White light flickered as Bai Pu entered the Plane World scene, and the scenery before his eyes gradually came into focus.
Welcome to the Three Kingdoms: Red Cliffs Plane World scene for the Spirit Realm Exploration Subject examination. You have temporarily acquired this plane's language: Ancient Chinese. Your appearance and clothing have been temporarily adjusted to suit this plane and will not arouse the natives' suspicions. The adjustments to your appearance and clothing will not affect your hidden attribute: Charisma. Three Kingdoms: Red Cliffs Time: 3rd century CE Region: Asia—Yangtze River Basin Intensity: 2.4 Background: Huaxia history had undergone a slight deviation during the Qin Dynasty. The burning of books and burying of scholars had never occurred, and the legacies of Confucianism and martial arts had continued uninterrupted. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, warlords contended for supremacy, and extraordinary people each displayed their abilities. Scholars cultivated vast righteous qi and harmony between man and Heaven; martial artists cultivated methods of vital energy, dominating the battlefield...
The icy river wind swept over him, and Bai Pu shuddered from head to toe.
The memories of the native Lu A'niu flooded into his mind—
A distant branch descendant of the Lu clan, a great family of Wu Commandery.
The Lu clan's founding ancestor was Lu Tong.
Lu A'niu's grandfather, Lu Qing, had been a twentieth-generation descendant of the Lu clan, but the family had fallen into decline. His father, Lu Ming, had never studied and farmed his entire life. By Lu A'niu's generation, he did not even have a proper name.
The scenery before him gradually settled into focus, while a swaying sensation came from beneath his feet.
Bai Pu discovered that he was standing aboard a massive Mengchong Warship. Before him stretched the broad river, while behind him lay the riverbank and a camp bristling with banners.
"Lu A'niu, time to eat!" Two rough hands clamped down on Bai Pu's shoulders and shook him.
Bai Pu caught those hands and turned to look.
A burly man wearing a gray headscarf and a coarse cloth garment that left half his chest exposed was shaking his shoulders.
That was Zhang DaLang, a fellow villager. The two had not been particularly familiar before, but after being conscripted and assigned to the same warship, they naturally felt especially close.
"Don't call me A'niu. I have a proper name."
Bai Pu started with his name. "My name is Lu Pu. My grandfather gave me a courtesy name as well: Boyue!"
"Lu... Lu Boyue?"
Zhang DaLang stammered as he repeated it. Though he did not understand the meaning of the courtesy name "Boyue," it somehow sounded impressive. His fellow villager seemed to have acquired a somewhat different bearing.
Zhang DaLang thought back for a moment, then nodded. "Mm, mm... You really are surnamed Lu. I heard your grandfather was even from a collateral branch split off from the Lu clan..."
Bai Pu said, "Brother Zhang, just call me Lu Pu."
This was the effect brought by the additional "Prominent Family" affix. It caused anyone who knew Bai Pu to subconsciously accept that he came from a distinguished family!
They could even look through the Lu clan genealogy and find relevant records for Lu A'niu's grandfather Lu Qing and father Lu Ming.
Without the Prominent Family affix, if he had entered the world and casually fabricated a noble background for himself, the natives definitely would not have believed him.
Bai Pu looked down at his clothes. They were much like Zhang DaLang's, the only difference being that he had a relatively intact inner garment and was not baring his chest. At least he was not disgracing his family name.
Zhang DaLang pulled Bai Pu along behind the Green Armor Squad Leader leading them as they went to the camp to collect their food. Along the way, he chattered on:
"We'd better be careful these next few days. The Grand Commander's military discipline is strict. I heard even General Huang Gai was caned. If several lords hadn't pleaded for him, he'd have been beheaded by now."
Bai Pu cooperatively showed a look of surprise. "When did that happen?"
"Just yesterday. You didn't know?" Zhang DaLang's love of gossip was satisfied, and he eagerly continued, "They say General Huang's entire back was beaten to pulp, with blood all over the ground. He's bedridden now. Lots of people have gone to visit him, and many of them complained about the Grand Commander."
Zhang DaLang made it sound vivid and convincing, but Bai Pu did not doubt its truth.
This was the famous episode from Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Zhou Yu beat Huang Gai—one was willing to strike, and the other was willing to take it! As for why even common soldiers knew Huang Gai had been punished, it was naturally because Zhou Yu had tacitly permitted it, perhaps even fanned the flames himself! He wanted news of Huang Gai's punishment to spread throughout the army so that Cao Cao's forces across the river would believe it and accept Huang Gai's surrender!
The Three Kingdoms World was a world of profound influence and extreme difficulty. Reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms in its entirety was required study for every Awakened! Still, not every Awakened could remember the exact dates.
Bai Pu was different. He could recite the entire Romance of the Three Kingdoms backward without missing a single word! After thinking it over, he sorted out the timeline following the self-inflicted injury scheme.
After Huang Gai was punished, Kan Ze came to visit him, then slipped into Cao Cao's camp under cover of night to deliver the Surrender Letter.
After Kan Ze returned, he contacted Gan Ning and deceived the spies Cai Zhong and Cai He, whom Cao Cao's camp had sent over, into forming a surrender party. Kan Ze and Gan Ning were only pretending to surrender, while Cai Zhong and Cai He believed it to be real and secretly reported it to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was suspicious by nature and did not fully trust Huang Gai or Kan Ze, so he sent the brilliant Jiang Gan across the river to investigate.
Under Zhou Yu's secret arrangements, Jiang Gan encountered Pang Tong, the Fledgling Phoenix, and immediately recommended Pang Tong to Cao Cao.
Pang Tong then presented the chain-linked ships scheme, fastening Cao Cao's warships together with huge iron nails. The so-called "ships linked by iron chains, as steady as walking on level ground" overcame the northern soldiers' inability to endure the tossing of wind and waves, but it also bound Cao Cao's army hand and foot, leaving them unable to deal with a fire attack! Several days later, Zhuge Liang borrowed the wind at the Seven Star Altar, Zhou Yu set fire to Sanjiangkou, and the flames of Red Cliffs dealt Cao Cao's army a crushing defeat.
After that came the struggle between Sun and Liu for Jingzhou. There was no need to think that far ahead, because there was not enough time.
In this special Mirror Image Plane scene, the Main Quest could not be triggered, so it was impossible to gain additional time to remain. Every examinee was the same, with only ten days for free exploration! Bai Pu followed Zhang DaLang onto a small boat tethered to the stern of the warship and headed for the riverside camp.
While walking, boarding the boat, and doing other things, Bai Pu had already sensed how this Plane World differed from Earth. It was as though the air offered greater resistance and the earth exerted stronger gravity; even the ground itself felt more solid.
This Plane World's intensity was 2.4, which meant the concentration of Spirit Energy Particles was higher! Its mountains, rivers, and land were tougher and harder to destroy, while poisonous insects and savage beasts were fiercer and more difficult to handle.
Most crucially, there were the people! Living in a plane with such a concentration of Spirit Energy Particles, the strength of those natives who specialized in combat was easy to imagine!
When Bai Pu had entered the Plane World scene, he had already equipped the title he obtained from the previous Plane World: Eagle Eye.
Eagle Eye: C-rank title. Upon entering a Spirit Realm Plane while wearing this title, you will gain the Investigation skill and learn some information about a target. After using the Investigation skill, you must wait one natural day before using it again.
The title-granted Investigation ability had a cooldown as long as twenty-four hours. However, Bai Pu did not hesitate and used it directly on the Green Armor Squad Leader leading them.
At once, an almost imperceptible red light flashed across the Green Armor Squad Leader's body, and a translucent information window appeared in Bai Pu's vision.
Zhang Neng / Ordinary Level 4 Race: Humanoid Race / Human Race Class: Steel Fork Sailor Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 26, Endurance 15, Spirit 9 Skills: Life-Snatching Continuous Thrust, Rebuke, Proficient Swimmer
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