thought.

Zu An looked at Xie Daoyun in surprise. "Sister Ling'er is getting more and more formidable! To think you could design such powerful arrays!"

He took a rough glance and could see that the ship incorporated thousands of arrays, large and small, many of which were profound and intricate.

Xie Daoyun smiled slightly. "It's mainly Master's credit; I was just assisting."

Yun Yuqing, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at her. She recalled that Miss Xie's given name was Daoyun, so why did Brother Zu call her Sister Ling'er? It seemed their relationship was unusually close.

"Fortunately, I've built a good relationship with Jiang Luofu after what happened last time. Otherwise, with them being so close, I'd feel quite awkward being an outsider."

Seeing the crowd gathered around, Zu An, with so many beautiful women accompanying him, felt they were too conspicuous. So, with a wave of his hand, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept through the area.

"The weather's changing, hurry home!" The onlookers no longer cared to watch and scattered, covering their heads as they ran.

Jiang Luofu watched, filled with emotion. "Ah Zu, your move was truly remarkable."

There were cultivators nearby, yet not a single one could discern that someone had manipulated it; the wind was indistinguishable from a natural phenomenon.

"You flatter me, Principal Sister," Zu An said, before leading them onto the flying ship.

Several academy staff members were guarding it. They bowed to Zu An, handed him the jade slip for controlling the ship, and then departed.

"Doesn't this flying ship need anyone to operate it?" Yun Yuqing asked, curious at the sight.

Xie Daoyun explained, "Originally, it did require people, but Master and Master Shen Xuzi later decided that the less human involvement, the better. So, in the end, only one person who understands array formations is needed to control the flying ship."

She thought to herself, "This woman is truly beautiful. No wonder Brother Zu likes her."

"It seems Brother Zu prefers dazzling beauties like her. No wonder he wouldn't like someone plain like me..."

"That's truly amazing!" Yun Yuqing said, somewhat lost in thought. She mused that it was no wonder humanity was the most powerful race in the world. If such a thing were used on the battlefield in the future, attacking from the sky, both the demon and sea races would likely suffer immense losses.

The group quickly boarded the flying ship. Xie Daoyun took the control jade slip from Zu An and activated the arrays on the ship.

Suddenly, arrays appeared all over the ship, and a faint clear light shimmered around it. Soon, the flying ship trembled and gradually lifted off the ground.

Presumably, it was their first time on such a contraption, as the sudden jolt caused several people on board to lose their balance slightly.

Xie Daoyun, being mentally prepared, was unaffected. The others, who also had high cultivation levels, quickly regained their footing despite momentarily losing their balance.

Unfortunately, Ji Xiaoxi, with the weakest cultivation, cried out as she stumbled and fell sideways.

Jiang Luofu, who had been looking after her, quickly moved to support her. However, she herself had barely regained her balance, and being pulled by Ji Xiaoxi, she couldn't maintain her stance and both tumbled sideways.

Reacting swiftly, she held Ji Xiaoxi in her arms, preparing to cushion the fall with her own body.

However, the expected hard fall to the ground didn't happen. Instead, they fell into a warm embrace.

"Careful!" a soft voice whispered in her ear.

For a moment, Jiang Luofu was dazed. Her father often chided her for her stubbornness, saying it was one thing that she ran away from home rather than marry that foolish prince, but after so many years, why hadn't she married anyone?

At the time, she had been quite disdainful, thinking what was so great about men; she was perfectly happy living on her own.

But at this moment, she suddenly felt that having someone to rely on seemed rather nice.

"Thank you!" As a mature woman, she quickly recovered, helping Ji Xiaoxi up while thanking Zu An.

"I'm sorry, it's all because I didn't stand properly," Ji Xiaoxi apologized quickly.

"It's alright," Jiang Luofu comforted her, while in her mind, the sensation of that brief contact lingered. For some reason, she felt her body was somewhat different from usual.

Zu An also looked a bit uncomfortable. That casual brace had indeed brought him into contact with a firm, shapely thigh, which was quite startling.

He couldn't help but compare it to Murong Qinghe from a few days ago. She was very tall, and due to her spear training, her legs were long, beautiful, perfectly proportioned, and firm. However, because of her age, they were still a bit youthful and slender, not yet reaching this mature peak of perfection.

He shook his head slightly, dispelling the lustful thoughts. "Damn it," he thought, "to be so lost in thought over such a minor contact."

"It's all my fault; I forgot to tell you beforehand," Xie Daoyun said apologetically, her mind having been preoccupied with other matters, causing her to forget these important reminders.

"No worries!" The others naturally didn't blame her and were quickly captivated by the novelty of the flying ship.

It wasn't that they had never flown before, but flying in the sky while seated on a ship was a first for them.

At this point, the sails on the mast gradually unfurled, and various wind-element arrays activated, maximizing the use of surrounding winds to propel the flying ship forward.

"Brother Zu, what do you think?" Xie Daoyun asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Zu An.

"It's a groundbreaking invention, capable of carrying many ordinary people into the sky, and much more comfortable than previous forms of flight," Zu An replied. He had been somewhat worried when he saw them earlier; although he could fly with people himself, he couldn't carry everyone if there were too many. This flying ship, unexpectedly, solved all his concerns.

Moreover, the flying ship had many rooms, all quite luxurious and tidy, naturally far better than sleeping rough.

"The only drawback is that it's not fast enough. Everyone, please sit tight." Zu An couldn't afford to waste too much time on the journey to the demon race's territory. After a moment of thought, he waved his hand, and a strong gust of wind immediately surged around them. The sails billowed to their fullest, and the entire flying ship shot like a streak of light towards the demon race's domain.

"Can you truly command the power of heaven and earth at will?" Jiang Luofu asked, utterly shocked. She had suspected it before, but now it was finally confirmed.

Normally, high-level cultivators borrowed the power of heaven and earth, emphasizing reverence and humility.

But Zu An was different; he was clearly commanding the power of heaven and earth.

Noticing the women's shock and confusion, Zu An let out a wry chuckle. "It's mainly because I've gained authority over this world, I suppose."

"Authority over the world?" The women heard this term for the first time.

"Come to my room, all of you. I'll tell you about what I've encountered recently." Since there was nothing else to do during the flight, Zu An took this opportunity to "preach" to the women.

Firstly, he wanted to recount the various events that had occurred in the world recently, and secondly, he hoped they could gain insights from it and quickly improve their cultivation.

The women gathered around Zu An, listening intently, completely enthralled. Time flew by, and before they knew it, the sun was setting.

Jiang Luofu couldn't help but sigh, "Spending a day with you, I realized I had been living in vain before."

After speaking, she suddenly noticed the strange looks from the other women. She immediately realized her implication, and her usually cool and glamorous face instantly flushed. "That's not what I meant!"