The Hundred Schools of Thought, Only I Am Unrivaled (Seeking Collection, Recommendations)

Returning to the real world, Zhao Fu prepared a bowl of instant noodles. As usual, he turned on his computer and sat before it, eating his noodles while logging into the Apocalypse World forum to see if there was any interesting news.

Indeed, there were some major developments; someone had recently compiled a "Hero Ranking."

The Hero Ranking had no set order and made no distinctions in status; it simply gathered these figures together, all of whom were descendants of famous generals and ministers from history.

For example, there was Lu Zhan, a descendant of the Three Kingdoms' Lu Bu, who wielded a halberd capable of taking on ten bandits; Cheng Daman, a descendant of the Tang Dynasty's Cheng Yaojin, who swung a giant axe with imposing majesty; and Bao Xiaoduan, a descendant of the Song Dynasty's Judge Bao, who could solve cases with divine insight.

It seemed that these descendants of famous ministers and generals had also received inheritances upon entering the Apocalypse World, gaining the classes of their ancestors. However, whether they were willing to pledge loyalty to the nations their predecessors served remained unknown. They were all highly talented and self-important—could it be they didn't want to carve out their own foundation in the Apocalypse World?

Some news had already leaked out. Among them was Zhuge Gui, a descendant of the Three Kingdoms' Zhuge Liang, who boasted that he would serve a different master than his ancestor and compete to see who was superior. Then there was Li Jun, a descendant of the Ming Dynasty minister Li Shanchang, who swore to be at odds with the Ming Dynasty.

Beyond these, as he continued reading, Zhao Fu was quite surprised to find that some schools of thought long thought to be extinct were gradually re-emerging.

Among them were the Legalist School, which governed through law; the Military School, which pacified the world through force; the Taoist School, which followed the natural way; the Confucian School, which educated the world; the Yin-Yang School, which focused on the five elements; the School of Names, which specialized in logic and debate; the Mohist School, which advocated universal love and non-aggression; and the Agricultural School, which encouraged farming to ensure food and clothing. There was even the Syncretic School, which integrated Confucianism, Mohism, logic, and law, mastering the ways of all schools.

It was truly a hundred schools of thought contending; the Apocalypse World was gradually becoming more interesting. Zhao Fu smiled faintly, but his expression tightened at what followed.

"The common people suffer, the world is ablaze; of all the hundred schools, only I, the School of Diplomacy, remain. The stars and moon hang in the sky, the earth and man in Ghost Valley; one vertical, one horizontal, a mystery unsolved for a hundred years."

"The School of Diplomacy!"

Zhao Fu looked at this school with a solemn expression. He had to take this school seriously because it was truly too dangerous.

Throughout the seven hundred years of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, behind the rise and fall of every nation and dynasty, there was one common name: the Ghost Valley lineage of the School of Diplomacy.

First, there was Pang Juan, who entered the State of Wei. With peerless courage and invincible might, he conquered Han, attacked Zhao, and subdued Chu and Qi, allowing the once-weak Wei to sweep across the world and dominate the Central Plains. Then there was Sun Bin, who entered the State of Qi. A peerless strategist, he weakened Zhao, Wei, Han, and Chu, restoring Qi to the position of hegemon and leaving behind a world-renowned military treatise for future generations.

Later, there were Su Qin, who formed the vertical alliance of the six states and wore the seals of all six, and Zhang Yi, whose horizontal strategy broke the six states. The two used the world as their board and the common people as their pieces, engaging in a peak confrontation.

Although this school had very few members, it was both loved and feared. What was loved was that obtaining one person from this lineage was worth a million troops; what was feared was that a single person from this lineage had the power to destroy a nation.

Zhao Fu was quite concerned about this school, a strange heaviness settling in his heart. Finally, he could only sigh and continue reading.

The biggest news that followed concerned the Ying Family. They were recalling everyone who possessed their family bloodline, offering generous treatment. They even declared that any descendant who had obtained an ancestral inheritance should return to the main family immediately; regardless of money, wealth, or beauty, they would be granted everything they desired, and would even be named the next successor of the entire Ying Family.

Seeing this, Zhao Fu thought for a moment. He had no desire to join the Ying Family, so he paid it no mind.

However, this matter drew the attention of all the great families. In terms of power and heritage, the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han were undoubtedly the five great hegemons. As for the period after the Han, it was a time of great chaos and division; those nations could not compare to the top five.

Who in this world lacked ambition? Who didn't want to rule? Ordinary families watched the families that held the inheritance of a single nation; those families watched the dynasties that had achieved great unification; and those dynasties watched the top five families.

Seeing the current situation clearly, this was truly the era of the Warring States. Zhao Fu finished his noodles in a few bites, drank the remaining broth, and entered the Apocalypse World once more.

As soon as he entered the Apocalypse World, Li Si walked over and handed Zhao Fu a medicine bottle, saying that this was the successfully refined Small Spirit Pill. Zhao Fu opened the bottle, and a fresh, fragrant scent wafted out.

Zhao Fu nodded and returned to his room, intending to test its effects. He reached in and poured out a single pill; it was light red and the size of a soybean. After consuming it, Zhao Fu entered a meditative state.

Several hours later, a look of joy appeared on Zhao Fu's face; his cultivation had improved once again.

Name: Zhao Fu Title: None Class: Demon Priest Battle Merit: Citizen (213/500) Race: Human Lifespan: 21 (100) Attributes: Strength: 9, Intelligence: 12, Constitution: 8, Agility: 10 Special Power: [Weak Demon Power] Cultivation: Second Stage Cultivation Method: Great Qin Mental Method Skills: Hellfire Ball, Basic Swordsmanship... Equipment: Iron Sword...

The effect of the Small Spirit Pill was indeed better than his own cultivation. After verifying the results, Zhao Fu immediately ordered people to cultivate the ingredients carefully. He then continued to lead his men to explore the interior of the Terror Forest, hoping to find traces of horses.

This time, Zhao Fu specifically brought the Gray Wolf King. Its wounds had not yet healed, so Zhao Fu did not intend for it to fight; instead, he used its sense of smell to track other beasts. Zhao Fu had also renamed it Little Gray.

With Little Gray, Zhao Fu was undoubtedly much faster at finding beasts than before. This time, they found three Fierce Fire Rabbits, which finally dropped an elemental orb. Zhao Fu intended to give this to Li Wen upon his return; Li Wen was one of the few people in Great Qin Village with A-grade talent, and as the son of Li Youcai, he was worth cultivating.

Over the next two days, they killed a few Wind Foxes and obtained a Wind Blade elemental orb, and tamed a few more beasts, but there were no other significant gains. The horses he had been carefully searching for still remained elusive.

However, the special equipment that the blacksmith Wang Dawu had been forging was finished. This caused Zhao Fu to change his mind, and he decided to continue exploring the Great Rift.

"I want to go too!" Liu Mei ran over and said, looking at Zhao Fu.

Zhao Fu turned his head to look at her and said, "You use a whip; you can't deal much damage to skeletons at all. Stay up here!"

"Don't you still have that Wind Blade elemental orb? Let me learn it, and I'll go down and see what the skeletons look like!" Liu Mei said loudly, without any sense of propriety.

Hearing this, Zhao Fu glared at her.

Liu Mei was still somewhat afraid of Zhao Fu, so she immediately quieted down. She gave an awkward salute and said dejectedly, "Your Highness! I was wrong."

Seeing this, Zhao Fu handed the Wind Blade orb to her. Liu Mei was pleasantly surprised, picked up the cyan elemental orb, and used it. Afterward, Zhao Fu took Bai Qi, Li Wen, old Rogge, Liu Mei, ten Goblin Champions, ten fierce infantrymen, and ten archers down to the bottom of the Great Rift to continue their exploration.