First Meeting

Just as Coiling Dragon Qi Fei finished settling things with the three maids in his household.

On the other side, Qi Fei in the God Three World was also about to begin his actions.

"Hoo--."

Qi Fei let out a long breath and set down the brush in his hand.

"Finally, the direction is tentatively set."

He looked at the freshly completed bamboo slips in his hands with a look of satisfaction.

Although he had mentioned during a casual chat that he went to the protagonist's side to slack off, it was impossible to truly do nothing at all.

It just so happened that in this world, besides normal cultivation, there was a simple method for training Mental Talent.

That was to use one's brain.

Whether it was studying or working, any activity that required thinking could effectively increase one's mental power.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Qi Fei decided to start with the shortcomings of the Liu Bei faction.

That is, how to train soldiers with suitable talents.

Thus, Qi Fei took researching military strategy as a pastime outside of his daily cultivation.

In the God Three World, military strategy was not merely about setting up camps, marching, or commanding battles.

It was also a unique transcendent system.

The armies of this world possessed two sharp weapons that ensured soldiers would not be mowed down like grass by generals capable of moving mountains and filling seas.

The first was Cloud Qi, and the second was Elite Talent.

Cloud Qi was something that formed in the sky like clouds after regular troops gathered.

It could be used as an energy source for one's own side, and it could also suppress the strength of enemy generals and soldiers.

At the same time, the suppression capability of Cloud Qi would rise continuously with the scale of the soldiers.

In the later stages of the novel, the Cloud Qi formed on a massive battlefield with nearly a million elite soldiers could suppress Lu Bu—who could evaporate a mountain with a single halberd strike—down to the level of a super soldier.

And Elite Talent was somewhat similar to the Mental Talent of a strategist.

Through long-term integrated training, the mental wills of the soldiers became more closely knit.

Subsequently, the collective will manifested special abilities by relying on the Heaven and Earth Essence.

This was the Elite Talent.

The most important aspects of military strategy in the God Three World were the Cloud Qi solidification formations and the directional training of Elite Talents.

The former was fine; the ancestors of the Qi Clan and the Chen Clan were once one family, so the relevant knowledge was complete.

But the latter was troublesome.

Because of official suppression, the relevant content in military books was quite fragmented, and one had to comprehend it on their own.

As for how to comprehend it, the Great Han Dynasty indicated that they had their own methods.

The Eastern Han had two special types of troops that had been passed down: the Danyang Soldiers and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.

Even when the country was out of money, these two would be maintained as much as possible.

The talent of the Danyang Soldiers was called Cooperation, and its effect was that soldiers could temporarily share strength and vision.

This talent was essentially the result of the sublimation of organizational power among soldiers.

And organizational power was the key to the formation of all legions.

As for the Wolf Cavalry, their talent was specially crafted by the great General Wei Qing, named Decathlon.

Simply put, the great General had forcibly crammed basic talents like speed, defense, strength, and so on into a single talent.

It belonged to the masterpiece of talent construction.

Therefore, the inheritance method of the Military School in the Great Han Dynasty was to first play with the Danyang Soldiers, and then play with the Wolf Cavalry.

If you could understand Danyang, you could basically get started.

If you could understand the Wolf Cavalry, it meant you already knew how to construct an Elite Talent for soldiers yourself.

After that, if you dismantled two legions left behind by your predecessors and forged your own personal guard, you could basically graduate.

If you could master the Wolf Cavalry to perfection.

Good heavens, you would have even learned how to construct an Imperial Guard.

By now, you were already a great master of the Military School, and it was time to find a battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people to verify what you had learned.

What if you couldn't understand it?

Then the predecessors could only regretfully state that everyone had gone through this, and if you couldn't do it, it only meant you weren't suited for this path.

You might as well honestly be a fierce general who charges into battle.

Incidentally, there was a reason why the Han Dynasty Military School adopted this method of inheritance.

Beyond the Emperor's fear of rebellion from below, there was also the consideration of the current situation by the Military School of the Han Dynasty.

The Heaven and Earth Essence of this world was constantly rising, so the military tactics of the past were not necessarily suitable for the present.

Therefore, only the basics were left behind, and the rest relied entirely on one's own enlightenment.

Those who could comprehend it were the ones most suited to this era.

But the result of this operation was:

Among the several warlord factions active at this stage, apart from Ju Yi under Yuan Shao, not a single one could train troops specifically based on the current situation.

Everyone's troop training consisted of gathering soldiers together and using whatever they managed to produce.

Even Yu Jin, the future commander-in-chief of Liu Bei's army, only knew the basics for now.

Therefore, Qi Fei thought about starting from this aspect.

After all, he had read the original novel and had a certain degree of understanding of the essence of Elite Talent.

Moreover, in this era, it was not difficult to recruit retired Danyang Soldiers.

In fact, a portion of the Qi Clan's guards originally came from the Danyang Soldiers.

Because the nature of the Danyang Soldiers determined that they were one of the most suitable troop types to serve as guards.

Their extremely strengthened organizational ability guaranteed the basic combat power of the Danyang, while the Cooperation talent guaranteed their combat power ceiling.

Even without a general to command them, the Danyang could still achieve decent results.

In fact, a general with insufficient skill would even drag the Danyang down.

For example, Cao Bao, who was almost renamed "Straw Bag" in the original work.

If he hadn't given blind commands, Tao Qian's Danyang army could have crushed Boss Cao on their own at that time.

In short, over the past five days, Qi Fei had been studying his own Danyang Soldiers according to the content in his memory whenever he had free time.

It wasn't until today that he finally had a rough direction.

"I should be stronger than Yu Jin now."

Qi Fei estimated his own level.

At the very beginning, Yu Jin was only slightly better than the protagonist Chen Xi's mindless, desperate training.

He had to train troops for Liu Bei for several years before he could grasp the knack of it.

Although Qi Fei's time spent learning to train troops was short, he knew the correct way to get started and the direction for the future, plus the superposition of three people's aptitudes.

Surpassing Yu Jin was only natural.

Even in Qi Fei's own view, having only reached this level in five days was already considered pathetic.

Three people, even if each could only score twenty points, the superposition would be enough to pass.

Under these circumstances, he had only barely managed to get started after five days, and that was built on the foundation he had in the past.

It seemed that his original self's aptitude for the Military School was not just ordinarily bad.

Just as Qi Fei was lamenting his own aptitude, Uncle Qi came in to report a piece of news.

It was the news Qi Fei had been waiting for: Chen Xi had been expelled from his family.

"Master, all the major noble families are watching the spectacle between the Chen Clan and General Liu. Should we consider the matter of pledging our allegiance?"

Uncle Qi offered his opinion.

"No need, Uncle Qi. How could I not get involved when I can add to the Chen Clan's troubles?"

Qi Fei laughed.

Consider my foot; this was exactly what he had been waiting for.

"Let's go, Uncle Qi. We are going to pay a visit to Liu Xuande now."

Qi Fei called out.

"Yes."

Although Uncle Qi was somewhat helpless, he still obeyed Qi Fei's order.

"Right, we must bring our newly recruited guard team, the smaller one."

Qi Fei instructed again.

"Master, if the other party has ulterior motives, your newly recruited guard team will be completely useless."

Uncle Qi advised.

The other side was an infantry and cavalry force of over ten thousand; if a real fight broke out, Qi Fei's twenty-plus guards would be of no use at all.

"I don't expect them to be useful; they are a gift I've prepared for them."

Qi Fei waved his hand and said.

These twenty-plus people were those he had specifically recruited over the past five days as a gift for Chen Xi.

It was fortunate that this was Yingchuan, very close to Luoyang, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to recruit these military units specially crafted by Huangfu Song.

"Very well."

Uncle Qi immediately went down to summon the servants and prepare the calling card.

After some time had passed.

Qi Fei arrived at the camp of Liu Bei outside the city by carriage.

"Qi Fei of Yingchuan, greetings to Lord Xuande."

Qi Fei bowed to Liu Bei, who had come out to welcome him.

"No need for formalities, no need."

Liu Bei immediately pulled Qi Fei up.

"I have long heard that Yingchuan is home to many talents, but I never imagined I would meet such a young hero; this is truly a stroke of good fortune."

Although his strength was not quite on par with his two sworn brothers, Liu Bei was still an expert in the realm of Qi Refining into Steel.

He could naturally tell that the youth before him was already in the same realm as himself.

This truly left him astonished.

"May I ask if this young talent has reached the age of capping?"

Because Qi Fei had not mentioned his courtesy name, Liu Bei asked.

"Lord Xuande is too kind."

Qi Fei first offered a humble reply.

"I am twelve this year and have not yet reached the age of capping, but my late father left me the courtesy name Zihong; please, Lord Xuande, feel free to address me as Zihong."

In truth, under normal circumstances, one would not be addressed by a courtesy name before reaching the age of capping.

But at this moment, Liu Bei could no longer care about such trivial matters.

A twelve-year-old in the realm of Qi Solidification—what kind of concept was that?

He was an absolute prodigy.

He took a deep breath and made up his mind.

This talented youth must belong to me, Liu Bei; no one else is going to take him.

"Lord Xuande?"

Qi Fei looked at Liu Bei's actions with some confusion.

"My apologies, Zihong is a heaven-sent talent, which left me in such awe that I lost my focus for a moment; I hope Zihong will forgive me."

Liu Bei bowed to apologize to Qi Fei.

Qi Fei immediately stopped him.

After all, he was here to pledge his service; how could he let his future lord bow to him?

Wouldn't you agree? Just look at Xu You, who watched Boss Cao kowtow to him.

"May I ask the purpose of Zihong's visit?"

After the two exchanged some more pleasantries, Liu Bei asked this question with a trembling voice.

One could hardly blame him for acting this way.

During his time in Yingchuan, he had been shut out by many great noble families, and he was truly starting to feel apprehensive.

"I heard that Lord Xuande is recruiting talent in Yingchuan, so I have boldly come to offer my services."

Qi Fei said straightforwardly.

In an instant, Liu Bei was surrounded by an unimaginable joy, and he could not help but look up and laugh heartily.

"To have Zihong's assistance is truly the greatest fortune of my life."

After laughing, Liu Bei grabbed Qi Fei's hand and said.

"In the future, I hope Zihong will not hesitate to offer your guidance."

"I am unworthy of Lord Xuande's great kindness; I, Fei, will certainly do my utmost to assist my lord."

Qi Fei said, cupping his hands.

It was as if he weren't the same person who planned to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Slacking.

"Hahaha, good, good, good."

Liu Bei exclaimed repeatedly.

Afterward, he tested Qi Fei on various subjects, including the Five Classics and Six Arts, governance, and military strategy.

Liu Bei's original intention was to gauge Qi Fei's level so he could arrange suitable tutors for him.

However, Qi Fei's ability to answer every question with ease truly amazed him, and he could not help but sigh inwardly that the Champion Marquis had been reborn.

Consequently, Qi Fei noticed that the look in Liu Bei's eyes was becoming increasingly Scorching.

Not accustomed to such intense expressions of emotion, Qi Fei felt a bit restless.

Fortunately, Liu Bei did not intend to make things difficult for Qi Fei, so the assessment ended before long.

This allowed Qi Fei to finally be released from the ordeal.

Following this, Liu Bei summoned his core subordinates to introduce Qi Fei to them.

Upon hearing of Qi Fei's age and cultivation level.

Guan Yu instinctively opened his eyes, Zhang Fei's eyes widened like copper bells, and even the usually composed Zhao Yun looked Qi Fei up and down.

Clearly, all three were shocked by such an outrageous cultivation speed.

"Zihong, if you have any questions about martial arts in the future, just come find Old Zhang. I will definitely do my best to help you."

Zhang Fei patted his chest as he made the promise.

Despite it being a collision of muscles, it produced a sound like metal striking metal.

Such solid muscles were truly enviable.

"Though I am untalented, I can also offer Zihong some of my own experience."

Guan Yu stroked his beard as he spoke.

"I wonder if Zihong has a master? Perhaps I could introduce one to you."

The refined-looking Zhao Yun asked quite proactively.

With such aptitude, if his teacher were to see him, he would surely be overjoyed.

"Zilong, isn't that going a bit too far?"

Zhang Fei glared at Zhao Yun with his large eyes, seemingly condemning him with his gaze.

"My apologies, both of you. My teacher has a keen interest in mentoring the younger generation, which is why I asked."

Although there was an apologetic look on Zhao Yun's face, he had no intention of backing down.

"Zilong, why not hear what Zihong thinks?"

Second Master suddenly interjected.

In an instant, everyone turned to look at Qi Fei.

"I have already pledged my loyalty to Lord Xuande, so it would be inappropriate for me to travel far to seek further instruction."

Qi Fei found a reason to decline.

His current priority was the cultivation of his mental power, and he could not afford to waste too much time on Internal Qi.

Zhao Yun felt somewhat disappointed by this, but Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were very satisfied.

Especially Guan Yu, who could not hide the smile on his face.

"That is no problem. I shall write a letter immediately to invite my teacher to serve under Lord Xuande."

Zhao Yun still did not intend to give up.

He truly did not want to see even a shred of Qi Fei's talent go to waste.

With this approach, Second Master and Third Master were clearly more accepting and stopped criticizing Zhao Yun.

Qi Fei did not voice any refusal.

In any case, Tong Yuan was likely traveling the world and would not receive the letter anytime soon.

While they were chatting, on the other side of the tent.

"Why have you been silent, Zichuan?"

Liu Bei asked Chen Xi.

"Lord Xuande?"

Chen Xi snapped out of his deep contemplation.

"I was just wondering what I was doing when I was twelve."

He found a reason to brush it off.

"Hahaha, I'm sure Zichuan must have been studying and training diligently back then."

Liu Bei was completely serious when he said this.

In his view, Chen Xi, who was both a scholar and a warrior (at least for now), must have put in a great deal of hard work.

"Alright, stop thinking about that. Come, get to know Zihong."

Liu Bei pulled Chen Xi into the fray.

"Zihong, this is Zichuan, the chief clerk under my command. He possesses talent capable of governing the world, and I owe much of my success to him."

Liu Bei said to Qi Fei.

"Both of you are geniuses of the highest order; you should grow closer."

He did not want the two of them to be at odds in the future.

That would be a great pity.

"I have long heard of your great name, and it is a true honor to finally meet you."

Qi Fei was actually speaking the truth.

It wasn't just the Chen Xi from the novel; he had also heard of the Chen Xi who existed before the transmigrator took over the body.

Although he wasn't in the top tier of the Three Kingdoms, he could still be considered a man of both literary and martial talent.

"You are too kind, I am unworthy of such praise."

Chen Xi was still feeling a bit dazed.

He truly could not understand why the butterfly effect had caught up to him so soon after his transmigration.

Seeing that Chen Xi was distracted, Qi Fei decided to tease him a little.

"The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, its waters washing away all heroes."

Qi Fei recited the line of poetry.

Chen Xi froze for a moment, and then his expression changed in an instant.