Jian Chen humbly replied, "Although Cangwu has not yet reached the level of a minor grandmaster, if it were a true life-or-death struggle, the two of us would probably perish together."
His swordsmanship has now reached a high level. Thinking back to the time when he fought against Cangwu, Jian Chen was also beaten without any power to fight back.
Little Deer gave a bitter smile. She had already reached the peak of the ninth-level martial artist many years ago, but had not made any further progress.
Of course, she wasn't discouraged. After all, it took Jian Chen more than ten years to become a junior master, not to mention that he had been studying swordsmanship all along.
However, it was only after Jian Chen reached the level of a minor grandmaster that he realized that martial artists rely on strength, while minor grandmasters rely on their artistic conception.
Meanwhile, Cangwu, standing beside Lu Li, looked at Jian Chen with a displeased expression, because he could already sense the aura emanating from Jian Chen.
"Junior Brother Lu, I'm leaving now. I'll return to Ghost Valley tomorrow to visit Master."
After saying this, Jian Chen cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and left.
The huge mansion was now empty except for Lu Li, Cang Wu, and Xiao Lu'er.
"Cangwu!"
The little deer's strange cry startled Cangwu, because whenever the little deer called him like that, it was never a good sign.
"W-what are you doing!" Cangwu replied somewhat fearfully.
"From now on, I want you to practice with me every day. I want to become a junior master too!"
After saying that, Little Deer reached out and pulled Cangwu by the collar, leading him towards the backyard.
"No...no! Brother Lu...Brother Lu, help...help me!"
Cangwu panicked and begged Lu Li for help, but Xiao Lu'er covered his mouth and dragged him away.
Lu Li looked at the two people, one with a congenital intellectual disability and the other with a personality like a child, and shook his head helplessly.
He slowly walked into the inner hall, opened a bamboo scroll, and fell into deep thought.
Now that Ying Zheng has assumed personal rule, the next step is to begin preparations for conquering the six states.
Lu Li only remembered that not long after Ying Zheng assumed power, he began his first battle, destroying the state of Han.
But he couldn't remember the exact time, so he had to hurry up and prepare for the upcoming war.
It is now 238 BC. Ying Zheng has already assumed personal rule and is twenty-two years old. It only took Qin ten years to conquer the six states.
Ying Zheng unified the country at the age of 39, so it can be inferred that there were probably seven or eight years in between before he conquered the six states.
Therefore, Lu Li needs to be well-prepared over these seven or eight years.
Just then, a woman walked in. She was dressed in plain black clothes, had a cold and beautiful face, and her eyes hid a murderous intent, making people feel afraid.
Lu Li looked up at her and gave her a gentle smile.
"Fusheng, you're back."
Lu Fusheng was someone Lu Li picked up from a refugee village years ago. She was only twelve years old then, but she was as thin and small as a six or seven-year-old child.
Now, so many years have passed, and she has grown into a beautiful young woman, though she is somewhat aloof.
She only shows a touch of gentleness when facing Lu Li and her master Jian Chen.
"Brother Lu, the spies we sent to Qi have sent word that Qi seems to be planning something big."
Lu Li nodded upon hearing this. Qi was now the most powerful country besides Qin.
Because of its distance from Qin, Qi grew stronger alongside Qin after Zhang Yi's alliance strategy. It wasn't until the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, when the six states' coalition against Qin failed, that Qi truly understood Qin's power.
After that, he never participated in the alliance against Qin again. People said that the State of Qi feared the State of Qin like a tiger. What were they planning to do this time?
"The envoy from Zhao went to Qi and urged King Jian of Qi to rejoin the coalition and join forces to attack Qin."
Lu Li raised an eyebrow, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"The State of Zhao?"
Since Bai Qi's decisive victory at Changping, the Zhao state has been completely transformed from a powerful nation into a weak one, and now it is only slightly stronger than the Han state.
"Yes, according to our spies, the Mohists have chosen to support the Zhao state!"
Upon hearing the words "Mohist School," Lu Li frowned. This Mohist School was truly like a rock in a latrine—stinky and stubborn!
Fortunately, he built the Black Ice Platform; otherwise, if the State of Zhao had suddenly launched a war in alliance with the other five states, the State of Qin would likely have suffered a great loss.
"What did the Qi Kingdom say?" Lu Li asked.
"King Jian of Qi is hesitant because the six states that formed an alliance to attack Qin in the past all failed, and Qi is somewhat afraid."
Lu Li nodded. The ruler of Qi was more than capable of being a city-defending ruler; otherwise, Qi would not have become the second strongest state after Qin.
However, he lacked the courage to act decisively. The internal strife in Qin had just ended, and it was the perfect time to stabilize public sentiment. Moreover, Li Si had drafted new laws and the prefecture-county system.
The Qin state is about to implement sweeping reforms, but these reforms will have to be put on hold if war breaks out.
Lu Li remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Send a message that I will arrive in Qi soon and have them prepare information on all the officials in Qi."
Lu Fusheng was taken aback at first, then asked in surprise, "Ah? Brother Lu, you're going to the State of Qi?"
“Yes, now that the king wants to reform, it is not advisable to start a war. If we can persuade the State of Qi not to participate in the alliance, then the other five states will probably not dare to start a war easily.”
In earlier years, it was Zhang Yi who persuaded the State of Qi to become an alliance between Qi and Qin, and together with the State of Wei, they became kings.
From then on, the Qin state began to gradually weaken the Wei state and grew stronger step by step.
"Okay, I will inform Chu Jiu as soon as possible."
Lu Li named the eleven children he had taken in years ago, and now Chu Jiu is in charge of the Qi Kingdom.
Lu Fusheng serves as the link between them and Lu Li. All messages first reach Lu Fusheng, who is responsible for filtering out useful and urgent information for Lu Li.
"Fusheng, how is your martial arts now?"
I remember Jian Chen once told him that Lu Fusheng had a very high talent for martial arts, and could be described as a genius that comes along only once in a hundred years. In the end, Jian Chen took Lu Fusheng as his disciple and taught him carefully.
"Peak of the ninth rank..."
Sure enough, she was also stuck at the peak of the ninth rank. It's true that breaking through to the junior grandmaster level is not easy.
But Lu Fusheng is young; she's only 23 years old. Jian Chen once said that with her talent, she would definitely be able to break through to the level of a minor grandmaster before she turns thirty.
However, he has been burdened by Lu Li's Black Ice Platform all these years and has never been able to properly study martial arts.
"From now on, you won't be in charge of the Black Ice Platform anymore..."
Before Lu Li could finish speaking, Fu Sheng anxiously asked, "Brother Lu, did I...did I do something wrong?"
"Huh? No."
"So...it means you don't trust me?"
Lu Li immediately gave a wry smile; this little girl was far too sensitive.
"What are you saying? I think that with such high martial arts talent, if you are still burdened by the Black Ice Platform, you may never be able to break through to the level of a minor grandmaster in this lifetime."
"I want you to properly study martial arts!"
Lu Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief, then said somewhat awkwardly, "Brother Lu, I don't care whether I can reach the level of a minor grandmaster or not, I just want to be able to help you."
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