Wiping Away Past Humiliation

"Participate in the Martial King Cup Tournament, a martial arts competition for teenagers across the entire Sea Continent, held every two years."

"No ranking requirement?"

"At least it wasn't mentioned on the task list," Yu Shuying then glanced at Si Ming, "With your strength, you could definitely get first place if you wanted to. The Martial King Cup has an age limit of under 25 for participants, and I haven't heard of any Spirit Transformation stage expert being under 25."

Si Ming thought of Murong Qing and said, "It will be ready soon."

Yu Shuying said, "But it also proves its rarity. There may be one or two hidden individuals who intend to make a name for themselves, but ultimately they are no match for you."

Si Ming had no intention of being modest about this, and asked, "Aren't you participating?"

Yu Shuying said helplessly, "I still have to participate, but I'll really make a fool of myself if I go up there. After all, the Martial King Cup has a great reputation in the Sea Continent. I can't say that all the young talents in the world will participate, but at least 80% will come. My strength is not enough to compete at this level, especially since it stipulates that poison is not allowed."

The two chatted all the way and didn't feel lonely. After arriving at the harbor, they met Xing Daozhuang, who was traveling with them.

Upon seeing the two, the naval governor, known for his impartiality, merely nodded slightly and said, "You've arrived," without any intention of further pleasantries. Even though he was also a member of the Heaven's Will Palace and had connections with Yan Jinghong and Wu Xiu, Si Ming couldn't help but think that this man was a typical disciple of the Military School.

Since his elders were acting coldly, Si Ming didn't want to take the initiative to be friendly. If the other person was an icy beauty like Martial Uncle Ling, it would be fine to offer a warm welcome, at least there's the biological instinct of attraction between opposite sexes. But instead, he was a rough man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face, with a dignified aura that made people feel intimidated and had no desire to get close to him.

Moreover, this Thunder King is known in the martial arts world for his iron-fisted nature. He is straightforward, domineering, ruthless, and disregards worldly prejudices. He often prioritizes the overall situation over personal feelings when making decisions.

Before Shanghai, he served as a Censor, a position similar to an inspector. During this time, he brought down many corrupt officials and overturned numerous wrongful convictions. No matter how others tried to entice him with bribes or appeals to his emotions, he showed no mercy. Countless children of military officers, officials, and the wealthy fell victim to his machinations, earning him a reputation reminiscent of Bao Qingtian (a legendary upright official). As a result, he enjoyed an excellent public image and was almost seen as the embodiment of God of Justice. His colleagues were so frightened that they hurriedly sent him away. He was promoted after only one year, a speed that was quite rare.

This ruthless approach is extremely likely to offend people. In Earth's officialdom, forget about promotion; just not being ostracized or framed by colleagues would be a blessing. But in this world of extraordinary martial prowess, his status Spirit Transformation cultivator is his strongest asset. He doesn't need to give face to anyone. As long as he doesn't commit any major mistakes, others can't do anything about him and can only keep their distance—the common saying, "If I can't afford to offend him, can't I at least avoid him?"

Even Yan Jinghong greatly admired him in this regard, admitting that she herself could not be completely devoid of human sentiment.

With this impression in mind, Si Ming naturally wouldn't try to build a relationship with him; what if it backfired?

"Seriously, there are so few passengers on this ship. I don't think it's even half full. Even if our own people aren't interested in going to Nation of Valor, don't the Nation of Valor want to go home?"

Si Ming checked the time; there were five minutes left before ticket check and fifteen minutes before departure. However, the scene was sparse, and even the queue for ticket check was very short.

Of course, it's normal for a ship to suddenly be short of passengers, and trains aren't always full. Si Ming was just asking casually and didn't expect a reply.

"There will be more people soon."

Xing Daozhuang unexpectedly answered.

Si Ming was taken aback. "Uh, why?"

This time, Xing Daozhuang did not answer, but Si Ming soon knew the answer, because five minutes later, a group of Nation of Valor who looked like disciples of Military School strategists began to file in. They lined up in a not-so-orderly queue, but one after another, as if they had been trained, seamlessly handing over tickets and boarding the ship. Almost no one wasted time waiting in line.

Si Ming stared in disbelief. "Could it be that all the Nation of Valor believe in 'time is money,' and that they all have a clock in their heads, never wasting a moment?"

Yu Shuying explained, "That's how the Nation of Valor are. If the France are punctual in their departure and arrival, then the Nation of Valor are like this: if you agree to meet at ten o'clock, they'll arrive half an hour early but won't go inside. They'll wander around the cold streets until nine fifty-nine before knocking on the door. They don't arrive early, but they hate being late even more, and they'd rather stand in the cold wind for half an hour for that."

Chapter 629 Avenging the Shame

The Mohist School and Confucian School fought over ideologies, so their conflicts were mostly verbal battles. The Mohist School and the Military School fought over interests, so their conflicts were often violent and bloody.

The conflict stemmed from the Mohist School concept of "non-aggression." Universal love and non-aggression were the hallmarks of the Mohist School, but the same concept, when approached from different angles, naturally led to different interpretations. The "non-aggression" concept was also divided into two factions: "Unification" and "helping the weak and resisting the strong."

The "Great Unification" faction believes that as long as the world is unified into one country, there will naturally be no more wars. Internal conflicts are always easier to resolve than external conflicts, and besides, the unification of the world is the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous era.

The "help the weak and resist the strong" faction believes that the strong do not bully the weak, and anyone who dares to stand up should be suppressed. Over time, when everyone realizes that war is unprofitable, naturally no one will dare to start a war lightly.

In the early days of expansion, the benefits of territorial conquest were clear. Coupled with the Mohist School' strict military discipline and outstanding weapon development technology, they were victorious in every battle they fought, naturally giving the "unification" faction the upper hand.

After the Mohist School unified the Eastern Continent and either annexed or expelled their opponents, anti-war sentiment increased among the people. Coupled with the huge losses and low success rate of cross-sea warfare, the "help the weak and resist the strong" faction gradually became the mainstream.

After that, the military Military School, who were a step too slow and failed to unify the Northern Continent, were in trouble. Whoever they wanted to attack, the Mohist School would help them. As for the battle record, not to mention that the Mohist School were good at defense, the side defending the city had a great advantage in attack and defense. Therefore, the Military School were defeated in at least eight out of ten battles.

Initially, the Mohist School helped by providing manpower and resources. After all, sending troops across the sea to fight was impractical, and other countries would also worry that the Mohist School were using a pretext to invade other countries and then stay. Therefore, in the early stages Mohist School only sent a small number of martial arts masters to help, or sent military commanders to guide the battle. This truly embodies the spirit of international Bethune, giving without expecting anything in return. Many martial arts masters sacrificed their lives on foreign soil, shedding their blood and giving their lives for their ideals.

The Military School naturally condemned the Mohist School ' "harmful and self-defeating" approach. The Mohist School, upon hearing this, realized their point. Unconditional donations would not only incite discontent among the people but could also lead to the bitter outcome of resentment. Therefore, they changed their method of assistance, no longer providing manpower but instead selling weapons. The countries that received the aid, seeing that what was originally free assistance had become a paid transaction, felt even more resentful towards the Military School.

By selling large quantities of siege weaponry to countries bordering Nation of Valor, the Su State acquired a wealth of resources, completing its initial capital accumulation and taking a giant leap into capitalist society. Realists who had originally opposed making unpaid contributions to other countries fell silent when they saw the potential for profit.

From the perspective of personal morality, the Mohist School's practices are indeed questionable. However, from the perspective of national interests, that's another matter. At least the Mohist School sought the well-being of their own people, and not through war and aggression, so they cannot be said to be wrong.

Anyway, Si Ming's stance is firmly on the Mohist School's side. He's not the kind of ingrate who eats first and then curses later. Since he's enjoying the benefits as a citizen of Su State, he should naturally speak up for Su State.

However, from the Nation of Valor perspective, the Su State were all despicable, scoundrels who couldn't stand seeing others do well after they had tasted the sweetness of success.

It was precisely because he understood the feud between the two families that Si Ming was worried about this trip. It wasn't that he was worried about his own safety; with his strength, he could go anywhere in the world. If he was determined to escape, even Void Returning Great Grandmaster wouldn't be able to stop him. But imagine if a passerby on the street suddenly threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at you. Getting hit by them would definitely not be a pleasant thing. Even if you could easily dodge them, being vigilant at all times would be very tiring.

From the moment Si Ming passed through customs and set foot on Nation of Valor soil, he became vigilant, wary of passersby suddenly shouting "Down with Mohist School imperialism!" and then swarming forward wielding sickles, hoes, and benches.

However, he soon realized that he was worrying unnecessarily.

His situation was completely different from that of America and Japan entering China, because everyone had the same appearance, spoke the same language, and shared the same culture and ethnicity. As long as he didn't shout "Disciples of Mohist School are here," no one would know what country he was from.

There might be some differences in accents, but it's very common for people to speak different languages within the same country, not to mention the existence of dialects. It's normal for accents to vary even within short distances. So, Si Ming was able to relax and begin to appreciate the local scenery.

Nation of Valor architecture features fresh colors and simple decorations, exuding a grand and minimalist style. At first glance, it appears neat and orderly. While it doesn't pursue the obsessive symmetry of France, it also lacks individualistic designs and strives for collective unity.

Nation of Valor cities have no city walls. The walls around residential houses are not only low but also open in the middle. Some are even just fences made of iron and wooden bars, forming a symbolic separation from the outside world. This is because Military School pursue offense, believing that offense is the best defense, and they do not believe that others have the ability to attack. They have absolute confidence in their own military strength.

"The main force in Nation of Valor was the Military School, followed by the Lu School. In terms of craftsmanship, the Lu School was no less Mohist School than the Mohist school. Unfortunately, even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice. Compared to the Su State, which could invest a large amount of funds in scientific and technological research and development in various fields and take multiple approaches, Nation of Valor could only invest most of its funds in weapons development to maintain its military strength, which undoubtedly affected the living standards of the Nation of Valor people."

Si Ming looked around the street and found that there were very few cars and the public facilities were extremely backward. If Nation of Valor's military strength was enough to rival that of the Su State, or if there was a gap, it would be very small. However, their economic strength was at least two levels behind that of the Su State. They had enough to eat and wear, but it was difficult to have any further aspirations. Their standard of living was equivalent to that of China in the 1970s and 1980s.

This situation made Si Ming feel that the struggle between Nation of Valor and Su State was somewhat similar to that between the Soviet Union and the America during the Cold War. The only difference was that Su State did not have the ambition to dominate the Sea Continent. Mohist School were ultimately pacifists who advocated "universal love and non-aggression." They wanted to be saints rather than world policemen, so they had no interest in provoking a military competition.

Nation of Valor was also luckier than the Soviet Union, because it had a bunch of countries to exploit, such as the Su Kingdom, which was mainly Agricultural School, and Rui State, which was mainly Merchant School. They were very unlucky to be neighbors with Nation of Valor, and for a period of time they were invaded by Nation of Valor every year, with small wars every two years and major wars every five years. Chaos was frequent, just like the warring states period. Even with the help of the Mohist School, they still had a very hard time defending themselves. Finally, they came up with the idea of paying tribute, offering money and grain in exchange for peace, and finally had a chance to catch their breath.

On the other hand, in recent years, due to the increasingly severe outbreaks of the demon tides, Nation of Valor has had to devote a large number of troops to guarding the coastline, and therefore is happy to accept the tribute plan. As a result, the countries of the Northern Continent have ushered in a rare period of peace.