Another Grade-A Token

Holding the token for Room A, Zhang Xuezhou entered Room A very quickly.

If possible, he would certainly like to preserve the token and then wait for the King of Huainan to incorporate his knowledge of divination into the Jiazi Room.

But Jin Chang clearly couldn't wait any longer, so he had to finish his work as soon as possible.

After some careful selection, Zhang Xuezhou finally chose to read some Huang-Lao philosophy texts, including some that Dong Zhongshu mentioned, such as the "Zaiyou" text, and the "Dijing" text that he had previously read.

Compared to the ancient version in the Imperial Secretariat, the relevant content in the Wenying Pavilion's Jiazi Room has been modernized and revised. Although it is only one person's opinion, it has extremely high reference value. Even Zhang Xuezhou has begun to understand the relevant aspects of the art of luck and is no longer as clueless as before.

"The nation's rise is a matter of destiny, war is a matter of sacrificial destiny!"

The art of manipulation is extremely ancient, dating back to the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

Every era has its limitations. Hundreds or thousands of years ago, many emperors practiced the art of fortune-telling, but very few were skilled in it.

This requires a powerful nation, and also a unified nation.

Only when a nation is intact can those who practice the art of destiny possess a relatively strong destiny.

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the analysis of "Zaiyou" and then thought about the Great Han Dynasty.

How much luck can you expect from such a mess?

If the Qin Dynasty achieved unification, the Han Dynasty at that time was still a model of coexistence between princes and emperors, similar to the era before the Qin Dynasty when vassal states coexisted.

If you take a bite and I take a bite, there won't be much left for the emperor. And if other cultivators of destiny have to share it, even less will remain.

As for the imperial officials, very few were left to receive the benefits, and there were hardly any extraordinary advantages.

As for the war sacrifices and fortune, that was something beyond Zhang Xuezhou's knowledge. Firstly, the Han Dynasty did not wage war against foreign powers, and secondly, Zhang Xuezhou had no military expertise whatsoever.

However, he unexpectedly discovered that the Crimson Bird Formation's Qi Channel and the Five Elements Flags' Yun Channel were sacrificial formations, which even made him realize belatedly that the formations and flags set up by King Liang also utilized these elements.

If we could obtain the five battle flags from the tomb of King Liang, they would be excellent and readily available sacrificial battle flags.

"Who are we going to fight this war against?"

For a nation to rise and prosper, it needs the imperial decrees to be effectively implemented in every region, rather than being left to the rule of feudal lords. This is how a unified political, cultural, and economic system can be formed, and this path is clearly long.

The ritual of war to ward off evil spirits requires winning battles, even major victories that could destroy a nation.

Zhang Xuezhou thought about Cheng Bushi, who was guarding Yanmen Pass to the Cheng Bushi, and then about Li Guang and others who were stationed in the Northern Border and had difficulty breaking into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. He felt that war sacrifices were too difficult.

Cultivating higher levels of spiritual practice is difficult, but mastering the art of cultivation is even more challenging.

Zhang Xuezhou spent two hours flipping through various classic texts, and finally left the room dejectedly.

What did he see this time?

Lei Bei was the owner of the Horizontal Sword Technique, but Zhang Xuezhou was the one who dedicated it to him.

The owner of the Beast Taming Sect's inheritance is Su Fang, but the one who offered it is still Zhang Xuezhou.

Although the reading time totaled only four hours, the King of Huainan couldn't help but feel curious, wanting to see why the other party was so tirelessly pursuing the Technique Method of the Jiazi Room, and what kind of technique made the other party so obsessed.

"He casually flipped through the Di Jing, then looked at the Zaiyou Tongjie, which also touched upon the Fen Jing, and later consulted books such as Jingfa, Shangjun Shu, Shenzi, Juzi, Falun, Shiliu Jing, Zaiyou, Daofa, Zeifa, Qiufa, and Bufa!"

"He's flipped through so many pages?" the King of Huainan exclaimed in surprise. "Then he must have found nothing and was just flipping through them randomly?"

He left the room with his head down, looking dejected; you could tell he was feeling quite down!

Tian You, the official in charge of guarding the Jiazi Room's books, thought about Zhang Xuezhou's expression and gave a very serious response.

"I remember he wanted to change his fate, but how could such arts of fortune-telling be suitable for an ordinary person like him? Even the most profound teachings only grant the wishes of one in ten thousand," the King of Huainan pondered. "After offering his prayers twice, he gained nothing, so his disappointment is understandable!"

"His 'luck' is indeed not very good," Tian You said with a smile.

"His luck is bad, but it has added two important techniques to my Wenying Pavilion," said the King of Huainan. "I won't let him down. Give this Dongfang Bubai another Jia-grade token!"

"Your Majesty?"

"Whenever he decides he doesn't want to cultivate cultivation techniques anymore, he can return to the Class A room anytime to study some top-tier techniques, without being so rigid about the timing!"

The first search yielded no results, and the second search also yielded no results.

It's rare to see someone as dedicated as Zhang Xuezhou suffer such misfortune.

But this is what happens when you choose the wrong research direction.

For ordinary cultivators like Zhang Xuezhou, the art of cultivation is a dead end, an insurmountable path.

Everyone yearns for extraordinary luck, but such extraordinary luck can't possibly fall upon ordinary people.

Ordinary people should practice skills that ordinary people can learn, and then gradually move up in the ranks.

The King of Huainan felt pity for Zhang Xuezhou and was willing to give him another chance, since it was indeed rare to find someone like Zhang Xuezhou who could present his skills as top-tier twice.

The fact that Lei Bei twice suggests that the other party had a close relationship with Lei Bei. This can be seen as him giving face to Lei Bei, a top swordsman with promising potential, without being so formal as to not tolerate any personal feelings.

"To run into the King in the Jiazi room, it must be a stroke of good luck for his family!"

Tian You nodded in agreement, accepting the arrangement made by the King of King of Huainan.

"His name is rather unusual, and he has twice presented top-tier techniques; it's hard for me to forget him," the King of Huainan laughed. "Although he chose the wrong path in his cultivation, his luck isn't as bad as I imagined!"

"With the king's favor and having obtained first-class skills twice, his luck is indeed quite good!"

Zhang Xuezhou's two attempts at entering the top-tier rooms ended in nothing, which drew criticism. However, after the King of Huainan reminded him, Tian You realized that the other party might have taken a wrong turn, and his luck wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

Whether it's the Horizontal Sword Technique or the Beast Taming Sect's inheritance, these techniques are things that people would fight tooth and nail to obtain.

Getting it on the first try was a stroke of luck, but for the other party to acquire it repeatedly is nothing short of incredible good fortune.

If the other party hadn't truly lacked insight into cultivation, they wouldn't have repeatedly encountered setbacks.

"If he can walk the right path of cultivation, Your Majesty may gain another lucky general," Tian You said with a smile.

In a sense, he was indeed quite lucky!

The King of Huainan nodded.

Misfortune and fortune are always opposites, but some people just lack the will to defy them.

If only the other party hadn't been so stubborn, the King of Huainan felt that their luck was just one spark away from turning around.

However, he didn't try to forcefully persuade them; the opportunity had already been given, and there was nothing he could do if the other party couldn't seize it.

"I'm afraid he'll act recklessly and take this token straight into the top-tier room," Tian You said, shaking his head. "It would be better to set a time limit for this token, so he doesn't lose his head!"

"Alright!"

The King of Huainan waved his hand, indicating that Tian could decide these matters himself.

The duration of using the Jia-character command can be six months, one year, two years, or three years. As long as the other party is clear-headed and doesn't get stuck on the details of the technique, they can usually acquire a technique suitable for their own cultivation.

"But his spirit is commendable!"

Thinking of Zhang Xuezhou's repeated setbacks, the King of Huainan couldn't help but think of his own repeated setbacks.

Zhang Xuezhou could still turn around, but now he has no chance of turning around at all.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou kept hitting roadblocks, he had no choice but to keep going recklessly.

"If only I weren't king!"

Occasionally, the King of Huainan would have some audacious thoughts, and even fantasies similar to those of the King of Liang would surface in his mind.

But as soon as he thought about the complexities of the struggle for the legitimate succession to the throne within the royal family, these thoughts quickly faded from his mind.