"The Clerk Examination is only the first step. Once we surrender it, we will inevitably have to surrender Craftsmen School technology, Agricultural School technology, control of the new academies, control of the workshops... in the end, every source of strength that allows Jing Kingdom to survive! The reason I refuse peace talks is that, as long as we people of Jing Kingdom keep striving and growing stronger, perhaps by the day the overwhelming catastrophe arrives, our kingdom will have amassed enough strength to overcome it!"
Fang Yun finally laid bare his heart.
Sheng Boyuan sneered. "With those strengths alone, how can we resist the other kingdoms swallowing us whole?"
"If we don't even have those strengths, what will we use to resist them?" Fang Yun countered.
For a moment, Sheng Boyuan was at a loss for words.
Fang Yun looked coldly at Sheng Boyuan. "Since we cannot resist, should we sell ourselves early for a good price?"
"You... you spit blood to slander me!" Sheng Boyuan shouted.
Fang Yun fixed his gaze on Sheng Boyuan's eyes and said slowly, "Minister Sheng, before defeat, you will calculate every escape route and prepare to surrender. I will only fight with all my strength before defeat, and concede only when defeat arrives. Even if defeat is just one breath away, I, Fang Yun, will still use that breath to search for a way to win, rather than ponder how to preserve myself after surrendering. That is the difference between us."
"Void Sage Fang, you are far too obstinate. I deeply admire your spirit, but if defeat is certain and you still spend time thinking of ways to win, that is a waste-or, one might say, foolishness." Sheng Boyuan, too, spoke his true feelings.
"If no one did foolish things, our Human Race would