"At that time, you killed him."
"That was completely crushing his heart."
"It was the greatest humiliation."
Li Guanyi listened as Breaking Army talked fluently, all prepared, when suddenly he understood, from history, why Lords valued strategists so much after acquiring one, and he suddenly said, "Sir, why are you so certain that Chen Yuyun will meet Yuwen Hua in the quarter-final battle?"
Breaking Army laughed and said, "It’s quite simple, let me demonstrate for you, my Lord."
"You are a scion of the Xue Family, your first formidable opponent will definitely be the Grandson of the Sword Saint from the Eastern Palace."
"And for Central Plains, what better way to enhance its fame than having a son of the Central Plains Dynasty royal family defeat an alien tribe’s war general, Iron Futu, right before the grand ritual? Hence, the final battle, in Emperor Chen’s calculation, must be [Chen Yuyun] against [Geshu Yin]."
"With this, everything becomes simple."
"To advance from the top eight to the top four, it will definitely be you against [Xu Huixiang], to incite discord between the Xue Family and the Crown Prince."
"Chen Yuyun, Geshu Yin, and Yuwen Hua will advance; the semi-final will then be Chen Yuyun versus Yuwen Hua. Yuwen Hua is a war general from Ying Country, and now during the grand festival of Chen Country, when Chen Country has just made amends with Ying Country, Yuwen Lie, guessing you might also have the Fate Grid of the White Tiger, would not take a harsh hand."
"Yuwen Hua’s resolve is nowhere near as distant as his uncle’s."
"When he meets the royal family of Chen, the Prince of Ying will certainly have him put up a good show and then lose gracefully."
"So, Chen Yuyun is bound to make it to the finals."
"As for the final, if it’s against Xu Huixiang, then Chen Yuyun will emerge at a crucial moment defeating the top guest of the Eastern Palace, stepping over the Crown Prince’s dignity to rise in rank."
"If it’s against Geshu Yin, then it will even be touted as fighting for family and country."
"Either way, there’s no loss."
Breaking Army said approvingly, "Truly a cunning old fox, Emperor Chen. Although I dislike him, he indeed seems quite shrewd, and to ensure that Chen Yuyun wins, I suspect Emperor Chen gave him something extraordinary."
"Perhaps it’s some elixir pills, treasure weapon or the like."
Breaking Army continued, "Therefore, my strategy is merely this: to stir the world with Chen Yuyun’s death; using Emperor Chen’s decade-long concern Tantai Xianming, renowned commander of Ying, Yuwen Lie, to restrain Emperor Chen’s mind, and then create divisions among his civil servants."
"As for Emperor Chen preparing this grand meeting to make a stunning debut for his son, shaking the world,"
he bowed, "it naturally leads to you, my Lord, gaining fame."
"I shall congratulate my Lord here in advance..."
Li Guanyi thought for a moment and said, "Thank you, sir, for your endless brilliant strategies."
"With the help of you, my dear sir, it’s like a fish back in water."
Being back in water, such veiled praise and its significance, hit right on target for a strategist like Breaking Army. He slightly smiled, his lips curling, sipped, and then raised again, finally saying lightly, "Ahem, you flatter me too much."
"It’s really nothing."
After saying farewell to Li Guanyi, Breaking Army left calmly, turning around a corner.
Noting that Li Guanyi was not around,
Breaking Army took a deep breath.
He clenched his fist tightly.
A passerby gave him a weird look.
So Breaking Army coughed, straightened his back, his right hand behind him, and returned to being the original elegantly poised strategist, gracefully departing.
In the following two days of qualifiers, the matches from the top eight to the top four, indeed Li Guanyi faced the Sword Saint’s grandson, Xu Huixiang, all as Breaking Army predicted. Night Buyi, Zhou Liuying, respectively faced Yuwen Hua, Geshu Yin; only Chen Yuyun’s opponent was slightly weaker, a steady win.
Zhou Liuying almost cried, "Yuwen Hua, how am I supposed to fight him?"
"He’s several years older than me."
"I’d rather bash heads with him, or else just admit defeat."
"Yikes, is it still time to forfeit now?"
Night Buyi said, "If you surrender without a fight, your father’s hand won’t be holding a golden sash but a horse-slaying saber, and then it won’t just be your father who takes action; I fear your mother will join at his side, contributing to the beatdown."
Those who surrender without fighting, beheaded!
Zhou Liuying muttered, "It’s just talk, if I dared to surrender, my grandfather would come killing from the countryside, but big bro, it’s tougher for you."
"Xu Huixiang is already number thirty-four on the Famous Hero List."
"That’s because he seldom moves about in the Martial World, only nineteen years old, literally a monster."
"With unmatched sword Qi and from the Multi-story Building, you need to be careful; if we had an army, we wouldn’t need to worry about such swordsmen, but on the dueling stage, it’s another story."
Zhou Liuying said, "Alas, I heard that this time the emperor announced he wants to share joy with the public."
"The top four matches are to allow commoners to watch, seems like many people from the Martial World are coming."
"After today, Xu Huixiang will surely rise in the Famous Hero List. I heard many significant events in the Martial World are by invitation only through the Famous Hero List, and there are many benefits, like the grand meeting at Ying Country’s Sword Casting Valley, and unsurpassed beauties on the Beauty List often seek heroes from the Famous Hero List to make connections."
"In his youth, our Taiping Duke was once ranked first in the Famous Hero List."
"Hmm, top ten Grandmasters in their youth were basically the first in the Famous Hero List."
"I heard that back in the day, the Princess was ranked in both the Top Ten Famous Hero List and the Top Ten Beauty List."
"Isn’t the new edition of the Beauty List coming out too?"
"Apparently it is..."
While the youngsters enjoyed their idle chat over wine, Li Guanyi didn’t care much for these, but on his way back, at the entrance of the Xue Family, there was a carriage, extravagantly adorned. Upon seeing Li Guanyi, one person happily smiled and said:
"Captain Li, it has been a while."
"Prince of Daying invites you to a banquet."