The Slaughter Plot Against the Heroes of the Six States Begins; Zhao Cheng Breaks Through His Apertures and Condenses Jade Essence

In the great hall of Chu.

King You of Chu felt uneasy, so he asked, "My ministers, do you have any good plans to kill this man?"

"I believe this man's martial prowess is extraordinary, and he is also among the enemy forces. To kill him, we should send a large army to exploit an opening and surround him in battle."

"I don't think that's wise. Chu has just lost sixty thousand elite soldiers. If we send out troops again, Qin will be prepared—and we might even fall into a Qin ambush. Besides, ordinary generals would have a hard time surrounding and killing this man."

Xiang Tuo's martial prowess is common knowledge. It would already be difficult to surround and kill him with an army, and this man is even more ferocious than Xiang Tuo. It would be harder still to kill him that way."

"I believe we should issue a hefty bounty. Chu is full of wandering heroes; perhaps some hidden master will step forward to assassinate him."

"I believe we could send word to the other five states and invite capable men and strange talents from everywhere to kill this fellow."

"I believe Your Majesty's safety is what matters most. I've heard there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in Yunmeng Marsh. Among them is a man called Yunmeng Zi, who can command water with his qi and perform the Water Tornado technique. We should send someone to Yunmeng Marsh and invite this recluse to leave his seclusion, come to the palace, and protect Your Majesty..."

"..."

One minister after another offered a good plan.

King You of Chu nodded. "Then we'll do as you suggest, my ministers. Send word to the five states and invite heroes from everywhere to kill this fellow."

"Also, go to Yunmeng Marsh and invite the recluse to come protect me in the palace. I am willing to treat him with the honors due a Senior Minister!"

Soon, Chu sent envoys to several other states, exaggerating the threat Zhao Cheng posed and conveying it to each of their rulers.

The rulers reacted in different ways. Qin's strategy of distant alliances and nearby conquests led some states to believe that Qin's army would not attack them, so they paid little attention.

But others believed Zhao Cheng posed too great a threat and that, given time, no one would be able to stand against him. They secretly responded to Chu's appeal, inviting heroes from everywhere and preparing to assassinate Zhao Cheng.

Outside Chou City, the Qin army was stationed there to rest and recover.

Meng Wu sat in the main tent, writing another letter to the King of Qin.

"Submitted for His Majesty's review:

Your servant Meng Wu bows his head and kowtows twice. I respectfully report the affairs of the Nanyang campaign to Your Majesty.

On the day we captured Ye County, Zhao Cheng reported that the Chu army was advancing through the night, intending to join forces with the remnants inside the city and destroy our troops beneath Fang City.

Fortunately, Zhao Cheng was the first to breach the city. I then turned their plan against them, hiding Elite Soldiers at the foot of Xing Mountain and setting a trap.

When the Chu reinforcements arrived, their commander was Xiang Tuo, the Tiger of the Xiang Clan.

This man is renowned for his ferocity throughout Jianghan and is skilled at discerning the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. As soon as he saw our formation change, he tried to lead thirty thousand crack troops through a gap and escape.

Fortunately, Zhao Cheng led thirteen thousand cavalry at full speed to Chou Yi Gorge and cut off his retreat.

Zhao Cheng charged at the head of the line, fighting Xiang Tuo alone before the ranks. In a single exchange, he broke his opponent's momentum.

Xiang Tuo's courage failed him. He abandoned his banner and fled, but Zhao Cheng pursued him and took his head with a single thrust of his halberd, displaying it as a warning.

With their commander gone, the Chu army broke apart in the open fields and was completely wiped out by our troops.

After the fierce battle, Zhao Cheng was still full of vigor. He led another three thousand Assault Cavalry and secretly hurried to Chou City under cover of night.

Disguised as a Han courier, he tricked the guards into opening the city gate, killed the defending general with his own hands, and seized the city to open its gates.

Our army swarmed in amid the chaos. Before the third watch, we had already taken the heavily fortified city.

In this battle, Zhao Cheng was the bravest of the three armies, striking fear into the enemy. Even E Lai and Meng Ben of old could hardly surpass him.

Across all the battles to date, our army's casualties have not exceeded ten thousand. This is thanks to our soldiers' devotion, and especially to Zhao Cheng's sharpness.

That man is truly a blade in our state's service. Wherever he points, even the ramparts collapse.

Your servant is exceedingly fortunate to have this tiger of a minister as an ally. I hope Your Majesty will promote him further to inspire the three armies.

Your servant Wu bows his head and kowtows twice. The sixteenth year of King Zheng of Qin, the first month of winter."

After Meng Wu finished the letter, he felt much more at ease.

He summoned someone to carry the letter and send it to Xianyang with the military report.

Then he spread out the map. His gaze lingered on Wan City as he contemplated in silence, motionless as a wooden statue.

At that moment, Zhao Cheng was in the main tent, once again studying military theory with Meng Tian and learning about many famous battles.

After the Killing Star entered his Meridian, the speed at which he condensed Primordial Qi in his Thoroughfare Vessel had surpassed what it had been before.

But after he invested a thousand years of lifespan in cultivation and condensed Primordial Qi, the killing intent in his heart grew increasingly intense.

He had no choice but to stop for now. He thought that once he had grasped the principles governing the condensation of the other Meridians, he could resume cultivating. Perhaps then he would be able to keep the killing intent in check.

So, after exchanging for another Insight Pill, he resumed studying military strategy with Meng Tian.

"...During the Battle of Chengpu, Jin and Chu contended for hegemony. To repay King Cheng of Chu for his kindness, Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, honored his promise to 'retreat three she' and withdrew ninety li before meeting Chu in a decisive battle at Chengpu."

"At the time, the Jin army used the strategy of 'avoiding the strong and striking the weak.' The lower army routed the combined Chen and Cai forces on Chu's right wing, while the upper army pretended to retreat and lure the enemy in. The main force in the center then circled around to attack Chu's left wing from both sides..."

Zhao Cheng pondered for a moment, then said, "That's the essence of showing the enemy a false formation to lure them in, then circling around to encircle them."

"Oh, you learn quickly." Meng Tian was deeply impressed by Zhao Cheng's aptitude for military strategy.

"At the Battle of Maling, Wei attacked Han, and Qi once again sent Sun Bin to their aid. Sun Bin laid an ambush at Maling using the plan of 'reducing the number of cooking stoves to lure the enemy.'"

"He deliberately reduced the number of stoves, making it look as though the Qi army was suffering mass desertions. This lured the Wei general Pang Juan into advancing recklessly, and in the end, a rain of arrows annihilated the Wei army."

Zhao Cheng said, "That's victory through adapting to the enemy: assess their strengths and weaknesses, then adapt to the circumstances."

Meng Tian raised an eyebrow. "Oh, not bad. You've only read it once, yet you can match the battles to the theories so precisely."

"Now look at this one..."

Zhao Cheng answered with ease, drawing on examples as naturally as breathing.

"This is the principle of attacking what must be attacked and defending what cannot be defended..."

"Complete victory without fighting; a great army suffers no wounds..."

"The way of war prizes unity..."

He brought up many more famous battles. Every time Meng Tian finished explaining the situation on the battlefield, Zhao Cheng could swiftly find a corresponding theory from what he had learned before and use it to corroborate the lesson.

The Insight Pill's effects went without saying. Zhao Cheng now grasped things as soon as they were explained, and could draw inferences from one example to understand many others. Even Meng Tian felt somewhat crushed.

Zhao Cheng could have kept studying, but Meng Tian was starting to run out of things to teach him.

"I'm tired, I'm tired. Let's stop here for today."

Zhao Cheng didn't press him. The way of war was unfathomable, full of endless changes.

Though he could gain insights from these famous battles, he still needed to experience them in actual combat before he could claim to have fully mastered them.

Of course, that meant experiencing other people's strategies and understanding them as he broke their plans.

His style of warfare still centered on killing, consistent as ever.

He simply couldn't charge forward foolishly like Xiang Tuo, letting others toy with him in the palm of their hand.

After Meng Tian left, Zhao Cheng immediately began to make deductions while his insights were still fresh.

"System, invest ten years of lifespan to deduce the route of Primordial Qi circulation."

[Beginning deduction by investing lifespan.]

[Year one: After swallowing the Insight Pill, your comprehension has greatly improved. Drawing on your previous experience of the Killing Star entering your Meridian, you continue observing the night sky...]

...

[Year three: You still find the principles of Heaven and Earth vast and complex, but you have confirmed that they are closely connected to the circulation of the Meridians. You are beginning to grasp that one point of correspondence...]

...

[Year five: You have gained some insight. You believe that the Twenty-Eight Mansions in the sky correspond to the various Meridians within your body, but you still have not found the pattern linking them.]

...

[Year nine: Several years pass in a flash. You revisit your many insights and gain an even deeper understanding of the cunning ways of war Meng Tian described. As you observe the stars again, Zui Mansion among the Seven Mansions of the White Tiger shines once more.

You gradually become immersed in it. Numerous battle formations, military strategies, and clever tactics rise in your mind. Countless troops seem to clash in your thoughts, deploying and fighting one another at your command.

At that moment, Primordial Qi begins circulating in your Thoroughfare Vessel once again. It flows into the Great Collateral of Shaoyang, then meets and circulates with four of the other Twelve Standard Meridians before returning to your Thoroughfare Vessel.]

...

[Year ten: As you observe the battle star Zui Mansion, you comprehend the method of circulating the Yang Vessel through your Thoroughfare Vessel. The rate at which Primordial Qi condenses in your Thoroughfare Vessel doubles. One cycle through the Thoroughfare Vessel is equivalent to more than a hundred cycles through the rest of your body.

Now, when you circulate Primordial Qi through your Thoroughfare Vessel, the Killing Intent produced in your Yin Collateral is naturally transformed by your Yang Collateral into fuel for condensing Primordial Qi...]

Zhao Cheng slowly opened his eyes. He felt the killing intent in his mind vanish completely, and his thoughts grew clear once more. He couldn't help smiling.

"So that's how it works."

"The Eight Extraordinary Meridians are the major vessels. Each one corresponds to two constellations."

"Shen Mansion is the Killing Star, governing slaughter. I've been steeped in killing intent after these few battles, so it was easier for me to form a connection with it. That was why I found it so hard to suppress my urge to kill!"

"But Zui Mansion is associated with attacks, strategy, formations, and deception. It symbolizes the commander of the three armies. Only after studying military strategy in depth could I better understand it."

"By drawing a general star into the Meridian, I can guide the fierce Killing Intent and turn it into an orderly force."

"It's like on the battlefield. It isn't enough for an army to charge bravely with its morale blazing like a rainbow. That morale must be guided effectively through command and formation before it can be turned into the greatest possible force."

"Only by combining the orthodox and the unorthodox, and balancing yin and yang, can I keep the Primordial Qi in my body stable as it condenses."

From then on, the Primordial Qi in Zhao Cheng's Thoroughfare Vessel circulated through both the Yin and Yang Collaterals. It was not only extremely stable, but condensed a hundred times faster than before.

For now, all the Primordial Qi in his body circulated around the Thoroughfare Vessel. The high-quality Primordial Qi he condensed was also stored entirely within it.

It was like a compressor, drawing in ordinary Primordial Qi and concentrating it all in the Thoroughfare Vessel, where it was compressed and tempered over and over before being stored away.

The more condensed this Primordial Qi became, the more tremendous its power grew.

Zhao Cheng circulated a thread of condensed Primordial Qi to his fingertip and pinched at the rolled edge of his Precision Cast Great Halberd.

Under the covering of his Primordial Qi, the small curl in the halberd's blade was flattened by his fingers alone.

In his hands, this finely cast weapon had become as soft as clay.

Even Zhao Cheng looked astonished.

He hadn't even felt any resistance.

He drew that thread of condensed Primordial Qi back into his Thoroughfare Vessel and thought that even if Wan City were a wall of bronze and iron, he could easily smash his way inside with this condensed Primordial Qi.

Breach the city with a flick of his finger.

Unfortunately, he still had far too little of this condensed Primordial Qi.

Zhao Cheng decided to test it by cultivating for a hundred years first. If nothing went wrong, he would invest lifespan on a large scale and condense the Primordial Qi in his Thoroughfare Vessel to its utmost, to see what changes would follow.

"System, invest a hundred years of lifespan to condense the Primordial Qi in my Thoroughfare Vessel."

[Beginning to invest lifespan to condense Primordial Qi.]

[Year one: Using the Star Observation Meridian Method, you condense Primordial Qi in your Thoroughfare Vessel. You continuously absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi flow from the Twelve Standard Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians into your Thoroughfare Vessel, where they are condensed again and again, from a wisp to a strand, until they are almost invisible...]

...

[Year one hundred: You absorb endless Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into your Thoroughfare Vessel. After constant condensation, a faint trace of mist-like Primordial Qi appears within it. This wisp of mist-like Primordial Qi circulates through your Thoroughfare Vessel, and your absorption of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi increases dozens of times over...]

The deduction ended. Zhao Cheng felt the wisp of mist-like Primordial Qi within him, drew out a thread, and circulated it to his fingertip. Then he lightly flicked it at his Great Halberd.

Clang!

A clear ringing sound rang out, and a chip the size of a fingernail appeared at once in the halberd's rolled edge.

The break was smooth, like tofu sliced by a blade.