Chapter 364: How to Find Your Ground

Even the people from Anning Wei aren't acceptable.

A burly man grinned widely, laughing arrogantly.

Lu Jun struggled to his feet, a bitter smile tugging at his lips: "I lost."

He was just about to turn away.

He happened to see Li Rui standing on tiptoe in the crowd, his face darkening further, almost pale.

The Li Rui before him was no longer a deputy commander of Anning Wei—he was now the deputy commander of Annan Town.

A single word from him could decide Lu Jun's official fate.

Lu Jun hurried forward two steps and stood before Li Rui.

He knelt on one knee.

"Your subordinate is incompetent and has brought shame upon the general."

Only then did the other soldiers of Anning Wei realize Li Rui had been watching the match—voices of murmurs erupted instantly.

The burly man's expression changed when he saw Li Rui appear.

He stepped forward to Li Rui and bowed respectfully: "General Li."

Li Rui smiled faintly: "A contest between two armies is a good thing. By the way, what's your name? Your Wu Gong is impressive."

The burly man froze, hesitated, then finally forced himself to say:

"I'm Liu Biao, from Jiannan Town."

"Jiannan Town was originally from Shu—no wonder you have such boldness."

Upon hearing this, the burly man's face lit up with delight.

Li Rui was a fourth-rank deputy commander, while he was only a sixth-rank garrison commander—the gap was enormous. To gain Li Rui's favor was a great fortune.

After all, Li Rui's current position as deputy commander governed the entire Annan Town.

Anning Wei was merely closer by proximity.

Moreover, though he had deliberately targeted Anning Wei, he had not crossed any visible line—everything had been normal sparring.

The burly man hadn't expected Li Rui to avoid confrontation and instead praise him.

He felt a sudden pang of shame.

"General Li—"

He was about to speak when Li Rui raised a hand to stop him: "Enough. Commander Liu, return to your post. I have matters to discuss with Commander Lu."

At this,

the burly man quickly took his leave, terrified Li Rui might change his mind and come after him.

He had come to Anning Wei on orders from his own assistant regional commander, yet he dared not offend Li Rui, the deputy commander—he immediately gathered his men and departed in haste.

Lu Jun kept his head bowed.

Like a defeated soldier awaiting his general's reprimand.

But Li Rui said: "Good. You've improved. Just remember to win it back next time."

Lu Jun snapped his head up, eyes filled with astonishment.

That's it?

Li Rui chuckled: "Old Lu, what's the big deal? You're not a raw recruit anymore."

"My men can lose—but they can't back down."

He deliberately raised his voice for the others to hear.

Every soldier present heard it—morale surged instantly.

Having done this,

Li Rui acted as if nothing had happened, hands behind his back, heading toward the general's mansion.

Retaliation in kind?

Unnecessary.

His status had changed. Even if he wanted to settle the score, that was Cao Wei's duty. He was now a deputy commander—personally stepping in would be a downgrade, utterly humiliating.

But to say he did nothing?

Not true.

They came to crush Anning Wei's morale; he, with just a few words, revived it.

The young soldiers of Anning Wei now burned with a desire to win back their honor.

For an army, this was a good thing.

An organization built on killing would be worse off without that fire.

Li Rui was glad someone helped him train his troops.

As for Fu Tao's intentions, he understood them perfectly.

If he didn't suppress Li Rui, how could Fu Tao prove his loyalty to Commander Zhou?

Li Rui was originally a trusted man of Marquis Yuan. The court feared the Yuan family growing too powerful, so they sent General Zhou Dinghai. Fu Tao, as Zhou's own man, had to make trouble for the old servants of the Marquis's household.

But if Li Rui now became the first to strike back, he'd only be inviting suffering.

This deputy commander position wouldn't last long.

With higher status, one's perspective must rise accordingly.

When powerful figures clash like gods, one must learn patience, hide one's edge.

Otherwise, one lacks the virtue to hold such a position—and disaster will come.

As he pondered,

Li Rui arrived at the general's mansion.

Cao Wei rushed over the moment he saw Li Rui.

No one knew exactly when, but Cao Wei had shed almost all traces of the Fifth Prince's influence—he was now seen by outsiders as Li Rui's subordinate, and he chose neither to explain nor resist.

"Big Brother Li, when did you get here?"

Li Rui smiled: "Little Brother Cao, they've come knocking on your door—aren't you going to do something about it?"

At this,

Cao Wei broke into a cold sweat—he didn't think it was a joke.

Li Rui was clearly using humor to rebuke him.

"Big Brother Li, I—"

Before he could explain, Li Rui's smile turned colder: "My men can't be cowards. Three months. You win. No losses."

Cao Wei's head throbbed.

But he could only grit his teeth and obey: "Yes."

Compared to his earlier considerate demeanor, Li Rui now radiated authority.

He crushed Cao Wei's spirit, making him unable to raise his head.

The other soldiers were too far below him to merit pressure—but Cao Wei, as his direct subordinate, had to bear his wrath.

Some high officials seem approachable because the rank gap is so vast, there's no need to lose temper.

Hearing Cao Wei accept the order,

Li Rui nodded in satisfaction, then left the general's mansion without another word.

Not long after,

he arrived at Ning Zhongtian's residence.

"Big Brother, what brings you here?" Seeing Li Rui, Ning Zhongtian hurriedly led him inside.

Li Rui, familiar and at ease, poured himself a cup of tea and grinned: "Little Brother, been getting beaten these past few days?"

Ning Zhongtian chuckled proudly: "That ox from Gu niu Wei? He's no match for me—I crushed him. I heard Lu lost. I'll go reclaim the honor soon."

"Good."

Li Rui took a sip of tea.

He showed none of the sternness he'd displayed at the general's mansion.

After all, Cao Wei was a subordinate; Ning Zhongtian was his brother.

"By the way, how's your cultivation going?"

Ning Zhongtian: "Almost there. At most a year, I'll break through."

"Excellent. I'll find a way then. Best if you take the post of assistant regional commander in Anning Wei—but if not, don't be picky. That's all I can do."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'll follow whatever you say, Big Brother."

!

Ning Zhongtian meant every word.

Without Li Rui's gifts of cultivation, how could he have broken through so fast to become an Ocean-View martial cultivator?

He certainly wouldn't have been promoted the moment he broke through.

This big brother truly helped his brother.

Li Rui: "Just focus on your cultivation. Don't worry about anything else."

The higher one's rank, the more subordinates one must cultivate.

Recruitment is necessary, but one must have a few true confidants. Ning Zhongtian is one. Once he breaks through and commands a guard battalion, Li Rui will have someone to handle his private affairs.

Ning Zhongtian grinned: "Don't worry, Big Brother. If I still don't break through after all you've done for me, I'll just go smash my head against a tofu block."

"That's the spirit. If you really want to smash your head, pick a piece of Xuanjin Iron—real men go for the hard stuff."

「.

«Brother Li, that's not fair—among all the deputy commanders, your mansion is by far the most impressive.

Fu Tao strode into Li's residence with casual ease.

But as he said.

Among the deputy commanders, Li Rui's really was the best.

After all, he's the supervisor of construction.

As Fu Tao stepped inside, he saw another man sitting in the courtyard.

Yuan Xiong.

Yuan Xiong was now also a deputy commander of Annan Town, just like the two of them.

Fu Tao blinked in surprise: «Brother Yuan, aren't you not fond of alcohol?

Yuan Xiong smiled faintly: «I don't drink, but when Brother Li invites me, I can't refuse the face.

Fu Tao sat down with a hearty laugh.

«Only Brother Li has such clout—I've invited you several times, and you never showed up.

As he spoke,

Li Rui walked over with a jug of wine: «I'm just using my age to make Brother Yuan come.

They settled in.

A large bowl of wine was poured with a splash.

Li Rui raised the bowl to offer it to Fu Tao.

Fu Tao reached out to take it.

But Li Rui twisted his wrist, evading Fu Tao's large hand.

Fu Tao smirked.

«Let's see what this old man's hiding.

He could see it clearly.

Li Rui had set up a Hongmen Banquet today—but even knowing it, he still came.

Simply because he was skilled enough to be fearless.

He was a mid-stage Primordial Realm expert—how could he be compared to Li Rui, who had only just entered the Primordial Realm?

Fu Tao unleashed seven-tenths of his strength.

His grip tightened, his speed increased, and his hand blurred as it shot toward the wine bowl in Li Rui's palm.

Li Rui shook his wrist.

The wine bowl flew straight into the air; at the same time, his right hand curled into a fist, Yingxiang Fu Tao's massive hand.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

In an instant,

three muffled thuds.

Their fists and palms clashed—and neither gained the upper hand!

Fu Tao was startled.

«Impressive skill!

He was a warrior by birth, naturally combative—and now his enthusiasm surged.

He'd assumed Li Rui's Primordial foundation was unstable and couldn't withstand three strikes—but not only had he held his ground, he'd done so with elegance.

Roar!

Suddenly, a deep, resonant sound rose like the low call of a great whale in the ocean.

A spectral whale appeared above Fu Tao's palm.

This was his qi form.

Generally, a warrior's qi form is shaped by their environment—those from coastal regions often manifest sea creatures, mountain dwellers often manifest mountain beasts.

Fu Tao came from Jiangnan and had once been a fearsome naval commander.

The whale qi form was not unusual.

Seeing the whale appear, Li Rui showed no sign of retreat.

A flash of emerald light appeared in his palm.

A coiling, soaring divine dragon materialized above his hand.

Another strike!

The two spectral forms collided in midair; invisible ripples spread between them.

Yuan Xiong, who had been sipping tea beside them, grunted.

He shattered and dispersed the ripples into nothingness.

At that moment,

the wine bowl fell back perfectly into Li Rui's palm.

«Brother Fu, have some wine.

Fu Tao did not immediately reach for it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and studied Li Rui for a long moment, then burst into loud laughter.

He seized the bowl with his large hand.

He drank it down in great gulps.

Wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and roared with laughter:

«Brother Li, your wine's quite potent!

(End of Chapter)