Chapter 203: The Liu Family

"Don't be too pessimistic, and don't be foolishly happy like the Dragon King."

Kongming still couldn't stop thinking, and the direction of his thoughts was slightly different from others'.

First, the reason why the God and Demon Game is called a game by everyone is because it is like, and a game has an important characteristic, which is rules.

Only with rules can it become a game.

Disorder is merely chaos.

On this basis, the God and Demon Game has many "rules" that everyone has slowly explored and speculated.

Some have been overturned, some have been confirmed, and at least they can be considered regularities.

For example, in chess, the horse moves in a "day" pattern, the elephant moves in a "field" pattern—these are rules the pieces must follow, and even more so, rules the players must follow.

If we compare all the movements of gods and demons to chess pieces, the God and Demon Game is the chessboard, and everyone imagines that perhaps there exists a "god or demon" as the player.

Gods and demons certainly have the ability to overturn the chessboard and smash the pieces, but if they want to achieve something through the pieces, they must abide by the rules of the chessboard.

Will the situation of flipping the table and refusing to play happen?

Kongming thinks it's possible—everything is possible.

But the result of flipping the table and refusing to play is different from the result of me winning this game.

Kongming believes that "gods and demons" pursue the latter.

If so, then there's no need to be overly pessimistic—rules are a constraint, and also a protection.

Everyone acting within the rules is a good thing.

Thoughts spreading out, equipment having pits—it could be a pure accident, or a trap set by gods and demons, or perhaps the "tentacles" of people from other worlds.

Many possibilities, many branches—specifically how, without more information, Kongming cannot continue to delve deeper.

Cannot delve deeper, but can expand the "strike surface."

Since equipment might have problems, then what about fate?

Could the fate of fate-holders also have problems?

For the Martial Arts Myth, at first glance, this seems more serious than equipment issues—but not necessarily.

Because long ago, everyone had already considered whether fate has pits, whether it's a double-edged sword, and similar questions.

What kind of fate would affect personality, and finally, "I am no longer myself" type of questions.

In the end, it leads into philosophical thinking—the Ship of Theseus paradox.

Similar worries and doubts, in fact, have long existed in the market among many god and demon wanderers.

The boat is still sailing, the sea wind is still blowing.

Kongming spoke, laying out his various guesses in detail.

"What do you think?" Finally, he concluded with a question.

"I think what you said makes sense." Chijing Daoist is very good at learning.

"Oh." The Dragon King raised his thumb, "Although I don't really understand what you're saying—what boat, what pit—but Old Kong, you're still as impressive as ever."

The summary is "not understanding but feeling impressed."

"Good." Tang Luo smiled and nodded.

"I'll go to your grandpa's!"

Kongming almost flipped the table and walked away—he was wrong, he really was wrong!

Why would he say these things in such a situation, to these three people? It's like playing music to a cow!

"When the enemy comes, we block with soldiers; when water comes, we cover with earth." The Dragon King comforted his old friend.

"We must prepare in advance." Kongming emphasized.

The Dragon King nodded: "I know, but my brain isn't as good as yours—I can't contribute in this area, so preparing in advance should be left to you."

"What if I die!" Kongming snapped.

"If your various worries come true, and you're killed by yin forces." The Dragon King said, "Then my thinking is useless—I can only choose to fight, fight to avenge you if I kill them, fight and die if I don't, and in the next life we'll be good brothers again!"

"Brainless brute." Kongming shook his head, though his voice carried a hint of relief.

This is a kind of trust—unconditional trust in Kongming, coming from his old friend the Dragon King.

Kongming felt somewhat moved in his heart—bullshit!

Clearly, it's a bunch of guys who don't want to think at all, acting like hands-off managers, dumping all the dirty and tiring work on him.

And they even named it: "We believe in you!"

Are you all Liu Shan's fate or what!

"Little Ming, when heaven is about to place a great responsibility on this person..." Oh, and there's also an old senior who is Liu Bei's fate, right!

I have a move called "Summon Wind and Rain"—its effect will be doubled at sea, I'd like to ask everyone to appreciate it.

In the end, Kongming didn't ask everyone to appreciate his Summon Wind and Rain, because everyone had signed contracts, and he suddenly thought of a problem.

That is, Chijing Daoist's contract issue.

The Martial Arts Myth didn't have contracts from the beginning—this was implemented later.

It's like a few people in a dormitory starting a business together—initially a rough-and-ready operation, no distinctions among them, but when the scale expanded, everyone began to emphasize clear accounting among brothers, clear rights and responsibilities.

Profit distribution also needs to be clear.

This isn't regression—it's progress.

The reason the Martial Arts Myth has reached today, becoming a giant beast lurking in the dark, is inseparable from contracts.

Ten years ago, the Martial Arts Myth had no contracts—in other words, Chijing Daoist had signed no contracts.

Now Chijing Daoist has suddenly returned—should he sign a contract?

Sign it— as a true elder, a contract slapped on his face—would he feel it's ugly, leading to bad results?

Not sign, return to the Martial Arts Myth—how would the other members who signed contracts think?

What gives him the right not to sign?

This is quite troublesome; Kongming is thinking again.

So smart people really have it tough—swap in someone like Tang Luo, and they'd just slap the contract on your face and say: "Hey you, got a contract to sign? What? Not signing? Fine, then get lost!"

Kongming glanced at Tang Luo twice, suddenly feeling a bit envious.

Strength means you can do whatever you want, truly.

Kongming naturally saw that Chijing Daoist and Tang Luo, Tang Xuanzhang were interacting as peers.

What does that mean?

It means that even if Kongming kept overestimating Tang Luo's strength, he still underestimated him.

How strong is Chijing Daoist? To be honest, Kongming doesn't know, but he disappeared for ten years, then suddenly reappeared full of vigor—just looking a bit old, a bit weak—this is normal; after every mission, most divine demon wanderers seem hollowed out. No amount of kidney tonic in 180 boxes can fix that.

Being weak and old doesn't mean Chijing Daoist is weak.

A divine demon wanderer who's been badass for decades, one of the founders of the martial arts legend.

Even if he isn't a fate-holder, it still means this person is extremely strong.

If you count all known divine demon wanderers worldwide, include their trump cards and all hidden abilities, Chijing Daoist is still in the top ten, even top five.

This is Kongming's speculation.

So Tang Luo, who interacts as a peer with Chijing Daoist, must necessarily be of this level.

Perhaps there's a bonus from enlightened healing, but that's also part of strength—who says healing power isn't strength?

Ever felt the agony of nearly beating your opponent to death, only to be healed back the next second?

Know the game mechanic where, when fighting bosses in dungeons, excessive healing from the healer draws boss aggro?

Healing is also a form of strength.

Kongming realized: Tang Luo's sudden appearance wasn't just bringing back an ancestor—it elevated him to ancestor status.

Why, why does this carefree, jump-in-first-ask-later type be so strong?

Could it be that the world truly belongs to the reckless?

Kongming knows truth lies within cannon range, but that doesn't mean cannons equal recklessness.

"Old Kong, old Kong." The Dragon King waved his palm-leaf-fan-sized hand before Kongming, "Come back to yourself."

"Oh." Kongming snapped out of it, "Senior, there's something."

"What is it?" Chijing Daoist asked.

"Nowadays, all members of the Martial Arts Legend must sign contracts." Kongming decided to be direct—he was too tired and wanted to rest.

"Contract?" Chijing Daoist frowned, "What contract?"

Kongming explained the contract matter.

Chijing Daoist exclaimed in surprise: "Impressive, you guys actually came up with this—it's a good thing. Back in the day, fighting to the death meant worrying about someone stabbing you in the back; you guys have this down pat."

"... Actually, it's not our merit—the contract was made by Senior Jiang." Kongming said.

"Jiang Shang?" Chijing Daoist widened his eyes.

"...... Yes." Kongming felt something off—why was Chijing Daoist making that face?

Chijing Daoist glanced sympathetically at the three: "Eh, if you wanna eat, go eat; if you wanna do something, go do it—seize the day."

"Senior, you mean—" Kongming laughed through tears.

How could this be the reaction?

"Just say it." Chijing Daoist swept his broad sleeve, "Jiang Shang—that bastard, a corrupt scoundrel. Though he's my friend, I'd rather die than sign his contract."

"Will he harm me?" Tang Luo's eyes turned dangerous.

Can we convert him?

"He probably won't harm you." Chijing Daoist said, "But there's a type of person in the world who makes your teeth itch yet you can't deny they're talented."

"If that person also has a nasty personality and enjoys watching you grudgingly work with them on a grand task—yet everything they make you do makes sense, at least to you. You can't tell which things they're just messing with you for fun and which are genuinely useful."

"Makes you suffer and enjoy it, and you'll want to find them again next time."

"That person is Jiang Shang."

"Sounds like a bad guy! Monk, I'm going to convert him!" Tang Luo slammed the table, righteous and solemn.

Kongming gave Tang Luo a strange look—Master, where do you get the standing to say that?

"Senior doesn't know. Senior Jiang, he..." Kongming paused, "... is no longer the same."

"What happened?" Chijing Daoist raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure either—bottom line, you two are the friends." Kongming said, "Senior's affairs, juniors shouldn't gossip, and besides, I really don't know what Jiang Shang went through."

"Go check it out." Chijing Daoist said, "Monk, don't worry—that kid may annoy you, but he's a qualified companion, a friend."

Showing his trust in Jiang Shang—true fragrance.

"Then let's do this: first send me home. If there's any issue with the contract, you tell me, I'll cancel it." Tang Luo said, "But rest assured, I'm still part of the Martial Arts Legend—I need to do enlightened business." Old friends haven't seen each other in ten years; he doesn't want to disturb them.

Turns out the Martial Arts Legend's biggest use is helping Tang Luo run his enlightened business.