In the Morningstar Family Hall in Frost Iron City, the flames of the fireplace illuminated three faces with different expressions.

Elise Morningstar took off her star-patterned cloak, and her shiny silver hair was still tinged with the scent of wind and snow.

She placed a gilded document on the oak table, the royal sigil on the parchment gleaming in the firelight.

“The Council of Nobles has preliminarily passed the Bloodline Autonomy Act, but it needs your signature as the Grand Duke of the North before it can be submitted to the Imperial Council.”

Aurelian Morningstar stroked the frost pattern on the dragon lance “Winter’s Oath” and looked at his second son: “Lion, what do you think we should do?”

Ye Qingzhou was feeding the young Fiery Dragon on his shoulder. Hearing this, he said without even raising his head: “Supporting the royal family is more in line with the family’s interests – although it is meaningless except for self-consolation.”

“What?”

Iris paused for a moment while holding the cup in her hand. “You clearly publicly expressed your support for the bill at the academy…”

“elder sister.”

Ye Qingzhou suddenly raised his head, and the golden pupils of the Sun Bloodline glowed slightly in the shadows: “Please tell me, where would a farmer’s child go to seek medical treatment when he is sick?”

“When… of course it’s the church’s charity clinic…”

“What if the apprentice wants to learn literacy and numeracy?”

“The free school in the monastery…”

Iris’s voice gradually became weaker, and she already understood what Ye Qingzhou meant.

The essence of power is the obedience of the inferior to the superior, and the root of obedience is the dependence of the weak on the strong.

Without personal dependence, power is a castle in the air.

A golden flame shot up from Ye Qingzhou’s fingertips, and the firelight illuminated the map of the North on the wall of the hall – it was densely packed with silver cross marks representing the church, while there were only a handful of institutions established by the royal family.

“The nobles only care about the inheritance of their bloodline, and the royal family is busy fighting with the Church for the right to levy taxes, but what really maintains the hearts of the people is…”

Flames suddenly engulfed the map, and the ashes formed a line of floating words – Bread, Herbs and Knowledge.

Aurelian, the Grand Duke of the North, clenched his knuckles until they turned white. Even though he was a legendary warrior standing at the top of the mortal world, he felt a chill down his spine.

He recalled that when he was patrolling the border last month, his subjects knelt in front of the church to thank the “holy light for healing”, but ignored the passing flag of the Grand Duke.

“So, Ryan, what’s your suggestion?”

The voice of the Grand Duke of the North became a little hoarse.

Ye Qingzhou flicked his finger to extinguish the flames: “The bill must be signed, but the Morning Star family will open a college for civilians tomorrow – it will be built opposite the church.”

Thought is a weapon sharper than a sword, and it is the only way to fight against the church.

In the family library late at night, Iris used star magic to block out prying eyes.

“When did you start caring about the lives of untouchables?”

She wrapped the starlight chain around her fingertips and looked at the familiar yet strange brother in front of her with a puzzled look: “This is not something you would say.”

Ye Qingzhou was flipping through the Holy Sun Canon and chuckled when he heard this: “Chapter 3, Section 7 – ‘Wherever the light reaches, the hungry are fed’. The Church can exchange piety for three copper coins of bread, but we…”

He suddenly tore off a page, revealing a yellowed account book in the interlayer – a record of the church’s secret sale of “indulgences”.

“It’s time to let people know that we can give more.”

At noon the next day, the Frost Iron City Square was bustling with people.

After Aurelian signed the bill scroll in public, he suddenly drew his sword and smashed the tax collector’s silver scale.

“Ten days from now, Morning Star Territory will open a school for civilians, and the tuition will be only half of that of the church school!”

Before the crowd could react, Ye Qingzhou had already lifted the curtain in the center of the square – twelve brand new potion distiller’s were gleaming in the sun.

“They will be placed in the Lord’s Clinic, and the consultation fee will also be only half of the church’s.”

Suddenly, dragon roars could be heard from the outermost slums. Blazing dragons flew low over the sky, clutching baskets full of wheat, and the golden grains fell like rain.

“Crazy…”

Gray Owl, who was mixed in the crowd, muttered to himself: “They are declaring war on the Church…”

On the top floor of the Holy Sun Cathedral, Gareth crushed the feather of light in his hand.

“Does it need to be suppressed?”

Fire runes appeared on Celeste’s flail.

Chief Judge Roland stared at Ye Qingzhou who was thrown into the air by the people in the square with his one eye, and the holy nail suddenly trembled violently: “No… This is an open conspiracy.”

In the shadows, which they could not see, Dracula was stroking the top of a crying child’s head.

The young child held the maltose distributed by the Morning Star family in his palm, completely unaware that the person standing next to him was a legendary strong man who could judge the knights as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

“What a sweet chaos…”

The blood clan archduke’s chuckle was drowned out by the cheers.

Ten days passed in a flash, and on the outskirts of Frost Iron City, the iron gate of Egret Manor slowly opened in the morning light.

The originally abandoned aristocratic villa has been transformed into a magnificent college building, and the newly carved Morning Star emblem on the bluestone wall still exudes the fragrance of pine wood.

Aurelian Morningstar stood under the archway, wearing a dark blue robe embroidered with silver stars over his dark iron armor, which was rare. Looking at the crowd that stretched to the horizon in front of the door, the fingertips of the Northern Duke unconsciously stroked the hilt of his sword.

“Father was nervous.”

Iris Morningstar covered her mouth and chuckled, her star-patterned robe fluttering in the wind like water waves.

Her fiancé, the second prince Edmund St. Clair, was checking the time with his gold-plated pocket watch. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows and said, “It’s not often that a scene can make the Frostheart Swordmaster lose his composure.”

Ye Qingzhou was leaning against the fountain feeding the dragon, and the flaming dragon cub “Xiaohuo” was using its tail to roll away the dried meat in his palm.

Hearing the salute, he looked up toward the gate.

Three hundred teenagers in coarse cloth lined up to register accompanied by their parents, the mud on their feet still smelling of wheat fields. In the distance, the Chamber of Commerce’s carriages carrying the sons of wealthy merchants dressed in silk and satin drove by, with curious eyes peeking out from the gaps in the curtains.

“For the first time in the North, there is a sword school where commoners can learn…”

Ye Qingzhou scratched Xiaohuo’s chin: “How long do you think they will last?”

Before the opening ceremony, Edmund stopped Ye Qingzhou in the rose garden.

“You really don’t want to come to the Imperial Capital?”

The second prince poured a glass of ice wine himself, with a look of expectation in his eyes: “With your Sun bloodline, you can become the leader of the Royal Knights within three years.”

Ye Qingzhou shook the wine glass and watched the ice crystals crawling out frost patterns on the wall of the glass: “Your Highness, when you get tired of the candied foie gras from the imperial chef…”

He suddenly poured the wine into the air, and the sword energy froze the wine into countless small ice crystal swords, which fell back onto the silver plate with a clanging sound.

“Will miss the strong drinks of the North.”

Edmund’s pupils shrank slightly – this was the famous skill of the “Frostheart Swordmaster”, and the young man in front of him had already mastered the essence of it. Such talent was truly terrifying.

“I am increasingly looking forward to you becoming my brother-in-law.”

The prince smiled and pinned a dragon scale badge on Ye Qingzhou’s collar: “As long as you are willing to change your mind, the door of the Lionheart Knights is always open to you.”

At noon on the drill ground, five hundred freshmen automatically divided into two squares according to their family backgrounds.

The peasant boys in linen glanced nervously at the rich merchants’ sons in silk and satin, until Aurelian’s heavy boots broke the ice on the grass.

“The first rule of the Morning Star Swordsman Academy—” The voice of the Duke of the North made the snow on the pine branches fall, “Here, you only have two identities!”

“People of the North…”

“And the students of Morning Star Swords Academy!”

Before the wealthy merchants could recover from their shock, the second prince had already walked to the front of the stage. When he took off his jacket embroidered with gold thread, revealing the same rough linen training uniform as the freshmen, the whole audience was shocked.

“Grammar, arithmetic, nature, swordsmanship.”

Edmund patted the textbook, not caring at all that the silk lining was stained white by chalk dust. “Once you learn these, you will be able to understand land deeds, calculate grain taxes, and improve farm tools…”

He suddenly drew the guard’s sword, and with a standard royal thrust, he split the scarecrow in half, then raised his arms and shouted: “And protect your home!”

The peasants’ phalanx erupted in deafening cheers, and several wealthy fathers began to secretly wipe their eyes.

Ye Qingzhou noticed that Iris was recording which merchants showed displeased expressions.

After the ceremony, Ye Qingzhou inspected the newly built pharmaceutical laboratory alone.

The glassware in the pharmacy laboratory glowed coldly in the moonlight.

Ye Qingzhou’s fingertips stroked the brand new distillation device, and the solder at the copper tube joints still exuded a rosin scent.

He gently turned the valve, and the clean water began to circulate under the siphon effect – this equipment was designed by him according to Cangyuan Dajie’s memory, and it was three times more efficient than the church laboratory.

“It turns out that the condenser tube should be tilted 15 degrees…”

A hoarse voice muttered to itself from the corner. Ye Qingzhou’s sword energy shook, and the candlesticks all lit up, illuminating the thin figure curled up behind the medicine cabinet.

He was a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing worn linen clothes full of patches, with a hand-copied copy of “Fundamentals of Pharmacy” spread out on his knees.

When he looked up, a pair of amber eyes appeared under his hair, like a cub suddenly illuminated by a torch in the darkness.

“newborn?”

Ye Qingzhou glanced at the brand on his ankle—it was a mark of slavery: “Now is not the time to visit.”

The boy hurriedly closed the book, with blood marks from the shackles on his exposed wrists: “Sorry, sir! I came here with Master Royce…”

Ye Qingzhou raised his eyebrows.

The Royce family is the largest drug dealer in the North, and this morning a fat young man with a proud nose came to sign up.

“Can you read?”

“I learned it secretly…”

The young man clutched the corner of his clothes tightly: “I wrote this down when I was tutoring the young master.”

Ye Qingzhou suddenly pulled the book out of his arms.

The yellowed pages were filled with comments, and some recipes even had sketches of improvements next to them. The latest page read: “If the extraction time of Dictamni is extended to…”

The words at the back were blurred by blood.

“They beat you?”

The boy subconsciously covered his ribs: “I… I got the master’s incense formula wrong…”

At dawn, Ye Qingzhou kicked open the tent of the Royce caravan.

“Master Ryan?!”

The fat businessman rolled off the bed, his nightcap tilted to one side: “What are you doing–“

The indenture burned on the point of the sword, the ashes drifting into the oatmeal I was cooking for breakfast.

“Hank is my student now.”

Ye Qingzhou threw a bag of gold coins into the porridge pot: “Is it enough to buy ten slaves?”

The fat businessman looked at the bubbling money bag with a painful look on his face: “But he is a family child, and his ancestors for three generations have been…”

The sword flashed, and the merchant’s carefully maintained beard fell to the ground.

“Not anymore.”

By the stream on the back mountain of the college, Ye Qingzhou scattered the ashes into the water.

“The decree banning the slave trade in Morning Star Territory was issued last year.”

Ye Qingzhou shook off the water droplets on the sword: “You should have been a free man.”

Hank knelt on the pebbles, touching the reflection in the water with trembling fingers – the mark was gradually fading under the burning of the sun fire.

“Why me?”

“Your improved recipe for hemostatic ointment…”

Ye Qingzhou threw a crystal bottle with a light green gel suspended in it. “It’s twice as effective as the ones sold by the Vatican. I appreciate talented people, and you deserve preferential treatment.”

The young man suddenly grabbed his scabbard and said, “Please let me follow you! I, I can identify all the medicinal herbs! Last night I found that the white mulberry bark sent to me was mixed with poisonous spider grass!”

Ye Qingzhou’s pupils shrank slightly.

The appearance of poisonous spider grass and Dictamni is almost the same, but the former will release neurotoxins when exposed to heat – it seems that the medicinal materials purchased by the school have been tampered with, fortunately it was discovered in time.

“It starts tomorrow.”

Ye Qingzhou turned and walked towards the academy, “You are responsible for the inspection of all medicinal materials.”

Hank kowtowed heavily to the back and did not see the smile on the lord’s lips.

The stream washed away the last traces of the brand, and the morning light penetrated the clouds, shining on the boy’s back, which straightened for the first time.

The herb fields of Morning Star Swords Academy glowed silver in the twilight.

Hank squatted between the ridges, gently fiddling with the leaves of a spiderwort plant with his fingertips.

His pupils shrank into thin lines under the setting sun – this was a side effect of taking the “night vision potion” he mixed himself, but it allowed him to see the color of the juice flowing in the veins of the plants.

“really……”

Hank pinched the grass stems, and purple-black juice oozed out with a faint stench of decay: “The third bed is also contaminated.”

There was a sound of dead branches breaking behind me.

Hank curled up reflexively, an instinct left over from ten years of slavery. It was not until he saw clearly that the person coming was Alger, a farmer holding textbooks, that he slowly relaxed his tense shoulders.

“The professors are looking for you.”

Alger kicked the bamboo basket at his feet, which was filled with poisonous weed samples. “The Royce family brought the church priests into the auditorium.”

The light from the crystal chandelier in the auditorium was cut by the blood-red robe.

The fat businessman Royce was accusing with tears in his eyes: “This slave stole my family’s secret recipe! According to the “Sacred Knowledge Protection Order”…”

“According to the new General Education Act promulgated by the Royal Family.”

Ye Qingzhou’s voice came from the dome. He stepped down slowly on the suspended sword energy, his eyes cold: “All citizens of the empire have the right to study – or does Mr. Royce think that the church law is higher than the imperial power?”

The fat businessman choked.

As the priest next to him raised the holy emblem, a small fire suddenly fell from the beam, and the dragon’s breath burned the holy emblem into a red-hot iron block.

“evidence.”

Ye Qingzhou flicked his finger and shot out an account book. The parchment unfolded above everyone’s head, revealing densely packed records of poisonous weed purchases. “Do you need me to read out the date of your transaction with the Thieves Guild?”

Black fire suddenly burst out from the priest’s sleeves, and the account book turned to ash in an instant. But the ashes condensed into the shape of poisonous spider grass, floating and falling on Royce’s shiny forehead.

“Divine magic backlash?”

The students watching exclaimed.

Ye Qingzhou smiled: “It seems that the glory of the Holy Sun also despises the actions of some believers.” (End of this chapter)