Chapter 131: Only Idiots Don’t Think They Are Idiots

The professor of the Martial Arts Academy still said that Fang Jie was using tactics flexibly; he didn’t want to call Fang Jie shameless out of courtesy.

However, everyone here knew that Principal Zhou was praising Fang Jie by calling him shameless instead of scolding him.

Royal King Yi who was sitting beside Principal Zhou to represent the Emperor also laughed and praised. He whispered to Principal Zhou, “This is what a smart person would do. The military doesn’t lack brave, fearless, and cold men, but it is rare to see people like Fang Jie who are clever.”

Principal Zhou nodded and didn’t say anything; he simply stared at the young man from Fangu with interest.

The professor who asked the question shook his head and said with slight disappointment, “In my opinion, soldiers should be brave and fearless. Even if they know tough situations lie ahead, they should head straight forward with courage. This should be the spirit that is promoted by the military. People like Fang Jie are too afraid; they lack sharpness.”

Royal King Yi shook his head with a smile and said, “Then let’s bet. In a real battle, do you think the fearless people will have a higher chance of survival or people like Fang Jie? What is the key to winning?”

Professor Mo Wanwu on the side thought for a moment and said, “Strength.”

Royal King Yi shook his head and didn’t speak; he waited to see if others could give another answer.

“Preparation,” another professor replied seriously, “All kinds of situations would arise on the battlefield, so sufficient preparation is the key to success. You will only win all the time when you know yourself and the enemy.”

Royal King Yi nodded and said, “Even when you have strength, you might get defeated without preparation.”

Everyone nodded.

At this moment, Professor Qiu Yi who was sitting on the side quietly said something. Although it was quiet, Royal King Yi heard it, and he nodded and said, “That is right.”

“Survival.” This was Qiu Yu’s answer.

Royal King Yi couldn’t help but sigh, “You need to survive first to win. Perhaps many of you think Fang Jie is being too timid and cunning, losing the sharpness of a soldier of Great Sui. However, this is the most correct decision. The first opponent wouldn’t be that strong, so it is better to use this opponent to warm up and get into the rhythm, but you can’t finish this battle too fast. The people who could finish the first round quickly would all be great cultivation masters. How tough would the battles be when these people meet each other in the second round? Even if some defeat their opponents, how much energy would they use? They might be even injured.”

“After defeating tough opponents in the second round and potentially sustaining injuries, how hard would the third round be?” Yang Yin smiled and said, “By dragging it on, Fang Jie’s second-round opponent wouldn’t be that strong. If he drags on the second round, his third round wouldn’t be that hard as well. He would be winning, but he would conserve the most strength as well. Then, in the last round, he could show all his strength, and his opponent would be tired out from the previous fights. His chance of winning would be much higher.”

After pausing for a second, Yang Yin added, “What is the best tactic? The tactic that could help you win.”

Principal Zhou who hadn’t spoken all this time nodded and said, “This little guy made me think of someone else. Now when people mention him, they would refer to him with respect. He created the insane record of nine excellent ratings.”

Now, everyone knew who Principal Zhou was talking about.

Only one person received nine excellent ratings in the history of the Martial Arts Academy, and that man was Li Xiao, the most famous general when the Second Emperor was in power.

Whenever Li Xiao was mentioned, people would instantly think about his insane record in the Martial Arts Academy. Also, he never suffered a single defeat when he led soldiers.

These glorious records were documented by the Li Family as well as Great Sui. Many years after, people still respected what he had achieved.

Principal Zhou said with a smile, “It seems like most of you forgot how he received these nine excellent ratings. The five excellent ratings for the five written tests don’t need to be mentioned; Li Xiao was more like a scholar than a general. Even those grand scholars might not be on his knowledge level. In terms of martial tests, he used the tactic that Fang Jie is using right now to secure his top spot in the last martial test. He was more scholarly, and his strength wasn’t in the top 30. However, he still became the champion. How did he do it? Those who were stronger than him were too sharp and aggressive with big egos, not willing to admit defeat. They all quickly finished the first round and fought each other. In the last round, the people who were stronger than Li Xiao no longer had the strength.”

Then, Principal Zhou looked toward the young man on the training field and said, “That was about 100 years ago. Most of us forgot about the cunning tactic and only remember the glorious records. Fang Jie is good; he didn’t forget.”

…

At this moment, many royal guards locked down the town at the foot of Godly Spring Mountain and the only path down the mountain. No one was allowed to move, including the people of Godly Spring Manor; they could only go down the mountain after the lockdown was over.

At the foot of the mountain, Meng Wudi, the Deputy of the Intelligence Department, looked up at the mountain with a gloomy expression. Even with his identity, he couldn’t go up the mountain.

The enemies were insanely powerful, and one of them was that disciple of the Buddhist Sect who killed a person and got away under his nose.

Meng Wudi’s biggest strength was the recognition of his own power. He knew that his cultivation strength might not be useful at all in today’s operation.

The three people who went up the mountain were all much stronger than him.

The first person was Zhuo Buyi, the man with no official position but was the third in command at the Royal Guard. He was so talented that even the Emperor pardoned him! After all, the crime that he was charged with was rebellion!

The second person was Phoenix-Chirp Daoist of One Qi Daoist Temple. He ranked no.2 among the four disciples of Spiritual Master Xiao. In fact, his prestige was higher than his senior brother, Crane-Chirp Daoist. Phoenix-Chirp Daoist oversaw punishment, and all disciples feared him.

The third person was the senior in the sapphire robe who always accompanied the Emperor. He wasn’t a part of the Royal Guard nor the military. He was someone in the Royal Palace, and he only listened to the Emperor.

Meng Wudi’s status wasn’t low, so he knew some secrets. He knew that this senior weighed as much as Royal Captain Luo in the Emperor’s eyes.

Royal Captain Luo led the Royal Guard, so he was well-known since he handled many errands. This senior only protected the important people in the Royal Palace, so very few people knew him.

Weng Wudi only heard that this senior’s name was Li Nan, meaning separation disaster. He didn’t know why this senior’s name was so ominous. It had to be noted that many things were taboos in the Royal Palace; an ominous name was one of them.

Meng Wudi also knew that there was more than one mysterious cultivation master in the Royal Palace. Although it seemed like the Royal Guard was in charge of protecting Chang’an and the Emperor, there were many hidden masters around the Emperor.

Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn’t have survived so many assassination attempts.

After thinking about Li Nan, Meng Wudi naturally thought about Su Buwei.

That eunuch seemed to be a hidden master as well.

After staying in the Royal Guard for a long time, Meng Wudi realized how insignificant he was. He was proud when he was promoted to his current position. He thought his future was going to be bright.

Now, he realized that he underestimated the Royal Guard and the Royal Palace.

Meng Wudi was a level 8 cultivation master. If he traveled around the world, he would make a name for himself. At least he could defeat the leaders of small sects and factions.

He had thought that his strength would rank high in the Royal Guard, but he later found out that he was promoted to his position, not because of his level 8 cultivation strength; he was only promoted since he was a smooth talker and knew his place.

If someone who didn’t know his place was the Intelligence Department Deputy, would that person be as humble and docile in front of Zhuo Buyi who had no official position?

Others might not be able to do it, but Meng Wudi could.

Also, Meng Wudi was talented at dealing with errands. Instead of praising his strength, his management ability should be praised. He was a great manager but not a great cultivation master.

Therefore, even though Meng Wudi was curious as to what was happening on the mountain, such as shocking battles, fascinating stories, and bizarre techniques, he still stood at the foot of the mountain and locked down all the roads.

The enemies on the mountain should be proud of the treatment that they were getting from the Royal Guard.

The person whose trace was discovered was indeed proud. He had been proud since he joined the Buddhist Sect.

In fact, on top of being proud of himself, he made other people proud as well.

He was the most-liked disciple of Wisdom Heavenly Lord, Great Wheel Wisdom King’s second disciple.

Wisdom Heavenly Lord had said that among all his disciples, Chenya had the highest chance of reaching the peak and becoming a heavenly lord himself.

Also because of his pride, Chenya almost died in Chang’an.

Chenya was proud and arrogant, but he was defenseless in front of Phoenix-Chirp Daoist that night. If he weren’t saved by someone at the critical moment, he would have been imprisoned in a dungeon somewhere in Chang’an, and his shoulder blades would have been penetrated by iron chains.

In other places outside Great Sui, those who disrespected and imprisoned disciples of the Buddhist Sect would be known as heretics, and they would be burned alive while their families would be executed. However, this was normal in Great Sui.

Therefore, Chenya finally understood why his master called Great Sui the place where demons and devils ran loose.

Wisdom Heavenly Lord tried to spread Buddhism in Great Sui, but the people of Great Sui ignored him. This was hard to imagine for others.

If Wisdom Heavenly Lord went to any other place, even the royalties would have to greet him!

In Great Sui where demons and devils ran loose, the people who knelt before members of the Buddhist Sect would be looked down upon.

…

Chenya sat on a giant tree cross-legged. The thick leaves and branches covered his figure.

He was still quite injured. If those two strikes from Phoenix-Chirp Daoist landed on someone else, that person might have died already.

Even though Chenya was severely injured, he still didn’t take the pill that could recover most of his strength in a short time. Instead, he collected some ingredients on the mountain and mixed them with the pill and aged liquor of Godly Spring Manor, creating a killer bomb.

He thought that the red-robed daoist would find him first. He wasn’t wrong, but Xiang Qingniu came along.

Even if he expected Xiang Qingniu to come along, he wouldn’t think that the fat and dull daoist could detect his killer trap.

Since Chenya didn’t consume his spiritual pill, his injuries didn’t heal.

The repulsive forces from Phoenix-Chirp Daoist were inside his body and damaged his body like ants and bugs damaging a tree.

Since Chenya started to cultivate, he had never been in such a terrible situation before.

Chenya closed his eyes and thought about how to get out of this situation.

A cicada was chirping not far away from his hideout, making him a little anxious.

Just as he was about to get rid of this cicada, it suddenly stopped moving its wings and became silent.

Chenya couldn’t help but look over.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he detected danger.

Without hesitation, he moved from the spot and jumped down the tree like a bolt of lightning.

When he landed, the cicada that was chirping also fell to the ground.

It was still alive, but it couldn’t move.

Not far away, Phoenix-Chirp Daoist’s third vertical eye on his forehead was opened, and a dark-red light was flashing in it.

If Chenya didn’t move fast, he would be in the same situation as that cicada, losing his freedom and falling off the tree.

“This method could be used to sneak-attack others once. I would be too stupid if I get restricted by it for the second time.” Chenya still sounded aggressive despite his heavy injuries.

Phoenix-Chirp Daoist sneered and said, “Only idiots don’t think they are idiots.”

Chenya was surprised, and he suddenly realized that he could no longer move. He didn’t look into Phoenix-Chirp Daoist’s third eye and dodge the Illusion Bind; how did he get caught?

He got the answer soon.

About a dozen meters away, a middle-aged man in ordinary clothes walked out from behind a tree; his expression was calm, and he walked slowly.

Drawing on the ground and creating a prison.