I Have Unparalleled Comprehension

  Chapter 235 Relics begin to appear frequently (8000)

  【You observe the failure experience of becoming a saint, comprehend the fusion technique ×1. 】

  In front of his eyes, a light blue text appeared in the air. This was Xu Bai's third fusion technique. Not long ago, he once again lost his experience in becoming a saint, and he had already integrated many skills.

  The current line of text is the last book on the experience of failing to become a saint, which is the one given by Eunuch Wei.

  The light blue text slowly disappeared, and then, the latest text appeared.

  【Matching fusionable options. 】

  【Match successful! 】

  【Fusion technique can forcibly classify and fuse irrelevant skills. 】

  【Converging...】

   After a while, the text shows that the fusion is successful.

  【Fusion successful! 】

  The light blue smoke disappeared completely, turned into lines of information, drilled into Xu Bai's mind, and disappeared.

   In front of you, the latest property panel appeared.

  【Name: Xu Bai. 】

  【Realm: Transcendent Ninth Rank Sanren. 】

  【Wan Xiang Tian Yin Shan Hai Jue (Extraordinary Level 9.1): Full level. 】

  【Phantom Dafa (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  [Strengthening the Kidney and Returning to the Yuan Method (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Wan Du Gang (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Smart Puppet True Solution (Extraordinary Level 9): Full Level. 】

  【Water Adaptation Method (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Feng Shui Arithmetic (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Thousands of Wonders and Faces Invisible Art (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Coexistence of yin and yang (extraordinary level 9): full level. 】

  [Mountain and Sea Invitation to the Gods (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  [Corpse Control Method (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Thousands of Attacks (Level 1 Saint): Full level. 】

  【All kinds of defense (level 1 of becoming a saint): full level. 】

  【Thaumaturgy (Extraordinary Level 9): Full level. 】

  【Comprehension: full level. 】

  …

  That’s right, it’s that simple. The previous complex skill attributes have been removed, and the panel has become simple, but this does not mean that he has become weaker, on the contrary, he has become stronger.

   These two new skills have all reached the first level of sanctification.

  Wanban attack is composed of the three swords and swords, returning to the wind and snow, and the soul killing tactic. After combining the three, now with a single blow, the three coexist, which is extremely terrifying.

  Wanban Defense is composed of Heaven-changing, Immortal Demon Soul and Buddha Body. The defensive power of the two is integrated, which can not only defend, but also have the effect of transferring.

   As for the others, there was no fusion, because only two fusion techniques were produced.

  Xu Bai originally thought that even if the three Transcendent ninth-level books were fused together, it would not be holy.

  Because if he was a soul, it would take him a long time to reach the state of sagehood, but now it seems that this fusion is definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two.

  This fusion seems to be able to improve the overall quality in addition to fusion.

   "Show!" Xu Bai was delighted.

   Now, he already has two skills for becoming a saint. Although both are only the first level of becoming a saint, they basically have no opponents in the Transcendent Realm.

  However, now he is also facing a very serious problem.

   That was a problem that had happened before, and his current energy was not enough.

  With the Ninth Grade of Extraordinary, even if he has the strong kidney harvesting technique, it is still not enough.

   "It seems that in the final analysis, I still need to find a mental method. Unfortunately, I only have one mental method now. Even if the fusion technique appears, who can it fuse with?"

   Mentality is the root, which can strengthen oneself, and skills are external, which can make one's strength extraordinary.

  But from the time he got the golden finger to now, all his mental methods have been fused into one book, which means that even if there is a fusion technique, the fusion may not be successful.

  For him, this is a headache.

   Is it liver fusion, or liver-first method?

   This is a choice in itself.

  If you talk about liver fusion, he will have more sanctification skills, but the contradiction will also come.

  His true energy will become more and more insufficient, until in the end, he will be unable to make ends meet.

  But if you turn to the liver-heart method, now there is no fusion technique, you can't fuse, and even if you have the fusion technique, the heart method can't be fused.

  The speed is still very slow, maybe more than a dozen books can only be exchanged for 0.1, which invisibly slows down the efficiency and combat effectiveness.

  Xu Bai touched his chin with his hand, thought carefully, and wanted to come up with a compromise solution, but after thinking for a long time, the compromise solution never appeared.

  Finally, he stopped thinking about it and made a decision.

  He wants them all!

  As long as you have the experience of becoming a saint, if you have the experience of failing to become a saint, then you should first adopt the experience of failing to become a saint.

  If you don’t have it or can’t find it, then focus on the heart method, and put other skills aside first.

   "However, before that, first ask Eunuch Wei." Xu Bai thought to himself.

  The experience of failing to become a saint is not something you think about, so he has to find it.

   This thing will not fall from the sky, nor will it fall into his hands for no reason.

  The most important thing about him now is that he doesn't even know where the experience of failure in becoming a saint is.

During the recent period of retreat, he also asked the female temple master and Liu Qingfeng, but both of them only gave a general direction, saying that there are some forces, but they don't know what the specific forces are. .

   Not every faction holds their sacred heart in their hands and let the world know. After all, this thing is a treasure. After letting others know, it will bring danger to themselves.

  So he needs to find someone who knows. As for who will know, Xu Bai thought, the Chief Minister Mu of the Great Chu Palace should know.

   After all, before he became the new emperor, he was still the head of Tiansi. Such a person should have information. As for what to do when he knows, let’s talk about it first.

   Now that you know it, think about the next steps.

  So Xu Bai didn't plan to retreat, but planned to go to the palace.

   "Leave?" asked the female audience member.

  Although Xu Bai's aura has not changed after this retreat, but they have been together for so long, and they always feel that there are some differences in Xu Bai.

   She doesn't know exactly where this difference is manifested.

But her subconscious mind told her that Xu Bai seemed to have become stronger again. Now that Xu Bai stood up, she remembered what Xu Bai told her not long ago, saying that if she left the customs, she would go to the Great Chu Palace. Now it seems that, Xu Bai is leaving.

  Xu Bai nodded: "You guys continue to read here, and you can help Chu Ling by the way. I'll go now and maybe I'll be back soon."

  The hostess agreed.

  Although she is only here to read books temporarily, if she encounters trouble, she can help her out.

  Not to mention Liu Qingfeng next to him, he basically sold himself to Xu Bai.

  Xu Bai didn't say any more, and left the palace treasury.

  After leaving, he bid farewell to Chu Ling, Ye Zi and the others, then went to talk to Yun Zihai for a few words, and then set off for the Great Chu Palace

   Without any wordiness or pause, he took off directly into the air, flew in mid-air, and rushed towards the palace of the Great Chu Kingdom at an extremely fast speed.

  In the blink of an eye, Xu Bai had turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the sky.

  …

  Great Chu Kingdom, Imperial Palace.

  The current Xu Bai didn't have any scruples, he didn't even stop at the gate of the city, he directly crossed the imperial city, like a meteor, fell into the palace.

  Some inspectors of Tiansi saw this scene, including the soldiers guarding the city, but they not only did not stop them, but lowered their eyes as if they hadn't seen it.

  They all knew who it was that flew over, it was Prince Xu who was in the limelight now.

  Whoever dares to stop Prince Xu, isn't this courting death?

  So I pretended I didn't see it, and each continued to do their own things.

  After Xu Bai fell into the palace, he followed the road of the palace and rushed directly to the imperial study of the former emperor of Chu.

   Along the way, I also met some city guards, or eunuchs and maidservants. Whenever I met one, I would salute like Xu Bai. Xu Bai didn't say much, and strode to the imperial study.

  With the strength of Director Mu, even though he has become the emperor now, he must also know that Xu Bai is coming.

  But before Xu Bai could approach, he heard noises coming from inside.

   There was a lot of noise, Xu Bai also knew who was inside, it was Eunuch Wei and Director Mu who were arguing.

  The voice came from the room, and Xu Bai also heard the content.

   "Our family really can't figure it out. Although you are also managing the affairs of the court, most of your thoughts are spent on breakthroughs."

   "Is it really that important?"

   "Nowadays, weirdness is rampant in the whole world, and there is still no way to figure it out. You have to cure this country first, and then take care of your own business."

  Eunuch Wei's voice was impatient, and his tone was very unkind, so he dared to get angry with Director Mu like this.

  Although the relationship between the two is comrade-in-arms, they worked together from the mountain of corpses and blood, but their tempers are not against each other.

   Director Mu's helpless voice came from inside.

   "I don't want to do this either, but you know the current situation. The method will not come up for a while, and the most important thing for me now is to become a saint."

   "If there is really no way to solve it, and the progress will be slowed down by then, I may follow His Majesty's original path."

  Take the original path of Emperor Chu, what kind of path is it?

  Xu Bai knew in his heart that he was entering the deceitful market alone.

   This sentence should not be said, but it is probably because Eunuch Wei pushed him into a hurry, so Director Mu said it.

   After this sentence was finished, Eunuch Wei stopped talking and fell into silence.

   After about half a stick of incense, there was a sigh from Eunuch Wei.

"well…"

   This sigh is complicated.

  Even if Xu Bai was outside the door, he knew why he was sighing.

  Although the two of them seem to be at odds with each other, they are actually good brothers who have fought together, and they have naturally established a deep relationship.

   Hearing that if the progress is slowed down in the future, he will follow the old path of Emperor Chu, Eunuch Wei is naturally unhappy.

"come in."

   After the sigh was over, Eunuch Wei heard a weary voice.

  Xu Bai knew that this was what he said, and now that the two of them have almost finished talking, it's time for him to go in.

  Thinking of this, he opened the door and walked in, just in time to see two people in disheveled clothes, arranging their clothes.

  Xu Bai: "?"

   Thought of the two arguing, but didn't expect the scene to be so explosive, it was probably a fight.

   "Cough cough." Xu Bai pretended to cough: "Both, is it convenient for me to talk now?"

  Director Mu rubbed his face: "What's the inconvenience? Since you went to the barbarians, you have been retreating. Now you suddenly come to us, there must be something important."

  Eunuch Wei didn't speak, and the tone in his heart hadn't been smoothed out yet, but looking at his eyes, he was also waiting for Xu Bai to say it.

  Xu Bai was about to speak when he suddenly glanced at Eunuch Wei, and then he froze on the spot.

   "Are you... this... sanctified?"

  That’s right, he glanced at Eunuch Wei just now, and felt that something was wrong with Eunuch Wei’s aura.

   Now that he has the strength of the extraordinary ninth rank, it can be said that he is extremely powerful, so he can see the difference between Eunuch Wei at a glance.

  Eunuch Wei became a saint?

  Reminiscent of not long ago, they saw a celestial phenomenon of someone becoming a saint on the side of the Great Chu Kingdom, and Xu Bai came to a conclusion in an instant.

  At first he thought it was Prime Minister Wen Lu Sheng, but he didn't expect it to be Eunuch Wei.

   Isn't this too outrageous?

   Didn't it mean that in the **** profession, there is almost no possibility of becoming a saint?

  Eunuch Wei laughed and said: "Since the world was unified, some things have changed, including this change in our family. Our family can't explain why."

  Don't know why, because he doesn't know why.

   Overall, this should be similar to a rule change.

  The reason why it is said that eunuchs have a very small chance of becoming holy is because they are incomplete.

   This is limited by the rules, and the rules are very unreasonable.

   But now, he has become a saint suddenly, and it is still inexplicable, which can only be attributed to the rules.

  In any case, becoming a saint is a good thing.

Xu Bai heard that Eunuch Wei said he didn't know, so he didn't go into the reason, but joked: "Eunuch Wei, you told me that day, if someone takes the first step and grabs the position of becoming a saint, you will help him." I'm going to kill him."

  When the two of them are drinking, they can make any jokes, so there is nothing inappropriate about this teasing.

  Eunuch Wei smiled bitterly, waved his hands and said, "Don't make fun of our family, you don't know that after our family broke through, Prime Minister Wen looked like he ate a fly."

  Of course Xu Bai can think of it.

   Prime Minister Wen went to retreat specially, but what he never expected was that Eunuch Wei would take a step ahead and step into the realm of sainthood.

   Now, there are still two holy positions left, and the difficulty of grabbing them has increased by one point.

  Xu Bai said mysteriously: "Dean or Prime Minister Wen, who can be faster?"

  Eunuch Wei said with a little deep meaning: "Our family doesn't know, but these two people are working hard. After all, the gap between these two people is still not small."

  Academy and Prime Minister Wen can be described as a pair of enemies.

  On the day of the academy, Prime Minister Wen was expelled because he didn't like his ideas, but he never expected that Prime Minister Wen would finally sit in the position of prime minister, and his strength had grown by leaps and bounds.

  Both sides dislike each other, but both sides behave fairly.

   Prime Minister Wen has never been an official for scholars who feel sorry for the academy, and the academy only had a few criticisms about Prime Minister Wen at the beginning, and said nothing afterwards.

   But it's true that they don't like each other.

   This time it depends on who becomes the saint first, and whoever becomes the saint first will slap the opponent in the face.

   "I really envy the relationship between the two of you. You can change the topic if you are so abrupt. If you want to have a deep chat, why don't you find a place to drink, and I have to deal with business." Mr. Mu said speechlessly.

  He knew that Xu Bai must have something to do when he came here, but now you two are chatting, and you actually talked about someone else, Prime Minister Wen.

   Good guy.

  When Prime Minister Wen heard this, his face would turn pale.

   Do you want to set up a table of wine and good food for the two of you, and the two of you can chat while eating here.

  Xu Bai suddenly remembered that he had strayed from the topic, so he explained the purpose of coming here.

   Before Director Mu could speak, Eunuch Wei spoke first.

  Eunuch Wei frowned and said: "Didn't our family give you a book on becoming a saint? Have you read it almost?"

  Xu Bai nodded: "It should be almost the same, but there is no change in this strength."

  He was telling the truth, and his strength really hasn't changed much.

  Eunuch Wei is now a holy master, so he can naturally see Xu Bai's strength.

   But he can also see that, unusually, his vision is much higher than that of the female audience.

   "The strength has not changed, but your means should be stronger. You never do things that don't gain anything."

   To say who knows Xu Bai, Wei Gonggong is one of them, and he directly pointed out the essence.

   "It can be regarded as a small improvement. Compared with Eunuch Wei's current strength, it is not worth mentioning." Xu Bai said.

   "After Eunuch Wei became a saint, he must be invincible."

  When he was in the Ninth Grade of Transcendence, Eunuch Wei could be invincible under the sage, and one for one at the top of the sage.

   Now, reaching the holy realm, I am afraid that he is already invincible.

   After all, apart from the unacceptable thing like physical disability, the **** job is indeed a bug.

  Eunuch Wei didn't deny it, but nodded: "It's about the same, but I can't fight with Chu Sheng."

   "After all, I have only entered the first rank of sainthood. If I reach the ninth rank, maybe I can, but it is too early."

  Xu Bai: "..."

   Good guy.

  He originally thought that he was already proficient in the road of pretending to be coercive, but he didn't expect that Eunuch Wei was a master at it.

  You're still thinking about changing one with Chu Sheng, right?

  Xu Bai put his hand on his forehead, and brought the topic back: "In short, this trip is for the purpose of becoming a saint. Do you know where I can get it?"

Eunuch Wei looked at Mr. Mu and said, "The one I gave you earlier was bought by our family to find an acquaintance. As for the others, our family really doesn't know. After all, this thing, every faction Hidden like a baby."

  These experience of failing to become a saint are all passed down by the powerful ancestors. They are naturally unwilling to hand them over. After all, they have a lot to do with becoming a saint.

  Even if it is just the experience of failure to become a saint, it has passed through that threshold, so it is a very important treasure.

Hearing this, Director Mu thought for a while, then took out a waist card from the side drawer, and handed it to Xu Bai: "You can find it yourself in the library on the ninth floor. There are too many and complicated materials. I can't remember either."

  Xu Bai doubtfully said: "It's all at your level, how can there be things that you can't remember clearly, don't you just write them down at a glance, don't lie to me again, and try to trick me."

   This is unreasonable. A master of this realm should have already remembered it with his photographic memory.

  Mr. Mu said helplessly: "I dare not promise you anything else, but I will never go back on what I promised His Majesty. From the moment I promised Your Majesty, I will not count on it."

   "The reason why I say I can't remember is because the information there is updated every day, and now I have to deal with major affairs in the court, so I can't separate myself to read it."

  After saying this, Xu Bai understood. He put away his badge and was about to leave.

  He came here in a tight schedule, thinking that he must find these materials first, and if the things recorded in the materials are easy to get, he will go there first to get them.

  If it is difficult to get it, then go back to the palace treasury for the time being, and liver all those books.

   "Wait, the information you want is very important, and it is on the ninth floor. After you get the information, you can come to my place. I have something to tell you." Mr. Mu said.

   "I wanted to tell you about this a long time ago, but seeing that you have been retreating, I didn't tell you."

  Xu Bai agreed. Although he didn't know what it was, he still read the information first before talking.

  He didn't stay any longer, he left the room directly, and then walked towards the Star Picking Tower.

   This road was unimpeded, and soon came to the Zhaixing Building.

  The guards standing outside these buildings did not stop Xu Bai when he saw the token of President Mu in his hand.

  Following the stairs, he went up all the way, and finally reached the ninth floor. There are many rooms on this floor, and each room is marked with a specific purpose. After searching for a while, he found a place dedicated to storing materials.

  When Xu Bai pushed the door and entered, he found that it was full of thick books, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

   "It's really a lot."

  This room is very large, and it is full of books. Although these books are divided into categories, just looking at them makes people feel dazzled.

   "Let's start looking."

  Xu Bai first looked around according to the category, and he didn't look for the categories that didn't belong to it. He quickly searched around, but didn't find the category marked with failure to become a saint.

   "I almost forgot. It's impossible to mark it so directly. It must have been classified into a certain category. I forgot to ask Director Mu when I left." Xu Bai patted his forehead, and then remembered what he had forgotten.

   "Come book by book." He thought to himself.

   These things are all information, and there is no progress bar on them. Xu Bai started to search one by one. Fortunately, with his current strength, the speed is not very slow. After reading a book, the speed is staggering.

  In less than a stick of incense, he found the information he wanted from the books in the room.

  Xu Bai flipped through the documents, memorized them all in his mind, and then put them back in their original place.

  There are not many records above, there are five forces.

   Moreover, he is not familiar with these five forces, but it is not a big problem.

  When I flipped through just now, some information about these five forces was also stored here, and they were all remembered in my mind.

   There are a few far away, in remote places in the Great Chu Kingdom, and he has no plan to go there.

   After all, he is still being remembered by the two holy masters of the barbarians. If he is too far away, he may be ambushed.

   There is a faction he is very familiar with. It is in the barbarian fiefdom and has already settled in the barbarian fiefdom.

   Not only that, this force also has a person he is very familiar with.

  —Miao Xiao.

  The little girl from Miaojiao is still his little fan girl. This time, you can try to see if you can get the experience of failure in becoming a saint from Miaojiao.

  He remembered that Chu Ling arranged Miaojiao not very far away, not far from Wangcheng, so you can go and see.

  Thinking of this, Xu Bai got what he wanted, so he went down the Zhaixing Tower and walked towards the palace.

   Soon, we arrived at the Imperial Study Room.

  At this time, Eunuch Wei was no longer in the Imperial Study Room, and only Director Mu was correcting the memorial.

   Seeing Xu Bai coming, he put down the writing brush in his hand and asked Xu Bai to sit down. Then he took out a letter from the drawer and handed it to Xu Bai.

  Xu Bai asked: "Your Majesty left me?"

  In his understanding, since it is a letter, someone must have given it to him, and it must be the Emperor Chu who can make President Mu so solemn. After all, before this, the Emperor Chu entrusted the Queen to give him a letter.

  Mr. Mu shook his head and said, "No, I gave it to you."

  Xu Bai heard the words, with black lines all over his head: "Actually, we are face to face now, so we can rely on talking."

  He understands, Mr. Mu's inexplicable attribute has been activated again, and the inexplicable must be forced.

   It’s really not necessary, everyone is face to face, so it’s okay to just say no, I have to prepare a letter.

   "You don't understand, this is called style." Director Mu put his hands behind his back, returned to his seat, picked up the brush again, thought about it, and put it down first.

  Xu Bai only felt that he really wanted to leave a fist mark on Mr. Mu's face, but after thinking about it, it was still not appropriate, so he could only take apart the letter paper.

  He finally understood why Eunuch Wei and Director Mu were so at odds with each other. What Director Mu said and did was really a headache.

   Enduring this headache, Xu Bai saw the content on the letter paper, and soon forgot what happened just now, frowned, and read it carefully.

   After nearly half a stick of incense, Xu Bai put down the letter in his hand, with a particularly dignified expression.

   "According to your letter, not only have weird events occurred frequently recently, but there are also more ruins than before?"

  The letter probably meant this. It said that in the past month, there have been nearly 30 relics in the entire Great Chu Kingdom, that is to say, an average of one per day.

  Although the Great Chu State is very large, such a small proportion is not a high proportion, but it did not have such a high frequency before. Compared with before, this frequency is higher.

   "What's the situation?" Xu Bai asked.

He now attaches great importance to the relics, and he really wants to find out about the relics. After all, Emperor Chu also said in the letter before that there are some secrets about his identity, or to put it bluntly, about his golden finger. It is likely to be hidden in the ruins.

  If it was about other things, he might not be very interested, but the matter about cheating made him more interested.

   In the past, he had no strength and no chance to find out. Now that he has clues, he certainly wants to find out.

   "I don't know either." President Mu said, "It might be a good thing for us."

   "Not only can we get more resources from it, but also we can understand what happened at that time."

"The reason why I showed you is to prepare you for being beaten down from the barbarians. So far, there has only been one incident on the barbarian side, but we found that it spread gradually, and it is estimated that there will be frequent incidents soon. gone."

  Xu Bai put the letter back on the table and nodded, expressing that he understood.

  Now that he has received the news, he doesn't plan to stay any longer, and has to go back to find out the experience of failing to become a saint.

  He came all the time, so he naturally didn't rush back. After going to Eunuch Wei's place, he had another drink with Eunuch Wei before he left.

   When he returned to the palace, it was already very late.

   "It's been so long since I've been with them, let's spend a night with them tonight."

  Xu Bai smiled, rubbed his hands together, and walked towards the resting place of Chu Ling and Ye Zi...

  …

  The next day.

  Xu Bai got up with the support of the two women, and Ye Zi washed Xu Bai.

  Chu Ling is lying in Xu Bai's arms, leaning gently on Xu Bai's chest.

   "Tired?" Xu Bai lowered his head, looking at Chu Ling who was still a little tired.

  Chu Ling nodded, then shook her head: "There are too many things to deal with every day. Fortunately, sister Ye Zi helps me, and these various institutions are also improving recently, and it is estimated that they will be carried out normally soon."

  Xu Bai smiled and patted Chu Ling's head: "Sometimes, since you have made a decision to sit in this position, you must pay a price."

  Chu Ling hummed lightly, then buried her head in Xu Bai's chest again, without speaking.

  On the other side, Ye Zi slowly stood up: "Husband, I have finished washing up."

  Xu Bai hummed, and patted Chu Ling on the back: "Today, I will go to Miaojiao."

  The two women didn't say anything, they didn't care what Xu Bai was doing, because as long as Xu Bai did it, they would support him unconditionally.

  Xu Bai didn't say much, got up and left.

  He still has to hurry up, if he can get to the failure experience of becoming a saint smoothly, he has to finish the progress bar as soon as possible.

   After Xu Bai left, the two women looked at each other, speechless.

  Chu Ling's eyebrows were still full of fatigue.

   "Sister, let me help you deal with the recent matter, so you can take care of yourself at ease." Ye Zi said softly.

  Chu Ling thought for a while, raised her hand and rubbed her forehead, exuding a lazy breath: "Alright, so I can rest for a while."

She seems to be very tired, but because she has already been crowned king, she has entered the business of emperor. The moment she was crowned king, she has already become a master of transformation, no matter how tired she is, she should not sleep overnight. Can't recover.

  Because the barbarian fiefdom is getting better and better, her strength is also steadily improving, and this situation is even less likely to happen.

   Seeing Chu Ling's current state, Ye Zi was a little worried and said, "Sister, why don't you tell your husband about this. If your husband knows, he will be very happy."

  Chu Ling shook her head again: "My husband is in the treasury these days, and he is very busy retreating. If I tell my husband about this, he will be very happy, but it will disrupt his plan."

  Ye Zi heard the words, and looked down at Chu Ling's lower abdomen: "But...you can't hide this for long..."

  (end of this chapter)