Chapter 147: This Is the Reason
Principal Zhou wasn’t a good negotiator in Fang Jie’s eyes. Although his threat-and-reward approach wasn’t bad, his last sentence of promising not to harm Fang Jie’s life gave away his true intent.
Therefore, Fang Jie directly declined this old man’s offer.
Principal Zhou didn’t mention anything tangible.
“Young man, you should know that you don’t have another path in front of you, unless you want to be expelled from the Martial Arts Academy on the first day. Even after you are expelled, I can still capture you and lock you inside a chamber before turning you into hundreds of pieces.” While saying that, Principal Zhou shrugged and told Fang Jie that he didn’t want to do this.
“Goal,” Fang Jie asked after a moment of silence, “Respectable Principal, tell me your goal. You just said that I’m a smart guy, so lies might not be able to fool me.”
“Curiosity,” Principal Zhou replied.
“You are too fake; I don’t like that.” Fang Jie threw this sentence back at Principal Zhou.
“Huh? How come you still don’t understand? You are in no place to negotiate. You are a member of the Martial Arts Academy after you walked through that gate this morning. You can’t survive in this place without listening to me,” Principal Zhou said while drinking tea.
“Do you know of an attitude called die rather than submit?” Fang Jie said with a firm expression.
Principal Zhou almost spat out all the tea in his mouth. He said to Fang Jie with a smile, “Do you know that you only have an interesting physique in my eyes? It doesn’t matter if you are dead or alive. If you truly choose death over submitting, do you need me to provide you with the tools?”
Principal Zhou counted with his finger and said, “Sabers, spears, swords, halberds… the Martial Arts Academy has all sorts of weapons. We also have white silk bands for hanging and deadly poison. If you want to die in a prettier way, I can get someone to clue paper on your face. Your corpse would look better that way. Although you would also die from suffocation from hanging, your tongue might come out, which is ugly.”
Fang Jie sighed in his mind and thought, “Principal Zhou who is respected by many people is actually like this in private.”
“Alright, I won’t ask your goal anymore. However, you got to give me some benefits.”
Principal Zhou thought for a while and said, “You don’t lack beauties and money. Let me think about what else could move you.”
Fang Jie replied with slight anger, “Which b*stard said that I don’t need either?”
“Huh?” Principal Zhou asked in surprise, “You need both? That is easy then. Give me a price; the Martial Arts Academy doesn’t lack money.”
“One million silver taels,” Fang Jie said with his teeth clenching.
“If you give me one million silver taels, I will let you research my body, ok?” Principal Zhou rolled his eyes and snorted, “I can promise you that you will always get great grades in the academy, and you will still be the no.1 student when you graduate. That way, you will be at least a rank 4 colonel after graduation. This is a height that many people couldn’t reach after working hard their entire life.”
Fang Jie shrugged and said, “You finally said something useful. Please continue.”
“As to money, you don’t look like someone who needs money…”
“I’m greedy for money!”
“Let’s put that aside.” Principal Zhou waved his hand and said, “Let’s talk about women. I know that you have two great beauties around you. It is tough to find women who are even prettier, but luckily… What do you think about Professor Qiu Yu?”
Fang Jie couldn’t hold it in and laughed, “Principal, you aren’t fit to do business.”
“Just ignore what I said.” Principal Zhou glared at Fang Jie and said, “You won’t be harmed at all!”
“The academy would benefit way more in this deal.” Fang Jie heaved a long sigh and lowered his voice while leaning forward, “I finally know that the government is so concerned about Luo Yao, the Great General of Left Advance Guard in the south. But how come you are so sure that I have the same physique as Luo Yao? If Luo Yao hears about this, aren’t you afraid that he will grow some bad thoughts?”
When Fang Jie said this, Principal Zhou who had a dirty smile on his face all this time froze for a second. Then, he sighed and said to Fang Jie seriously, “Are you forcing me to kill you?”
Great General Luo Yao of Left Advance Guard was one of the most unique people in the world. Many years ago, his sea of qi got shattered, but he didn’t die. No one expected this wastrel to rise again, becoming one of the strongest people in the world when his body no longer had a sea of qi.
Now, Fang Jie was finally sure that Luo Yao wasn’t only a top-tier level 9 master. Fang Jie got lucky and met many level 9 masters. He was sure that people like the crippled old man, Mr. Zhuo, and the red-robed daoist were all level 9 masters. However, none of them concerned the government of Great Sui this much.
Judging from what he knew so far, Fang Jie felt like Luo Yao was insanely powerful.
At least he believed that this great general was more terrifying than Mr. Zhuo and Phoenix-Chirp Daoist. He had seen these two people show their strength. Mr. Zhuo easily froze hundreds of elite soldiers and people like Wang Ding inside Guest-Prosper Dwell. Phoenix-Chirp Daoist was able to create a huge pit in the ground by pointing a finger.
How powerful would Luo Yao be if he was stronger than both?
To find a way to defeat this man, Principal Zhou even wanted to use Fang Jie as a test subject.
Fang Jie suddenly felt like Great Sui wasn’t as stable and peaceful as it seemed.
Although the south of Great Sui wasn’t the richest place, Yong State City was once the Capital of Shang. It was prosperous, and its waterways and roads were developed and well-maintained.
Since the Shang Empire wasn’t conquered long ago, the people in the south weren’t completely merged into Great Sui. Therefore, the government asked Luo Yao to stay in Yong State City to deter those who were still hostile toward Great Sui.
As a result, Luo Yao’s power was too big.
The south of Great Sui was too far from the Capital, and the edict from the Emperor wasn’t as influential as Luo Yao’s command.
The longer Luo Yao stayed in the south, the more concerned the government would be. Although Luo Yao was only one of the 16 great generals, Left Advance Guard had the greatest number of soldiers.
To protect the land that once belonged to the Shang Empire, the government had to allow Luo Yao to expand the military.
Perhaps no one other than Luo Yao knew exactly how many soldiers that Left Advance Guard had.
Luo Yao was gradually turning from an important official of Great Sui into potential danger.
Fang Jie had learned many things from what Principal Zhou had said. Even though these things weren’t useful to him, it allowed him to have a clearer idea of Great Sui’s current position.
Principal Zhou couldn’t help but frown when he saw this young man’s solemn expression. He said, “Now I finally understand why His Majesty changed his mind and decided to turn you into a miracle. He wrote your name on the Talent Ledger before he met you, and he moved your name four pages forward after meeting you. You sure are an interesting figure.”
Fang Jie didn’t know what Principal Zhou was referring to, but he roughly knew what this old man meant.
Principal Zhuo’s expression changed, and he no longer looked like a hooligan. He straightened his body and asked Fang Jie after a moment of silence, “You had said that you are proud of being a member of Great Sui in front of His Majesty. Do you mean it?”
Fang Jie nodded since he was sincere about that.
Principal Zhou nodded and sighed after a while, “Alright, I will tell you why I’m so interested in your physique. You are right. I know that you learned a lot from our prior conversation, but I hope you will seal what you know now.”
“It all starts with Luo Yao, even though it doesn’t have too much to do with him.”
Principal Zhou drank some tea, organized his thoughts, and said, “You know that Luo Yao’s sea of qi got shattered many years ago. In theory, he should be a wastrel even if he didn’t die. However, he is still one of the most powerful level 9 masters in the world. When conquering the Shang Empire, he ripped many powerful cultivation masters of Shang with his bare hands. Everyone wants to know about his strange physique.”
He continued after a slight pause, “Aside from Luo Yao creating a miracle, there is an even more important reason why the government and His Majesty is interested in this.”
Principal Zhou looked at Fang Jie and said, “A man without a sea of qi was even able to become a level 9 master; can ordinary people also become cultivation masters? His Majesty even asked Luo Yao if he had any secret cultivation techniques, but Luo Yao only said that he got lucky and didn’t have any secret techniques. However, His Majesty didn’t give up on this; he is always thinking about one thing…”
“I got it.” Fang Jie nodded and said, “His Majesty wants to create an invincible army. If ordinary people have the right cultivation method, they might become way stronger even if they couldn’t reach Luo Yao’s height. I can’t even imagine how terrifying it would be if every soldier of a 100,000-men army or a 1,000,0000-men army could rival a cultivation master.”
Fang Jie had seen the Elite Infantry Battalion that was under Great General Li Yuanshan’s command. Every single soldier could rival a level 2 cultivation master.
If a battle occurred that day, Fang Jie was sure that almost everyone on their side would die, even though the crippled old man was there to protect them.
Principal Zhou smiled and asked, “Now, do you know why I want to research your physique?”
Fang Jie replied helplessly, “The government wouldn’t capture and research a great general who is guarding the south. At this moment, a poor soul who has a similar physique as Luo Yao appeared. Therefore, it has to be me.”
Now, Fang Jie finally understood why the Emperor said that it was a great sign several times. It wasn’t because he obtained all nine excellent ratings like Li Xiao.
During that short ceremony, Fang Jie was confused as to why he was being compared to Great General Li Xiao from many years ago. Compared to Li Xiao, Fang Jie’s five excellent ratings in the written tests were given to him by the Emperor; how could the fake results be compared to the real results?
Fang Jie had finally figured out the situation.
“I’m in a hurry,” Principal Zhou said, “Great Sui is about to wage a war, and the enemy this time is extremely powerful. You were weak before you left Fangu. About half a year later, you can knock away Xie Fuyao who used two variations of Four-Symbol Finger. If I can understand the secret of your body and use it, an invincible army would appear on the battlefield in about half a year to one year.”
Fang Jie took a deep breath and asked after a long silence, “Are you sure that I won’t die from this?”
Therefore, Fang Jie directly declined this old man’s offer.
Principal Zhou didn’t mention anything tangible.
“Young man, you should know that you don’t have another path in front of you, unless you want to be expelled from the Martial Arts Academy on the first day. Even after you are expelled, I can still capture you and lock you inside a chamber before turning you into hundreds of pieces.” While saying that, Principal Zhou shrugged and told Fang Jie that he didn’t want to do this.
“Goal,” Fang Jie asked after a moment of silence, “Respectable Principal, tell me your goal. You just said that I’m a smart guy, so lies might not be able to fool me.”
“Curiosity,” Principal Zhou replied.
“You are too fake; I don’t like that.” Fang Jie threw this sentence back at Principal Zhou.
“Huh? How come you still don’t understand? You are in no place to negotiate. You are a member of the Martial Arts Academy after you walked through that gate this morning. You can’t survive in this place without listening to me,” Principal Zhou said while drinking tea.
“Do you know of an attitude called die rather than submit?” Fang Jie said with a firm expression.
Principal Zhou almost spat out all the tea in his mouth. He said to Fang Jie with a smile, “Do you know that you only have an interesting physique in my eyes? It doesn’t matter if you are dead or alive. If you truly choose death over submitting, do you need me to provide you with the tools?”
Principal Zhou counted with his finger and said, “Sabers, spears, swords, halberds… the Martial Arts Academy has all sorts of weapons. We also have white silk bands for hanging and deadly poison. If you want to die in a prettier way, I can get someone to clue paper on your face. Your corpse would look better that way. Although you would also die from suffocation from hanging, your tongue might come out, which is ugly.”
Fang Jie sighed in his mind and thought, “Principal Zhou who is respected by many people is actually like this in private.”
“Alright, I won’t ask your goal anymore. However, you got to give me some benefits.”
Principal Zhou thought for a while and said, “You don’t lack beauties and money. Let me think about what else could move you.”
Fang Jie replied with slight anger, “Which b*stard said that I don’t need either?”
“Huh?” Principal Zhou asked in surprise, “You need both? That is easy then. Give me a price; the Martial Arts Academy doesn’t lack money.”
“One million silver taels,” Fang Jie said with his teeth clenching.
“If you give me one million silver taels, I will let you research my body, ok?” Principal Zhou rolled his eyes and snorted, “I can promise you that you will always get great grades in the academy, and you will still be the no.1 student when you graduate. That way, you will be at least a rank 4 colonel after graduation. This is a height that many people couldn’t reach after working hard their entire life.”
Fang Jie shrugged and said, “You finally said something useful. Please continue.”
“As to money, you don’t look like someone who needs money…”
“I’m greedy for money!”
“Let’s put that aside.” Principal Zhou waved his hand and said, “Let’s talk about women. I know that you have two great beauties around you. It is tough to find women who are even prettier, but luckily… What do you think about Professor Qiu Yu?”
Fang Jie couldn’t hold it in and laughed, “Principal, you aren’t fit to do business.”
“Just ignore what I said.” Principal Zhou glared at Fang Jie and said, “You won’t be harmed at all!”
“The academy would benefit way more in this deal.” Fang Jie heaved a long sigh and lowered his voice while leaning forward, “I finally know that the government is so concerned about Luo Yao, the Great General of Left Advance Guard in the south. But how come you are so sure that I have the same physique as Luo Yao? If Luo Yao hears about this, aren’t you afraid that he will grow some bad thoughts?”
When Fang Jie said this, Principal Zhou who had a dirty smile on his face all this time froze for a second. Then, he sighed and said to Fang Jie seriously, “Are you forcing me to kill you?”
Great General Luo Yao of Left Advance Guard was one of the most unique people in the world. Many years ago, his sea of qi got shattered, but he didn’t die. No one expected this wastrel to rise again, becoming one of the strongest people in the world when his body no longer had a sea of qi.
Now, Fang Jie was finally sure that Luo Yao wasn’t only a top-tier level 9 master. Fang Jie got lucky and met many level 9 masters. He was sure that people like the crippled old man, Mr. Zhuo, and the red-robed daoist were all level 9 masters. However, none of them concerned the government of Great Sui this much.
Judging from what he knew so far, Fang Jie felt like Luo Yao was insanely powerful.
At least he believed that this great general was more terrifying than Mr. Zhuo and Phoenix-Chirp Daoist. He had seen these two people show their strength. Mr. Zhuo easily froze hundreds of elite soldiers and people like Wang Ding inside Guest-Prosper Dwell. Phoenix-Chirp Daoist was able to create a huge pit in the ground by pointing a finger.
How powerful would Luo Yao be if he was stronger than both?
To find a way to defeat this man, Principal Zhou even wanted to use Fang Jie as a test subject.
Fang Jie suddenly felt like Great Sui wasn’t as stable and peaceful as it seemed.
Although the south of Great Sui wasn’t the richest place, Yong State City was once the Capital of Shang. It was prosperous, and its waterways and roads were developed and well-maintained.
Since the Shang Empire wasn’t conquered long ago, the people in the south weren’t completely merged into Great Sui. Therefore, the government asked Luo Yao to stay in Yong State City to deter those who were still hostile toward Great Sui.
As a result, Luo Yao’s power was too big.
The south of Great Sui was too far from the Capital, and the edict from the Emperor wasn’t as influential as Luo Yao’s command.
The longer Luo Yao stayed in the south, the more concerned the government would be. Although Luo Yao was only one of the 16 great generals, Left Advance Guard had the greatest number of soldiers.
To protect the land that once belonged to the Shang Empire, the government had to allow Luo Yao to expand the military.
Perhaps no one other than Luo Yao knew exactly how many soldiers that Left Advance Guard had.
Luo Yao was gradually turning from an important official of Great Sui into potential danger.
Fang Jie had learned many things from what Principal Zhou had said. Even though these things weren’t useful to him, it allowed him to have a clearer idea of Great Sui’s current position.
Principal Zhou couldn’t help but frown when he saw this young man’s solemn expression. He said, “Now I finally understand why His Majesty changed his mind and decided to turn you into a miracle. He wrote your name on the Talent Ledger before he met you, and he moved your name four pages forward after meeting you. You sure are an interesting figure.”
Fang Jie didn’t know what Principal Zhou was referring to, but he roughly knew what this old man meant.
Principal Zhuo’s expression changed, and he no longer looked like a hooligan. He straightened his body and asked Fang Jie after a moment of silence, “You had said that you are proud of being a member of Great Sui in front of His Majesty. Do you mean it?”
Fang Jie nodded since he was sincere about that.
Principal Zhou nodded and sighed after a while, “Alright, I will tell you why I’m so interested in your physique. You are right. I know that you learned a lot from our prior conversation, but I hope you will seal what you know now.”
“It all starts with Luo Yao, even though it doesn’t have too much to do with him.”
Principal Zhou drank some tea, organized his thoughts, and said, “You know that Luo Yao’s sea of qi got shattered many years ago. In theory, he should be a wastrel even if he didn’t die. However, he is still one of the most powerful level 9 masters in the world. When conquering the Shang Empire, he ripped many powerful cultivation masters of Shang with his bare hands. Everyone wants to know about his strange physique.”
He continued after a slight pause, “Aside from Luo Yao creating a miracle, there is an even more important reason why the government and His Majesty is interested in this.”
Principal Zhou looked at Fang Jie and said, “A man without a sea of qi was even able to become a level 9 master; can ordinary people also become cultivation masters? His Majesty even asked Luo Yao if he had any secret cultivation techniques, but Luo Yao only said that he got lucky and didn’t have any secret techniques. However, His Majesty didn’t give up on this; he is always thinking about one thing…”
“I got it.” Fang Jie nodded and said, “His Majesty wants to create an invincible army. If ordinary people have the right cultivation method, they might become way stronger even if they couldn’t reach Luo Yao’s height. I can’t even imagine how terrifying it would be if every soldier of a 100,000-men army or a 1,000,0000-men army could rival a cultivation master.”
Fang Jie had seen the Elite Infantry Battalion that was under Great General Li Yuanshan’s command. Every single soldier could rival a level 2 cultivation master.
If a battle occurred that day, Fang Jie was sure that almost everyone on their side would die, even though the crippled old man was there to protect them.
Principal Zhou smiled and asked, “Now, do you know why I want to research your physique?”
Fang Jie replied helplessly, “The government wouldn’t capture and research a great general who is guarding the south. At this moment, a poor soul who has a similar physique as Luo Yao appeared. Therefore, it has to be me.”
Now, Fang Jie finally understood why the Emperor said that it was a great sign several times. It wasn’t because he obtained all nine excellent ratings like Li Xiao.
During that short ceremony, Fang Jie was confused as to why he was being compared to Great General Li Xiao from many years ago. Compared to Li Xiao, Fang Jie’s five excellent ratings in the written tests were given to him by the Emperor; how could the fake results be compared to the real results?
Fang Jie had finally figured out the situation.
“I’m in a hurry,” Principal Zhou said, “Great Sui is about to wage a war, and the enemy this time is extremely powerful. You were weak before you left Fangu. About half a year later, you can knock away Xie Fuyao who used two variations of Four-Symbol Finger. If I can understand the secret of your body and use it, an invincible army would appear on the battlefield in about half a year to one year.”
Fang Jie took a deep breath and asked after a long silence, “Are you sure that I won’t die from this?”
RECENTLY UPDATES
Fantasy
Action
Eastern
Contemporary Romance
Action
Action
Contemporary Romance
Action