101: The Third Year
The careful preceding small private third year of the quiet decade brought the *coronation of Han Yifeng* as the King of Eastern Yan.
The coronation took place at the careful preceding small private hour of the third moon-cycle of the third year, in the careful preceding small private royal city of Eastern Yan, by the careful preceding small private formal succession arrangement Yifeng had — by his preceding preference, by his preceding small private father's preceding small private formal abdication, and by Han Yifeng's preceding small private quiet preceding small private internal political consolidation across the careful preceding small private hour of two and a half years — preceding-time arranged.
Su Yan, by Cang Xueyi's preceding preference and by Han Yifeng's preceding small private private invitation, *attended* the coronation as the careful preceding small private kingdom of Beicang's preceding small private formal royal son-in-law representative.
He attended in the careful preceding small private *gold-and-blue royal robes* of the kingdom of Beicang's preceding small private formal diplomatic delegation, with Cang Xueyi at his right side, with Cousin Su Lin at the careful preceding small private second-rank position, with Lin Wanyue and Su Hong by their preceding mutual preference *not* attending (Lin Wanyue had — by her own preceding preference at the careful preceding small private hour of the past three years — declined to be visible at any external diplomatic gathering until after her preceding son's preceding small private formal coronation in three further years).
The coronation ran by the careful preceding small private precise hour of the kingdom of Eastern Yan's preceding small private formal succession etiquette.
By the careful preceding small private close of the ceremony, Han Yifeng was — by every careful preceding small private public read of every kingdom of the Azure Cloud Continent's preceding standing diplomatic exchange — *the King of Eastern Yan*.
He inclined his head — small, formal — at the careful preceding small private hour of his preceding small private first formal address, to the careful preceding small private foreign delegations gathered at the careful preceding small private central plaza, in the careful preceding small private formal *new monarch's* welcome.
His careful preceding small private private welcome — by the careful preceding small private hour of one further small private private hour at the careful preceding small private royal palace's preceding small private private courtyard the same evening, by the careful preceding small private private courtesy of one new King to one careful preceding small private foreign royal son-in-law representative — was, by Yifeng's preceding preference, *brief and warm*.
"Su Yan."
"Yifeng."
"By my own preceding preference, the careful preceding small private hour ahead will, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping, be — *with you*. By the careful preceding small private hour of the careful preceding small private next several careful preceding small private years, the kingdom of Eastern Yan and the kingdom of Beicang will, by my preceding preference and by Cang Xueyi's preceding small private acknowledged preference, conduct the careful preceding small private hour of one preceding standing alliance the kingdoms of the careful preceding small private mortal tier have not, in the careful preceding small private hour of two centuries, registered."
"Yifeng. By my own preceding preference, *yes*."
The two of them inclined their heads — small, formal.
By the careful preceding small private close of the coronation's preceding small private fourth day, Su Yan and Cang Xueyi returned to Cloud Sky City.
The careful preceding small private kingdom of Beicang — by the careful preceding small private hour of the coronation's preceding small private public-read consolidation — registered, by the careful preceding small private hour of one further breath of preceding standing diplomatic exchange, that the kingdom of Beicang and the kingdom of Eastern Yan were — by every careful preceding small private public read — *the careful preceding small private most powerful diplomatic alliance the careful preceding small private mortal tier of the Azure Cloud Continent had assembled in two centuries*.
The careful preceding small private kingdom — by the careful preceding small private hour — *celebrated*.
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The careful preceding small private fourth year of the quiet decade brought the careful preceding small private *first preceding small private substantive preceding small private private deployment* of the careful preceding small private decoded *category four* substrate-mathematics — the careful preceding small private cell-boundary substrate-anchor pair calibrations.
Lin Wanyue, by her preceding preference, conducted the careful preceding small private deployment across the careful preceding small private hour of the fourth year's preceding small private inside-night sessions on the foundation platform.
The careful preceding small private deployment was — by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping of the careful preceding small private decoded entries — *the careful preceding small private experimental opening of a careful preceding small private *small careful preceding micro-corridor* between the careful preceding small private mortal tier and the Lower Immortal Realm*, calibrated by Lin Wanyue's preceding small private private mathematics for *one inside-second of preceding small private duration*, *visible only to the careful preceding small private substrate-cultivator conducting the experiment*, and *invisible* to the careful preceding small private Wardens above the Lower Immortal Realm.
The first experimental opening took place at the careful preceding small private hour of the fourth year's preceding small private third month.
It opened.
It registered, by Lin Wanyue's preceding read at the foundation platform's preceding small private silver-gold light, the careful preceding small private *substrate of the Lower Immortal Realm's preceding small private boundary at the careful preceding small private corresponding mortal-tier point*.
The substrate was — by Lin Wanyue's careful preceding small private read — *exactly* the careful preceding small private substrate the cellar's preceding small private history books had described in the careful preceding small private *category four* outline.
The mathematics were *correct*.
By the careful preceding small private close of the fourth year, Lin Wanyue had — by the careful preceding small private hour of perhaps two hundred small careful preceding micro-openings — *mapped* the full preceding small private *substrate-boundary geometry of the careful preceding small private mortal-tier-Lower-Immortal-Realm interface for the careful preceding small private kingdom of Beicang's geographic region*.
She had, by her preceding preference, *identified* the careful preceding small private *seven preceding small private optimal opening points* the careful preceding small private full preceding small private rise would, by her preceding read, *require*.
The seven points — by her preceding read — were: - one at the careful preceding small private *foundation platform of the Mirror of the Caged Sky* itself (the platform's preceding small private living foundation having become, by the careful preceding small private hour of four and a half years of careful preceding small private patient growth, sufficiently substantive to *anchor* a cell-boundary opening) - one at the careful preceding small private *Royal Academy of Eastern Yan's preceding small private senior cultivator's preceding small private private observatory* (Master Qing's preceding small private location) - one at the careful preceding small private *Frost Lotus Sect's preceding small private central temple* (Senior Elder Mu Bingyu's preceding small private location) - one at the careful preceding small private *Northern Iron Cult's preceding small private high mountain compound* (Wu Tianhe's preceding small private location) - one at the careful preceding small private *kingdom of Beicang's preceding small private royal palace's preceding small private inner court* (King Cang Yuan's preceding small private location) - one at the careful preceding small private *new King of Eastern Yan's preceding small private private observatory* (Han Yifeng's preceding small private location) - one at the careful preceding small private *eastern wing's preceding small private writing room* (Lin Wanyue's preceding small private location)
The seven points — by Lin Wanyue's preceding read — would, by the careful preceding small private hour of the careful preceding small private full *coordinated rise* in approximately six further years, *open* in concert as a careful preceding small private *seven-anchor cell-boundary corridor* that, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping of the cellar's preceding small private history books, *the careful preceding small private Wardens above the Lower Immortal Realm had not* — in the careful preceding small private hour of thirty thousand years of preceding small private observation — *registered as a possible opening configuration*.
The careful preceding small private rise — by the careful preceding small private hour of the seven-anchor configuration — would be, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping of the past thirty thousand years, *unprecedented*.
The careful preceding small private Wardens — by Lin Wanyue's preceding read — would, by the careful preceding small private hour of the rise's preceding small private completion, *register* the careful preceding small private rise.
They would, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping, *not be able to prevent it*.
By the careful preceding small private close of the fourth year, the careful preceding small private *seven-anchor cell-boundary corridor's preceding small private mathematical foundation* was, by Lin Wanyue's preceding read, *secured*.
The careful preceding small private *physical preparation* of the seven points — by the careful preceding small private hour of six further years — would, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping, *complete* the careful preceding small private rise.