Chapter 2351: Immortal Tea Talk 18: The Many Forms of War

Immortal Tea Talk 18: The Many Forms of War

Immortal Tea Talk 18: The Many Forms of War

OK, the first section of *The Great Contention Era* has ended today.

I've received everyone's grievances too. The author is inhuman, bullying our wheat sprouts—serves him right for dropping out of the top 50 in monthly votes.

Fine, I deserve it.

I know you feel sorry for her. Who wouldn't pity a clever, beautiful, tragically born beauty, even if she's a spy?

But from another angle, the very identity of a spy is itself a hidden and unconventional warrior.

A warrior's duty is to protect and fight.

In corners unseen by the world, Mai Miao used her own body as poison and her will as a blade, engaging in a life-or-death struggle against the Mu people and Nie Xiaolou, the Qing Palace State Preceptor of Between Between Between Beijia.

This is a battle without flashing blades or swordlight, yet bloody and brutal.

It is an all-around contest of wit and courage, testing qualities including but not limited to resilience, wisdom, agility, determination, and the courage and boldness to launch a desperate counterattack while isolated, helpless, and trapped in dire straits.

Of course, there's also personal charm.

A warrior's growth lies in enduring trials by blood and fire.

If once Mai Miao fought only for personal revenge, by the end of this section, everyone sees not only her mindset shift over these years, but also the elevation of her will and faith.

Now, regarding whether she qualifies for inclusion in the Radiant Gold Assembly, you have no objections left, right?

Well, let's talk about why *The Great Contention Era*'s first section ends with Mai Miao's personal struggle.

Actually, in this first section, I wrote Sun Hongye, I wrote Fang Chanran, I wrote the Qi Xia Sect and Wei An City incident, I wrote Mai Miao—but I used relatively little ink on He Lingchuan's positive portrayal, so some readers are dissatisfied, again complaining about my brushwork.

This isn't because I wanted to write some ensemble cast, but because the first section has a hidden true protagonist:

Elemental Force.

These individuals share a common trait: passion and steadfastness.

Love for Cang Yan, love for the human world;

steadfast devotion to the Nine Abysses Great Emperor and the righteous path.

And countless such people, striving silently, resisting, sacrificing to defend home, country, and all under heaven, can thus coalesce into a powerful centripetal force.

Gathering sand into a tower, achieving Elemental Force.

Cang Yan's Elemental Force is built this way, step by step, solidifying the foundation.

Since Cang Yan's founding was the shortest-lived among the three great nations and arose from poverty, the world widely acknowledges Cang Yan as sitting at the bottom among the three great nations, lacking foundation, scarce in talent, poor in reserves, and also regards the Flash Gold people as barbaric, ignorant, and uncultured.

Widely acknowledged? Hah, to hell with that acknowledgment.

Whose acknowledgment? Acknowledgment of whom?

Despite being in extreme disadvantage, Mai Miao still achieved victory against Between Between Between Beijia's elite;

Fang Chanran sacrificed himself to become benevolent;

And there's also Tu Shan Fang and Huang Chengqi from the previous volumes, who fought until their last breath—on the Flash Gold Plains emerged heroes of all kinds.

In He Lingchuan's eyes, not only are numerous elites not the sole sign of deep foundation, nor are only elites considered talent.

"I urge Heaven to shake off its lethargy, not bound by format in selecting talent"—He Lingchuan seeks talent unbound by convention; they may not pass the academy or officialdom's selection, but they truly all crawled out from the purgatory forged by blood and fire.

Represented by them, heroic talents stand firmly beside He Lingchuan, becoming his sharpest spear and hardest shield.

The myriad beings of Flash Gold steadfastly follow the Nine Abysses Great Emperor's steps in resisting the heavenly demons, achieving the greatest Elemental Force.

Through these living people, through these bloody events, Cang Yan's Elemental Force transformation over these years has a foundation both vast and solid. In terms of Elemental Force, can it leave other nations and powers several streets behind—wouldn't that be perfectly natural?

Then, with such mighty Elemental Force backing the Nine Abysses Great Emperor, just how formidable would he himself be?

By entering the Dao through Elemental Force, he is not the originator, but he will be the one who brings it to completion.

Besides him, no one can explore this "Dao" to such profound clarity.

Thus we can also take another approach: let's view the first section of *The Great Contention Era* as He Lingchuan's cultivation and training chapter. ^_^

After all, as long as Elemental Force rises, his strength naturally swells with the water.

Likewise, is this kind of upgrade not more splendid than seeking a pit to squat in for hundreds of years of closed-door innovation?

The pacing of this section is also seemingly slow but actually swift. As a laying-the-groundwork chapter for the final volume, I also sketched the impending era of heavenly demon descent, shifts in power, and the complex stances of various factions.

Who is steadfast, who is confused, who is helpless—it's all clear at a glance.

After finishing this section, I think everyone now has a rough but accurate grasp of the great currents of the world in the book.

From the next section onward, the war drums will begin to beat, and the footsteps of the finale will draw ever closer.

Let us, together with the Nine Abysses Great Emperor, dispel the final mist of *Immortal*.

——

Feng Xing Shui Yun Jian / Nine Fang Ye, 19