Golden Boy and Jade Maiden

"Have all the Spirit Transformation Grandmaster who went missing at the Martial King Cup returned?"

Si Ming looked at the headline on the front page of the "Universal Love and Peace News" and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, before carefully reading the contents of the report.

Unfortunately, the newspaper did not provide details about where these Spirit Transformation Grandmaster went. It only said that they had fallen into a trap set by the Heaven-Defying Society and the Demon Race, and were teleported to an unknown location. They finally returned with great difficulty, but not all of them were present. Several people had not returned, and it was unknown whether they had encountered an accident or chose to stay.

In addition, the news also mentioned that after the Military God returned, he immediately took over and reorganized military affairs, clearing away the remaining scattered evil Demon Beast in Nation of Valor, which was considered to be cleaning up the mess made by the War God.

Indeed, many people believe that it was because Ba Shenhuang temporarily withdrew to Divine Pillar that, although the Demon Race army was defeated on the main battlefield, a complete annihilation was not achieved. As a result, after the war, these fleeing Demon Beast scattered and entered Nation of Valor territory, becoming bandits and causing considerable losses to Nation of Valor. Many houses and farmlands were destroyed, and some civilians were even attacked and killed by the Demon Beast.

In Si Ming's opinion, whether Ba Shenhuang was commanding on the battlefield or not, the result would be the same. At most, he could reduce the number of fleeing Demon Beast, but he could not annihilate Demon Beast all. In fact, his presence might even cause the Demon Race army to collapse prematurely, resulting in even more Demon Beast fleeing, which would be counterproductive.

Ba Shenhuang's strength is undeniable; he easily made the Demon King doubt the existence of the Demon King. However, he was not capable of stopping all the fleeing demon Demon Beast. Judging from the martial arts he displayed, he was more suited to fighting strong opponents one-on-one than annihilating weak ones in groups. Of course, even if Si Ming were to replace him and throw nuclear energy blasts everywhere, it would only reduce the number of fleeing Demon Beast, and it would still be impossible to annihilate them all, unless one could develop the ability to create multiple shadow clones.

However, these objective reasons could not convince the people who had lost property or family members. Perhaps if Ba Shenhuang had stayed on the battlefield, he would not have been able to stop the demon army from being defeated, but would have also caused the Divine Pillar to be destroyed, resulting in a double loss. However, such a situation did not occur in the end. As a result, many people cursed the War God for sacrificing the interests of his country in order to protect the safety of the Sea Continent.

They had not experienced the devastation of the destroyed Divine Pillar, so they naturally did not understand the significance of protecting Divine Pillar. Moreover, everyone would benefit from the protection of the Divine Pillar, but only Nation of Valor would suffer from the invasion of the Demon Beast. As the saying goes, it is not scarcity that is a problem, but inequality. This deal was not worthwhile no matter how you looked at it.

Even those who understand the situation feel that if Ba Shenhuang hadn't refused to join the multinational coalition, there wouldn't have been so much trouble. They completely forget He Huan they were when Ba Shenhuang announced that Nation of Valor would fight alone, finally free from those burdens and dragging them down, praising the War God for making an extremely wise decision.

After learning about these circumstances, Si Ming felt quite helpless. Ba Shenhuang's timely assistance helped him defeat the Demon King, and he had always remembered this favor. Unfortunately, he couldn't control Nation of Valor public opinion, otherwise he could have shared some of the pressure with them. It seemed that the Nation of Valor government didn't know any other methods of propaganda besides censorship, which was similar to the situation in Su State. Or rather, government officials all over the world think the same way; it seems that once they issue an order, the people will not speak.

Before Si Ming returned to China, Nation of Valor was in a state of chaos, busy eliminating the horde of Demon Beast that wreaked havoc like bandits. They even had to ask the Mohist Knight Guard for help. The War God of War Ba Shenhuang, was unable to play his role on the battlefield, as this seemed to be something that was not his forte.

"Judging from the newspaper news, this Military God has come up with a way to deal with the Demon Beast, and it seems to be quite effective. Now he's reaping the benefits."

Nation of Valor public opinion is currently very unfavorable towards Ba Shenhuang, with a strong feeling that his previous achievements in defeating the demon army have been completely erased, and various praises have been given to the Military God Huang Yan who came to finish the battle. The reason is probably that "the same battle would have been better if the Military God had commanded it." This argument, which is full of flaws in the eyes of true Legalist School, has been accepted by many people.

"It's probably the same situation as the smear campaign against Thunder King; it's all orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives behind the scenes. I just don't know what their goal is."

Si Ming thought for a while but couldn't come up with a solution, so he threw the newspaper aside, too lazy to think about it. Anyway, Ba Shenhuang didn't need him to worry about him. No matter how bad the public opinion situation was, the other party remained as steady as Mount Tai.

In this world where great power belongs to the individual, as long as strength remains, everything else is insignificant. It's unlikely that the Nation of Valor government would be so foolish as to destroy its own Great Wall. If they dared to expel him, a large number of heads of state would be waving blank checks and enthusiastically inviting the War God of War to become a citizen. In the Sea Continent, Ba Shenhuang is already a powerful figure standing at the very top, even stronger than a nuclear bomb. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a divine weapon that suppresses the fate of a nation.

Even in a world without extraordinary martial arts, talented people will still be respected. For example, there is a story from the Warring States period called "Tian Zifang Admonishes His Ziji". It tells of how the Crown Prince of Wei State, Zi Ji, was traveling when he met his teacher, Tian Zifang, on the road. He got out of his carriage and bowed to him, Tian Zifang did not return the bow.

Ziji was furious and embarrassed, and couldn't help but ask, "Do the rich and noble become arrogant, or do the poor and lowly become arrogant?" He was implying that the rich and noble, or the poor and lowly, could be arrogant, which was a veiled criticism of Tian Zifang's humble origins.

Tian Zifang then replied without any hesitation, "Of course, it is the poor and lowly who can be arrogant! How dare the rich and noble be arrogant? If a ruler is arrogant, he will lose his country; if a high-ranking official is arrogant, he will lose his fief. So-called nobles are nothing without their fiefs. But those poor scholars, if their advice is not heeded and their behavior is incompatible with their master, can simply put on their shoes and leave. They can wander the world, and wherever they go, they will be treated as honored guests!"

After listening, Ziji his head and apologized.

Tian Zifang's words were not self-praise or self-aggrandizement. The most typical example is the War God Wu Qi. He was capable of governing the country and implementing reforms, and he was also capable of Sweep Away a Thousand Soldiers and winning every Lu State. When Lu State was weak Qi Kingdom, he was able to lead the Lu army to defeat the Qi army.

Later, he surrendered to Wei. Wei State was weak while Qin State. Wu Qi led the Wei Martial Infantry to a great victory over the Qin army, seized the land Hexi of the Qin State, and made Qin soldiers afraid to cross the river, thus establishing the legend of the Wei Martial Infantry.

When Marquis Wen of Wei died, Marquis Wu of Wei succeeded him. Because he was wary of Wu Qi's talent, he forced Wu Qi to leave and join the weak state of Chu. Later, Wu Qi implemented reforms to strengthen the Chu and led the Chu army to beat the Wei State, shattering the myth of the Wei Martial Infantry that he had built up.

Wu Qi led a total of 76 battles, large and small, with 64 wins and 12 draws, without a single defeat. Moreover, he often won against stronger opponents. Such a person, who could rise from general to prime minister, would naturally be highly valued wherever he went. Therefore, no sooner had he left the Wei State than he was invited by the Chu to serve as prime minister.

It is worth mentioning that Marquis Wu of Wei is Ziji from "Tian Zifang's Admonition to Ziji". He was clearly warned by his teacher not to be arrogant towards talented poor people, because talented people can go anywhere in the world. However, after becoming the ruler, he still made mistakes, forcing Wu Qi to leave. This shows that humans are creatures who repeat yesterday's mistakes today and today's mistakes tomorrow, never learning from their mistakes, like a broken record constantly repeating itself.

"What are you looking at? It's time to go."

Murong Qing reached out and took the newspaper from Si Ming's hand. At this moment, she was wearing a pair of very thin black leggings, which, in contrast to the loose beige wool sweater above, further accentuated her slender and upright figure, as well as her curves, which, while not exaggerated, were certainly commendable.

If it were just that, it might be a bit ordinary. But a white striped shirt that shows from top to bottom becomes the finishing touch. The crisp collar makes it look playful and dashing, while the side of the shirt peeking out from under the sweater adds a touch of casual elegance.

To match this casual style, she also wore a sporty fleece hat, thick fleece socks that reached her legs, and sneakers without laces, exuding youthful energy.

"You're not wearing a suit anymore?"

"I thought about it later. A class reunion isn't a big party, so wearing formal attire would be too formal and make me look like a peacock attracting attention. Besides, we're still students, so there's no need to dress so maturely. Youthful energy is what college students are all about. What do you think?"

"Actually, as long as a person is pretty, they'll look good in anything."

Murong Qing's pretty face flushed slightly, and she turned her face away, saying, "Just praise me, why do you have to go through all this trouble?"

As a man, there's no need to dress up deliberately; he basically only has a few outfits. However, to match Murong Qing, Si Ming didn't wear formal attire either, and instead changed into a more sporty outfit.

The two walked down the street, the man handsome and the woman pretty, attracting the attention of many people. However, people usually only pay more attention when they see single members of the opposite sex, and when they see a couple, they usually glance at them and then look away.

On the way, Si Ming heard Murong Qing humming softly and couldn't help but ask, "Why do you seem much happier than usual? Are you looking forward to the class reunion that much?"

Murong Qing at her and said, "Qingqing and Auntie Liu went to visit Senior Ji, so she can't attend this class reunion."

"I've heard about that, and then what?" Si Ming asked, puzzled as to why the conversation had suddenly veered to an unrelated topic.

Murong Qing glared at him and said, "That's all."

Seeing that Si Ming still looked confused, she reached out and took Si Ming arm, acting like a little bird clinging to him, and said, "Now you understand why there was no 'then'?"

Si Ming nodded hurriedly, like a chicken pecking at rice, and said, "Understood, understood."

Upon Murong Qing tilted her head slightly and smiled sweetly. Her smile was so beautiful and charming that it truly evoked the image of "a beautiful woman in the north, peerless and independent," making Si Ming feel a little embarrassed and his old face flush.

Fortunately, Murong Qing wasn't the type to cling to someone like a little bird. After walking for a while, she felt awkward and chose to straighten up, no longer leaning on Si Ming's shoulder, but she didn't let go of his arm.

The two traveled to their destination, a quaint restaurant with a bamboo theme, reminiscent of the Daoist philosophy of Daoist School and Zhuangzi. Of course, they had only covered the exterior of the building with bamboo; they didn't actually use bamboo as a building material.

Si Ming asked a waiter for directions to the private room. As he approached the door, he heard lively conversation, including many familiar voices.

"Hey everyone, look who's here!" A sharp-eyed classmate spotted Si Ming and Murong Qing and immediately alerted the others.

"Come on, everyone, let's welcome our most respected class... Ughhhhh!"

"Lu Yifa, the squad leader is here, what are you yelling about? It's not like you saw... Waaah, this must be a hallucination, you can't fool me!"