The New Task (Continued)

Just as "Ghosts and Gods Metropolis" was about to become a phenomenon, bringing Si Ming countless amounts of money and a huge fanbase, the craze came to an abrupt end.

The reason, of course, wasn't that Si Ming was indulging in a sentimental outburst, playing the victim and finding a dragon knight for the female lead. It was because of a political event he hadn't considered at all, but which had some basis in reality—

Xiao Xuan established a nation!

This former Grandmaster first used his past media connections to release a large amount of incriminating information about the high-ranking officials of the Su State, exposing the conspiracy that led to his persecution, "possession" and imprisonment ten years ago. He then declared that he would establish a country on the border of the Su State, named the People's Republic of Xuan Soil, with communist ideology as its highest guiding principle, to promote the development of productive forces and establish a utopian society where everyone is equal, harmonious and orderly, and where private ownership is eliminated.

The Grandmaster holds an unparalleled and prestigious position in the hearts of the Mohist School. Although Xiao Xuan was only a former Grandmaster, his words still caused a great uproar throughout society.

The high-ranking officials of the Su State, especially the elders of the Exalting Unity Society, were furious. This was blatant disregard for propriety! Using the media to expose their dark past—where was the decorum? They were all civilized people; they should keep their disputes within their own circles. Publicly informing the common people was an attempt to incite rebellion! Furthermore, their claim of being possessed by a demon was true; they hadn't fabricated it, at most they were fueling the flames. How could they spread such lies and mislead the public?

In short, the two sides launched a war of public opinion. Si Ming, a small fish in the pond, naturally could not escape the disaster. Xiao Xuan's influence on domestic public opinion was ultimately no match for those deeply rooted Exalting Unity Society. "Ghosts and Gods Metropolis" was banned just like that, and regulations were issued to explicitly prohibit the discussion of communist ideology in public media. If Si Ming had not been Yan Jinghong's apprentice, he would probably have been in even more trouble.

Si Ming felt quite helpless about this. He could understand the government's measures to control public opinion. After all, even in the America, which was known as a symbol of democracy and freedom in his previous life, citizens were often punished and imprisoned for their words. But those Politburo bigwigs were too bureaucratic. Just because it was the political ideology of an opponent, they completely opposed it without any regard for facts. They should know that communism and Mohist School thought have many things in common. Wouldn't a complete boycott mean boycotting their own ideology as well?

If Si Ming were in charge, he wouldn't have ordered a boycott. Instead of trying to suppress it and arousing public curiosity, he would have openly discussed communism, then invited a group of experts to give their opinions on what kind of country is a true communist country, and then accused the so-called People's Republic of Xuan Soil of being a fake.

If you're going to nitpick, you can always find fault. In the end, you can accuse Xiao Xuan of being a fraud, thus fundamentally undermining his beliefs.

Of course, this way of thinking has nothing to do with Si Ming's identity as the author. He has no bias and stands on a fair and just position—at least that's what he believes.

The Mohist School advocated non-aggression, yet they also recognized the importance of unification. Therefore, the high-ranking officials of the Su State manipulated the media to claim that Xiao Xuan's actions were an act of splitting the country, an act that could not be tolerated—however, the people felt that it was tolerable.

Although Xiao Xuan claimed to have established a nation, its size was only about the same as a ninja village in Naruto. Its area on the map was about the size of a booger, and it occupied a remote and desolate place, which was a no-man's-land. If it weren't for the fact that the leader of this country was the former Grandmaster, the local police could probably have easily carried out a war of annihilation.

People naturally sympathize with the weak, and the Grandmaster's reputation is a hundred times better than that of politicians. Therefore, public opinion generally leans towards Xiao Xuan. Although Exalting Unity Society controls more media channels, people's attitude towards this kind of news is similar to listening to "Whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway."

Without public support, a direct military attack is impossible. However, if an assassination is attempted, given Xiao Xuan's strength, it's uncertain who will kill whom, and in the end, they can only engage in empty talk.

Two months later, social focus shifted, and with the higher-ups intentionally cooling down the topic, people stopped paying attention to the old news. Xiao Xuan also reached a tacit understanding with the Exalting Unity Society: the former would stop making big news, burying himself in hard work, recruiting and building, while the latter would turn a blind eye to the former, pretending that he didn't exist. All the struggles went from overt to covert.

The battle between the two forces has come to a conclusion, and Si Ming, caught in the crossfire, is forced to start a new book. He doesn't want to go against the grain and write about the Red Revolution again, so he can only find a simple and brainless theme, and thus he sets his sights on the Three Kingdoms.

Historical themes are a great thing. You don't need to think about an outline or main plot; just follow the historical events. They have a realistic basis, depth of thought, and all the characters are based on real people. It's very easy to rework them. Besides, the Three Kingdoms is a theme that people in China and Japan have read countless times. Whether it's official history, unofficial history, romance, or games, Si Ming is very familiar with it and knows every famous or unknown character like the back of his hand. It's incredibly easy to create.

Si Ming had no desire to do something like photocopying "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and besides, the original work's combat power was too low; the people of the Sea Continent probably wouldn't even look at it. It had to be heavily modified to at least reach the level of a Musou master.

In addition, the plot of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" unfolds along multiple lines. For a serialized novel, this format is not very appealing to readers and lacks a sense of immersion, so changes are necessary.

Therefore, Si Ming plans to write it in different timelines. The first book will be written by Wu State, a perennial supporting character in the Three Kingdoms. In the original work, Wu State is a tragedy. As a villain, it is not qualified. As a hero, it is overshadowed by the protagonist. In the end, it can only become the protagonist's useless teammate and a fence-sitter who keeps wavering.

Whether in the fictional or historical timeline, the Wu State is not particularly compelling. Therefore, Si Ming does not intend to use the historical ending but will directly refer to the novels about the struggle for supremacy. Because of slight changes in the timeline, Sun Jian did not die from Huang Zu's hidden arrow, Sun Ce was not assassinated, and Zhou Yu did not die young...

In Earth's world, the three Sun family members lacked the aura of a king. They were more than capable of being feudal lords, but it would be a stretch to expect them to dominate the world. However, in Si Ming's modified version of the work, individual martial prowess was greatly enhanced. A single unparalleled general was enough to determine the outcome of a battle, reducing the importance of strategy. This laid the foundation for the Wu State's hegemony.

After finishing the Wu State Arc, I can write the glorious and righteous Shu State Arc, and the third chapter will be the Wei State Arc, a story of heroes in a chaotic era. After finishing these three chapters, I can write another Official History Arc.

Writing four books on the same theme without being accused of padding, and still managing to construct a complete world-building and historical trajectory—even though the idea came up on a whim, Si Ming really wanted to praise himself.

"I'm a fucking genius!"

Auntie Liu stared at Si Ming with a cold expression and slowly said, "I can't stop you from being a genius, but don't lead Qingqing astray. She's only fit to be an ordinary person."

"That's up to Qingqing to decide."

"As long as I'm her mother, she has to listen to me!"

"Your high-pressure parenting style won't work. Unless you quit your job, stay by Qingqing's side every day, and don't let her get married, she'll eventually leave your wing, and then you won't be able to control her anymore."

Auntie Liu's gaze grew even colder, as if it could emanate chilling air. "Then when she gets married, I'll go with her."

"This kind of mother-in-law is so hard to please!"

Si Ming sighed and advised, "Actually, I think you've misunderstood. I've talked to Senior Brother Lin Qingxiang and I know what you're worried about, but some things are harder to avoid the more you try to escape them. As the saying goes, it's better to guide than to block. Instead of being overly cautious, it's better to shift your focus. For example, if someone is agile but has brittle bone disease and can't hit hard objects, Auntie Liu, your approach would be to prevent that person from practicing any martial arts related to their legs. But if it were me, I would let them practice lightness skills. This way, we can utilize their strengths while avoiding danger."

Upon hearing this, Auntie Liu didn't give her any more attitude, but instead showed a thoughtful expression and said, "That seems to make sense. Continue."

"You don't want Qingqing to follow the same path as her father, but we must also admit that Qingqing does possess an extraordinary talent for concealing her presence. Forcing her will only make her vulnerable to exploitation. Perhaps we should consider other approaches. Could her talent be used in other areas? For example, the archery she's currently learning would be quite suitable. As we all know, archers fear close combat, but if they aren't detected, close combat is impossible. Moreover, archers are always in the rear, far from the battlefield, making them relatively safe."

Auntie Liu thought for a while, then shook her head again. "Archers are still associated with assassins. Many famous assassins liked to use bows and arrows to snipe targets from a distance. I don't want her to get involved in anything related to assassins again."

Si Ming smiled wryly, "It's very difficult to completely absolve her of any connection to assassins, unless she abandons martial arts and studies the Divine Dao."

Auntie Liu's eyes lit up. "The Divine Dao is quite good. You only need to stay in the back and summon divine servants to fight, without having to personally risk your life. Moreover, when you look for a job in the future, you can apply for a position as a priestess at a shrine."

This shrine maiden is not that kind of shrine maiden; she doesn't wear revealing clothing and serve the gods.

The shaman, also known as the sorceress, priestess, or priestess, was originally one of the official positions in charge of rites and rituals. She could use dance to invoke the gods, communicate with them, and offer sacrifices to the gods, the land, mountains, and rivers.

"In charge of seasonal exorcisms and purification rituals. In times of drought, she performs the Yu dance. If the queen is mourning, she participates in the prayers. In times of great national disaster, she sings and cries to pray for good weather." This means that the work of the shaman was to ward off disasters and evil spirits and pray for favorable weather. In modern times, she has become a kind of religious figure in the Mohist Religion.

The origin of the Shaman School lies here. Because witches are most skilled at "invoking the gods through dance", they are also called Dance School.

Si Ming hurriedly said, "Divine Dao Arts are very particular about aptitude. If you don't have the aptitude, no matter how hard you try, it's useless. This is different from martial arts training."

Auntie Liu, however, was convinced of this path. "What's lacking at birth can be made up for later; at worst, we can just spend money to hire a sorcerer from the ink shop as a tutor."

Daoism religious buildings are called Daoist temples, Buddhism religious buildings are called temples, Mohist Religion religious buildings are called Mohist halls.

The superior of the priestess was the chief priest, who was responsible for "managing the policies and decrees of the priests. If the country suffered a great drought, he would lead the priests in performing the rain-making dance. If the country suffered a great disaster, he would lead the priests in creating a shrine. In sacrifices, he would assist the chief priest, the Daoist priest, and the priest in the shrine. In all sacrificial rites, he would guard the burial site. In all funeral rites, he would be in charge of the rites of the priests descending to the grave."

In short, the job involves managing sacrifices, weddings and funerals, rainmaking, and disaster relief—it sounds like a very lucrative career.

Si Ming never expected that his words would steer Liu Qingqing's future toward becoming a witch. With her innate talent for eliminating her own presence, even if she successfully used God-Summoning Art, the divine servants wouldn't know who summoned her.

He was about to persuade her again when Auntie Liu, displaying her decisive and strong-willed nature, waved her hand and said, "Your novel's subject matter has been approved. Quickly put together an outline and a 20,000-word opening. I'll help you contact the publisher. That's all for now. I'll take Qingqing to the Ink Pavilion to test her aptitude for the Divine Dao Path." With that, she left in a hurry.

"I hope Qingqing won't mind me saying so much..."