Chapter 103

If not out of necessity, who would willingly become a bandit!

Isn't it good to be a carefree, wandering true immortal who roams the blue sea in the morning and the verdant wilderness in the evening?

Alas, the Great Calamity is upon us!

In this day and age, where can one still find tranquil times?

Fengxi's words left Yuchen speechless.

This is an unsolvable problem.

After all, they had just witnessed the tragic downfall of a Great Luo.

A lone cultivator, with no powerful faction to rely on, relying solely on his own efforts, step by step reached the point of proving the Dao as a Great Luo.

—One must know, just how many Great Luos exist in all of Honghuang?

Even if "three thousand Great Luos" is merely a metaphor, the number three thousand is just a rough estimate; in fact there are far more than three thousand……

But, no matter how inflated or exaggerated those numbers are, Honghuang simply cannot muster more than a hundred thousand Great Luos!

Just imagine——

The endless spacetime, the boundless universe, the total number of all living beings across past, present, and future combined amounts to only a pitifully small number of Great Luos……

It goes without saying that those who can attain the Dao are extraordinary geniuses.

It is to stand out among immeasurable beings and ages, endure countless hardships and perils, before one can pluck that highest laurel and become the Heavenly Will!

Take any one of them out, quantify their abilities, and the numbers would be off the charts!

But what was his fate?

After attaining the Dao, he directly sank into immeasurable calamities, and likely has little chance to recover.

Fact shows that ability alone is not enough.

The four words "talent unrecognized" already say it all.

One also needs to be able to talk the talk and find a sufficiently strong backing!

Ability plus backing is what lets one go further.

"Also born at the wrong time." Fengxi smacked his lips, saying to Yuchen, "Had I been born earlier or later, I wouldn't need to lower my originally high moral standards."

"Oh? Please elaborate."

"The times aren't chaotic enough, the Heavenly Will still controls the situation… that's what's frustrating." Fengxi spread his hands, "In a chaotic age heroes arise; when the rigid order is shattered, that becomes the stage where all the talented can let loose and soar."

"No need for flattery; relying on one's own vision and talent, one can carve out a world directly."

"But now… the top Heavenly Wills are locked in struggle without breaking, each patiently trimming the branches, so neither the fisherman profits nor can one remain neutral—otherwise death; there's nothing to be done."

"That's true." Yuchen pondered briefly, then smiled, "Any powerful and stable faction outwardly tends to suppress dissent and eliminate potential rivals; inwardly it pursues stability and seniority, so even with talent one must climb step by step, unlike in a life‑or‑death crisis when one might seek extraordinary measures to survive."

"However, your view is a bit extreme." Yuchen tapped his finger, "You only see the bandits eating meat, not the bandits getting beaten."

"Who can guarantee that one's talent will surely outshine all peers? One might run into bad luck and be killed before even getting a chance to show it… a stable organization, after all, has its benefits: it can establish order and ensure basic safety."

"You're right." Fengxi nodded in agreement, "Comparing the two, each has its pros and cons; it's hard to say which is superior."

"Before one has the power to sway the world, it's merely going with the flow… whatever the era, one does what fits." Fengxi said wistfully, "So my current effort to climb upward isn't wrong… this isn't being a bandit; it's a man of principle who can bend and endure what ordinary people cannot."

"When the witch and demon clans go all‑out at each other, and the Heavenly Wills on both sides are too preoccupied to notice me, I'll then show my true heroic colors!"

He was full of confidence.

"Then I wish you luck." Yuchen rolled his eyes, "Although your luck wants to come true, it's still far off—the real start of the witch‑demon war is still a long way away."

"No worries, no worries… for now I'll just treat it as farming and stockpiling cards." Fengxi said, "Build high walls, stockpile grain… while I'm at Kunlun Mountain, I'll rack up achievements to stockpile cards for a future outbreak."

"Huh? What are you plotting?" Yuchen instantly became wary, "I'm telling you, don't act recklessly… Kunlun Mountain isn't simple these days."

"Great Luos are gathered in droves, and those with great divine abilities number more than ten! The Virtuous Heavenly Lord widely invites like‑minded cultivators, compiles scriptures, and forms an alliance—this place is truly a hidden dragon and crouching tiger!"

"If you're no good and provoke a war between the witch and demon clans, rashly stir up border conflicts—win or lose aside—you'd ruin the ancestral witches' strategic plans and diplomatic achievements… even if you're the trumpet of the Yan Emperor Shennong, it wouldn't help."

"I don't want to see you again one day, only to visit your grave."

"Don't worry, don't worry… how could I be so brainless?" Fengxi blinked, "The first shot will definitely not be fired by me."

"I just have a bold idea I want to test… if it succeeds, my record of merits will surely have a big entry!"

He stroked his chin, seemingly lost in pleasant visions of the future, "If my actions become a template standard… hehe! haha!"

"I'm afraid you'll go all out like a tiger, then look back and see zero wins, five losses…" Yuchen rarely complained, "If you show off to the end and end up getting shown up yourself, that'd be laughable."

"This Kunlun Mountain exchange student program—I am, after all, your superior… you need to have some faith in me." Fengxi rubbed his hands, "If we succeed, we'll all be living high, stand out among the many exchange student groups, and take the top spot."

"Wouldn't it be better to stay steady?" Yuchen sighed.

"I must live up to the heavy responsibility entrusted to me by Ancestor Witch Houtu! Lord Houtu not only gave me authority but also arranged the innate spiritual treasures for me." Fengxi said calmly, "Otherwise, given enough time, someone might say I'm a treacherous petty person, getting this post only by sucking up and flattery—that would be a grave insult to my character."

"……" Yuchen said nothing, just stared at Fengxi.

The meaning in his gaze seemed to be asking—isn't it?

"How could that be?" Fengxi objected, "If I had no contribution and merely relied on flattery to gain Lord Houtu's favor to sit in this position, that would make me a petty person."

"If I had sufficient achievements, things would be different… Lord Houtu has a discerning eye for heroes, and I am that hero."

"According to the latter, it's actually equivalent to taking out a loan—I use my own ability and reputation as collateral to obtain the matching position in advance!" Fengxi declared emphatically, "Once this loan is repaid, I and Lord Houtu will owe nothing to each other—we'll be even."

"No matter how even the reckoning, she's still your superior—you have to do what she tells you to do." Yuchen was speechless, "You ought to be exploited, or else you'll be the one exploiting."

"Could it be that you still want to rebel?"

(End of chapter)