629: Narrow ideal

"Is this Chang'an City? Did I come to the wrong place?"

Tang Ku tilted his head to look at the city wall and frowned slightly.

"It is correct, but... has Chang'an ever been this modernized? Plus, I haven't even been gone for half a month, have I?"

Tang Xian gazed at the city before him, a trace of panic rising in his heart. "I wonder if the restaurant where I often eat has been demolished too?"

Tang Xuan looked up at the top of the city, where a giant screen resembling an LCD monitor was scrolling the three characters "Chang'an City" in various styles of calligraphy.

At the main gate, a pair of patrolling soldiers had just walked past. Although they were still holding spears in their hands, they had three or five modern firearms at their waists, and even had individual grenades tucked into their belts.

Even more absurdly, the soldiers responsible for registering people entering and exiting the city gate were holding something that looked like an electronic thermometer. They were pointing it at everyone entering the city. The device emitted colorful rays of light, and as it scanned these people, different colors would appear. If it showed yellow, it was a normal Human Race member. If it was green, it was a Yao Race member in disguise; such people needed to record their information at a table by the gate. But once a gray light appeared, the soldiers guarding the gate would pounce like they had been injected with adrenaline and arrest them all... using very modern metal handcuffs, the high-tech kind equipped with power controllers...

Everything was too modern, but those ancient brick and stone walls seemed somewhat out of place.

"Whoo! Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter..."

A train slowly pulled out from the west side of the city. Only then did Tang Ku realize that a railway had already been built to the west of Chang'an, stretching out to who knows where?

"This is truly strange and bizarre!"

Tang Xian said in surprise, "I've discovered that many things here... seem to come from completely different eras..."

"Hmm, green is Yao Race, yellow is Human Race, I don't know what gray is, but it definitely isn't a good person... What is this silver-white? Oh, it should be an Immortal or a deity..."

Tang Xuan frowned slightly. "But, according to what you said, aren't the deities at odds with the Human Race?"

"You've reminded me. Half of these patrolling personnel coming in and out are Heavenly Soldiers and Generals with Immortal energy!"

Tang Ku said in a deep voice, "But the other half are the city defense troops we are familiar with, and they seem to be in a state of equal dialogue... In less than a month, what exactly has happened to Chang'an?"

"Let's go back... let's go to the Du Xin Domain and take a look!"

Tang Xian said, "I can feel that everyone's aura is still here; there shouldn't be any major problems!"

As they spoke, the group had already started walking toward the city gate.

As soon as they reached the gate, a soldier walked over with that strange instrument and asked, "Are you from out of town? Human Race or Yao Race? What official business do you have entering the city... I... damn! Holy Monk?!"

Tang Ku couldn't help but curl his lip and said, "Actually, you don't have to add that prefix!"

Dozens of soldiers rushed over, surrounding Tang Ku. "Holy Monk, Holy Monk, I've finally seen you in the flesh! I'm so moved. Back then, at the edge of the plaza, I could only see the hem of your clothes!"

"Holy Monk, Holy Monk, can you give us an autograph? Just sign it on my armor, so I can hold my head high for once!"

"Get lost, the Holy Monk isn't an actor. What kind of autograph do you want? Holy Monk, I've already registered at the Si Tian Jian to learn some Spells. If you have time, could you give me some pointers?"

...The scene instantly became livelier than a vegetable market, making Tang Ku feel incredibly awkward.

"Holy Monk... is it the Holy Monk who has returned? This subordinate is Zhang Kang, deputy to General Xue. All of you, get out of the way... damn!"

A deafening roar shook the air. Most people covered their ears and ran far away. A burly man with a beard ran over, looking at Tang Ku with a chuckle: "Holy Monk, you've returned? Your Majesty said that if you returned, you must go to the palace first. Our Great Tang is not the same as it was before!"

This man, Zhang Kang, had been the fiercest in battle when they conquered the Dongying Islands, and his physical training skills were very impressive, so Tang Ku had a deep impression of him.

"Is Your Majesty still the same Your Majesty?"

Tang Ku asked with a hint of probing.

"Hehe, Your Majesty knew you would ask this question, so he had me answer..."

Zhang Kang laughed, "Your Majesty is still the same Your Majesty, but the palace is no longer the same palace... Well, the three of you just need to follow me..."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the three followed Zhang Kang into the city gate. As soon as they entered, Tang Ku was immediately dazzled. Although the buildings were the same, they seemed to have been revitalized. Every shop had blinking signs similar to neon lights. The Central Avenue was now a Central Avenue in name and reality; the smooth bluestone road looked like it could be used as a mirror, and it wasn't slippery to walk on.

"The structure of all the buildings hasn't changed, but the Materials used inside seem to have been replaced..."

Tang Ku tapped one of the walls and discovered that it was actually made of something like poured reinforced concrete!

Extending from both sides of the bluestone road were neat asphalt roads... As a former modern person, Tang Xian could naturally easily recognize this material, which made him feel even more confused. And when things that looked like electric tricycles appeared, delivering various sundries into a shop, Tang Xian's brain was about to crash!

He thought he had walked into some film studio; he was just one step away from asking for a boxed lunch with the extras!

Various new things appeared on the street one after another. Although the people were still dressed in ancient attire, their hurried demeanor was just like the overworked office workers on modern Earth. It seemed everyone had a lot to do and looked very stressed.

"It's completely changed, not like an ancient city at all..."

Tang Ku didn't know how all these changes had come about, but he knew that if things continued to develop at this pace, he believed that within a year, the Great Tang would be able to soar into the sky and go find colonies in the Universe!

"That's absurd!"

At the palace gate, Tang Ku smacked his lips, looking at two large balloons floating in the air with a banner stretched across them, reading: "Welcome Holy Monk Tang Xuanzang of the Great Tang to the Palace to Guide Our Work".

Then, he saw Li Chengqian, dressed in dragon robes and riding a three-wheeled vehicle, rushing toward him, waving his arms excitedly: "Holy Monk, Holy Monk, look at my new toy, hahaha... This thing can move on its own; you just need to control the steering and the brakes. With such a convenient means of transport, my Great Tang can really expand to the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, hahahaha..."

Tang Ku curled his lip: "Your ideal is still a bit too narrow!"