"I told you, your temper's been growing," Zhang Xing said dismissively. "You're as irritable here in Wuan as you were timid in the Eastern Capital... They say a true man can bend and stretch, but you've bent too far and stretched too far."
"Perhaps." Li Ding sighed as he gazed at Nangong Lake, unable to hide his dejection. "These past few years, I've seemed to have opportunities, but after all the back and forth, I've had little to show for them. It really does make me irritable."
"You keep running into walls, that's all." Zhang Xing looked thoughtful at this. "You think you possess unparalleled skills, that you're invincible in war, and that those abilities alone should let you turn clouds into rain, slaughter cities and destroy states as easily as turning your hand over. Then the age of chaos actually comes, and politics, economics, organization, fortune, cultivation, diplomacy, even culture and regional relations all demand your attention. At the very least, you have to understand them and make judgments. Military affairs may be the most important thing, but they're still only one thing... It's like knowing the world will fall into chaos, ignoring everything else, and sharpening a saber well in advance. But even once chaos truly comes, you can't simply draw that saber whenever you please."
Li Ding did not argue. He merely turned to look at him. Just as when they had first met at the relay station years ago, this man's appearance was utterly unremarkable, his features merely regular. Only his complexion was somewhat pale and his build tall, but that too was typical of a frontline soldier from the Northern Lands.
After studying him for a while, he took the opportunity to ask, "If that's so, what about you? How does a frontline soldier from