The Wrong Way to Clear the Trial
The Jin army had suffered too many defeats, and even someone like Meng Jingzhou had become despondent, believing that victory was impossible.
"Can I really win?" Meng Jingzhou asked himself in the cave, finding the answer too bitter to utter.
"Hmm, a spider?" Meng Jingzhou noticed the spider spinning its web.
The spider's repeated failures and attempts deeply impressed him.
"The spider keeps trying despite repeated defeats, how could I be inferior to it?"
Encouraged, Meng Jingzhou regrouped and prepared to fight Liang again!
"The Liang army is stronger than ours, but the gap isn't as wide as a chasm. And how can we give up just because of a few defeats? If I give up, what will happen to the Jin state behind me?"
"I believe that as long as the strategy is right, we have a chance of winning!" Meng Jingzhou clenched his fist, already having a plan in mind.
After several defeats, he had become familiar with the Liang general's tactics. The Liang general's repeated victories would inevitably inflate his ego, and he could take advantage of this by feigning defeat and fleeing in disarray to lure the Liang army into the canyon and then surround them.
This time we will definitely be able to launch a surprise attack and live up to the expectations of the people of Jin!
"Thank you for your guidance." Meng Jingzhou clasped his hands in thanks to the spider. Without the spider's enlightenment, he would have been completely discouraged, and there would have been no hope of victory.
There were many mosquitoes in the cave. To express his gratitude, Meng Jingzhou caught an insect and brought it to the spider.
The spider seemed unable to understand Meng Jingzhou's actions, treating him as an enemy and biting him.
"It's a poisonous spider..."
Meng Jingzhou felt dizzy and fainted.
He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a few minutes, or perhaps a dozen minutes—but it wasn't long before Meng Jingzhou woke up, feeling full of energy.
What's wrong with me?
Meng Jingzhou felt that his body had undergone some kind of change. His vision, hearing, and perception were all becoming stronger, and his body was more flexible than ever before, as if he had been reborn.
His right hand moved unconsciously, his middle and ring fingers bent, and white silk spurted out from his wrist.
"!!!"
"What the hell is that?"
The white silk was stuck to the wall. Meng Jingzhou tugged at it and found it to be unusually tough.
"Why does it look like spider silk?"
Meng Jingzhou pressed his hands against the wall and was surprised to find that his hands could stick to his arms, making it easy for him to scale walls and rooftops.
"I remember it was after I was bitten by the spider... Oh right, where's the spider?" When Meng Jingzhou found the spider, it had already been killed by the mantis.
Meng Jingzhou stomped on the praying mantis to avenge the spider.
He carried on the spider's dying wish, reorganized the army, and fought against the Liang army again.
On the night before the decisive battle, dressed in black and relying on his newly acquired strength, he carried out a decapitation strike alone, killing the Liang general.
The Liang generals were dumbfounded. Shouldn't they, as fellow generals, be facing each other on the battlefield, fighting to the death? Instead, you've jumped straight to the end—generals killing generals?
General Liang was guarded by cultivators, but none were as agile as Meng Jingzhou, who successfully killed General Liang.
General Liang was a rare military genius. After his death, the army was leaderless and had no one to take charge. Meng Jingzhou led the Jin army to defeat the Liang army.
Meng Jingzhou through customs.
At the Immortal Cult headquarters, the cult leader and vice-leader remained silent for a long time after seeing Meng Jingzhou's method of clearing the level.
A second way to complete the game has indeed appeared.
The cult leader rubbed his temples. "What's going on with this spider? How come a bite grants someone spider abilities?"
"Does biting a spider mean it can transform into a human?"
The vice-leader was also bewildered. He pondered for a moment, then, as if he had thought of something, took out a book from his storage ring, pointed to a passage, and said, "Found it. Look, the ancient book records that there was once a peculiar spider in the Central Continent. Its strength was the same as that of an ordinary spider, and it never bit people. However, anyone bitten by it would have their body mutate."
This type of spider went extinct tens of thousands of years ago.
The deputy leader analyzed logically and with evidence. "The Jin and Liang kingdoms existed 100,000 years ago, and we have perfectly recreated the scene from that time, so theoretically speaking, it is possible for this strange spider to appear in the cave."
The cult leader nodded. "It seems this Meng Jingzhou is not only persevering and quick-witted, but also lucky."
The concept of luck is vague and ethereal; perhaps only the legendary art of "observing qi" can truly assess how one's fortune is.
However, this can be seen in other aspects. For example, Meng Jingzhou is the only one who was bitten by a spider and mutated, which shows that his luck is extraordinary.
Those with exceptional luck will find their path to cultivation smooth and will achieve great things in the future.
"Looking at others, I don't believe there's a third way to pass the level."
Lu Yang watched the spider repeatedly fail to weave its web and fell into deep thought.
"Spiders can catch prey by spinning webs, so why does waiting in ambush fail? Aren't they both about staying in one place and waiting for prey to come to you? What's the difference?"
"Is it because insects don't have brains and can only stupidly run into the web, while rabbits are smarter and know to avoid trees?"
"If insects don't have brains, then spiders don't either. So, does a spider's constant failures and web-building demonstrate willpower, or is it just the persistence of a fool?"
"Even rabbits know not to run into trees, so why do some people refuse to turn back until they hit a brick wall?"
Lu Yang's thinking was divergent, and he thought far ahead.
He was not discouraged after his defeat; instead, he took shelter from the rain in a cave and thought of ways to defeat the enemy.
Seeing a spider spinning its web now reminds me of many seemingly profound but actually useless questions.
Suddenly, a praying mantis appeared and ambushed the spider while it was off guard. The spider used its web to fight back fiercely, but the mantis moved nimbly and fiercely, and after several rounds, it killed the spider.
Lu Yang witnessed this process, and after a moment of contemplation, he stood up and recalled the mantis's movements.
In terms of technique, learn from the praying mantis's skillful use of its two flexible forearms; in terms of footwork, learn its leaps and bounds, dodging and weaving in all directions.
"Imagine yourself as a praying mantis..."
Lu Yang muttered to himself, feeling as if he had studied something similar and was very talented in this area.
Lu Yang is like a mantis, combining strength and flexibility, fierce and fast; any opponent would fall to his fists.
Historically, the general of the Jin state was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, Lu Yang inherited the general's cultivation level, also reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
In the end, he transformed into a giant praying mantis, his forearms striking out rapidly, and with one punch, he shattered the cave.
Lu Yang exclaimed, "So this is the Mantis Fist that's been passed down in the martial arts world. It's incredibly powerful, but ordinary people can't learn it."
Lu Yang simplified the Mantis Boxing style, making it easy to learn. He promoted it extensively in the army, and the Jin army's combat power directly surpassed that of the Liang army. Without any strategy, they swept through the enemy lines.
Lu Yang customs clearance.
"Who cleared the level like this?!" the vice-leader roared.
Give me a hug, Alliance Leader! (Bonus chapter)