NOVPUBThe gazes of Lub Su and others towards Chen Xi turned strange. If it was indeed Chen Xi’s spiritual talent that was responsible, then Chen Xi’s value was truly immeasurable.
"It might actually be the truth..." Fa Zheng said with difficulty. Thinking back to when Qingzhou was not yet under their control and it was suffering from a severe drought, otherwise, the Yellow Turbans wouldn’t have had to leave Qingzhou to find food. As soon as Chen Xi defeated the Yellow Turbans and took over their territory, Qingzhou immediately enjoyed good weather. And thinking about other instances, it’s not impossible that it’s Chen Xi’s doing—on the contrary, the possibility is quite high!
"So I’m also trying to confirm. If this year turns out to be a bumper year, then at least one of the attributes of my spiritual talent involves enhancing the comfort level of the weather within Lord Xuande’s domains. As for the rest, it’s hard to say," Chen Xi said, shrugging. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
Chen Xi was also guessing the actual operational principles of his spiritual talent, which he deduced must be related to a hidden attribute of his rule. Based on the Qi of the military formations, Chen Xi speculated on a possibility.
If every person can emit Essence Qi and Inner Qi, then it’s possible for everyone to emit spiritual power! And his, Chen Xi’s, spiritual talent could be about utilizing these otherwise useless forces to change the weather. Perhaps the spiritual power of one or two individuals would be insufficient, but with enough people, their combined small contributions could indeed alter the climate. Only under this scenario did Chen Xi feel that he could explain why the weather within the monarch’s territory consistently remained better than the historical climate whenever he was present!
"Zichuan, I have high hopes for you. You should avoid going into battle in the future and stay in the safest place possible!" Lub Su earnestly stood up, placed his hand on Chen Xi’s shoulder and spoke. If this ability were real, Chen Xi would already be capable enough to save countless people. Therefore, it was better for him to stay far away from wars.
Chen Xi, with his head propped on his hand, looked sideways at Lub Su and could tell that he was serious. However, if Chen Xi’s talent truly involved passively utilizing the subconscious spiritual power emitted by everyone within the sovereign’s territory and adjusting the climate within a reasonable range, it indeed belonged to the strategic level. Moreover, it was a talent that would become increasingly formidable over time. After all, this was a world where getting a full stomach could lead to an explosion of productivity!
But who knows, really? Chen Xi wasn’t sure if there were any side effects or if he was just overthinking it. What if it also intensified natural disasters? What if it was all just his imagination? No one knew for sure!
On the other side, Guo Jia lay dizzily on a soft couch, holding the intelligence reports on Jingzhou. As he dozed off, he mumbled, "Haha, this Wang Wei is really interesting. Overly cautious, but his arrangements are not bad!"
After gulping down a couple swigs of wine, Guo Jia looked at the reports dizzily, "Wen Pin won’t die. This Wang Wei... seems to be evenly split between life and death! Forget it, as an enemy, you’d better just die..."
After finishing his sentence, Guo Jia’s spiritual power surged, and then he, feeling dizzy himself, clutched the wine jar and lay down on the couch. He didn’t need any decorum, especially since there was no one else around!
Wang Wei, who was currently leading an army of thirty thousand soldiers towards Jiangxia, had no idea that his death was already sealed in this war. The ability to influence reality with judgments was exclusive to Guo Jia, a unique spiritual talent. Although the conditions for it were quite cumbersome, once activated, the perfect balance between the two parties, like a scale, would tilt in the direction Guo Jia chose!
Guo Jia himself couldn’t be certain of this ability. He merely felt a vague sense of assertiveness. As for the true nature of his spiritual talent, even Guo Jia wasn’t sure.
Of course, if Chen Xi knew under what circumstances Guo Jia made his judgments and the results they led to, Chen Xi could probably deduce what Guo Jia’s spiritual talent was. After all, when Sunx Ce was still alive and kicking, Guo Jia had predicted that Sunx Ce would be killed by an assassin. As a result, the Little Overlord, one of the top experts, actually died at the hands of an assassin. How unlucky is that?
Or to put it another way, this was no longer just bad luck...
In Nanyang, Wancheng, Xi Zhicai stood on the city walls with a sallow complexion, looking out at the endless ranks of Yuan Shu’s Army. The saying goes, ’with over ten thousand men, they stretched to infinity.’ This was not a matter to be trifled with!
Ever since Yuan Shu learned that Cao Cao, the man who had snatched a part of his Yingchuan, hadn’t yet been dealt with, and Cao Cao actually came over to take a large chunk of his Nanyang, Yuan Shu was seething with anger. He had always been the bully, never the bullied!
Without a second word, Yuan Shu led an army of thirty thousand, plus over ten thousand soldiers from Lyu Bu, intending to give Cao Cao a severe beating to vent the anger accumulated under Jiangling City and by extension, drive Cao Cao back to his hometown!
Although Yuan Shu was furious with Cao Cao’s actions, he didn’t really intend to kill Cao Cao. Yuan Shu was a peculiar individual who cherished old acquaintances; after all, he, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao grew up playing together. Even if their friendship wasn’t that close, the number of peers he could play with was limited—add Xuu You to that list at most!
Bearing this in mind, Yuan Shu’s intent was merely to beat Cao Cao up and send him packing. Of course, it would be even better if Cao Cao recognized him as the leader. Why should Cao Cao, who grew up with him, side with Yuan Shao instead of him?
This point was actually the reason why Yuan Shu was so enraged with Yuan Shao. None of the friends and allies who had grown up with him had remained by his side; they had all become Yuan Shao’s lackeys—this was where Yuan Shu’s dissatisfaction with Yuan Shao truly lay!
As for the internal strife within the Yuan Family, the discord between legitimate sons and concubine’s children and such, it was all a facade. Family conflicts within the nobility would never be displayed in public; at least outwardly, they would appear united. As for the concubine’s children contending with legitimate sons, ha, since when did concubine’s children have the right to compete with legitimate ones? There was no need for any struggle within the family; everything belonged to the Yuan Family, and Yuan Shu was the only one entitled to inherit it all!
That was also the reason why Yuan Shao did not return to Yuzhou but went directly to Jizhou to fight for power—because he wouldn’t have gotten anything if he’d gone back! The direct lineage of the Yuan Family was Yuan Shu, and that was the stark and cruel reality!
As for losing to Cao Cao, Yuan Shu never considered such a possibility. Having recently beaten Liu Biao of Jingzhou half to death, Yuan Shu was now at the peak of his confidence. In Yuan Shu’s view, the trouble in Yuzhou was not an issue at all once Liu Bei had withdrawn; with elite soldiers and ample provisions, such was Yuan Shu’s self-perception!
"Strategist Xi, are you alright?" Xiahou Yuan asked, looking with concern at the pale-faced Xi Zhicai.
"There’s no need to worry, Miaocai." Without turning his head, Xi Zhong scanned the Yuan Shu’s Army, and after a long while, he turned back with a wry smile. "I overestimated Yuan Shu’s Army. Not a single one has spiritual talent. I wanted to borrow a talent to play with it, but there aren’t any... such a pity."
"No spiritual talent?" Xiahou Yuan was taken aback, then burst into joy. That meant there was no strategist on the other side who could be considered a formidable talent like the one before him!
"Yes, there isn’t a strategist on the other side worth mentioning." Xi Zhong didn’t even know what expression to wear, "Forget it, since that’s the case, I might as well use my usual talent. I was hoping to use the same talent as the enemy to annoy them, but it turns out they don’t even have one..."
"Well, I might as well just use Wen Ruo’s spiritual talent. This talent really has many advantages. Ah, it’s a pity about Chen Changwen’s talent. Why can’t it have any special characteristic?" Saying this, Xi Zhong’s spiritual power fluctuated, and then his entire demeanor began to shift towards Xun Yu’s.
"Wen Ruo’s spiritual talent is indeed very useful. It allows me to gain a clear grasp of the overall situation, adjust every resource at my disposal, and when necessary, provoke an outburst of strength far above the normal level from the entire group. Indeed, it’s the most suitable spiritual talent for overseeing the Central Government!" Each time Xi Zhicai utilized Xun Yu’s ability, he envied it and then would start complaining about his own spiritual talents all over again.
In fact, Xi Zhicai’s spiritual talent was not bad at all; it could be said to be very excellent. However, because of the particularity of his talent, which allowed him to replicate and utilize others’ spiritual talents, he seemed a bit too greedy.
You should know Xi Zhicai’s spiritual talent allowed him to copy others’ spiritual talents and then use them. He could store three people’s talents, but only use one at a time, and if he wanted to switch, he could only do so after ten days.
However, because the spiritual talents of his three comrades were very good, that’s why Xi Zhicai often felt frustrated. He could only activate one out of the three talents. If he used Xun Yu’s talent, then Xun Youi’s would be sidelined, and if he used Xun Youi’s, Cheng Yu’s would be too. In any case, no matter which one he used, Xi Zhicai was always distressed.
Whether it was Xun Yu’s strategizing, Xun Youi’s deception, or Cheng Yu’s will, all were top-notch talents. Of course, these three talents originally didn’t have names until Xi Zhicai idly gave them names out of boredom.
Xun Youi’s spiritual talent was quite fun in terms of its effects. Once Xun Youi activated his talent, the enemy would perceive his side as very weak and not worth paying attention to, easily beaten in any confrontation. In short, it made them think Xun Youi was harmless, and of course, if they weren’t outsmarted by Xun Youi, that would be strange indeed!
Because of this, Xi Zhicai usually kept his distance from Xun Youi, since he seemed very dull and stupid-looking, but Xi Zhicai was very aware that this guy was a classic case of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with plenty of tricks up his sleeve!
Cheng Yu’s spiritual talent, in terms of its effects, was somewhat close to a military general’s. Fortunately, Cheng Yu’s talent was passive. As long as he served as the strategist commander, it would take effect, energizing the entire army. Of course, this effect was still not comparable to Lyu Bu leading troops.
But there was another aspect that made up for it. Under Cheng Yu’s leadership, his troops were resilient, resisted well, and adapted efficiently. That is to say, they were tough to knock down and could maintain high combat power even under adverse weather and terrain conditions, such as being subjected to water or fire attacks. If they could withstand all sorts of disruptions and survive…
That’s why Xi Zhicai always wanted to activate all three talents, but unfortunately, he could only activate one and had to wait ten days to switch. As for the newly arrived Chen Qun, his spiritual talent was copied by Xi Zhicai on the very day he arrived!
However, there was no vacancy at that time, so Xun Yu’s was relinquished. After using it once, Xi Zhicai went back to Xun Yu’s side and copied his talent again. There was no helping it; Chen Qun’s ability talent was too close to Xun Yu’s. Although in terms of stabilizing situations they were not far apart, the lack of Xun Yu’s burst technique was still lamentable. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote and support it at Qidian (qidian.com). Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
