“Strike One Blow to Keep a Hundred Away”

Like a spreading virus, the news swept across Jiangbei and Jiangnan via voice transmission talismans as night fell. Night fell. The rainy season had ended. The incessant, depressing drizzle was finally gone, and the last traces of rain bearing a corrosive stench completely vanished into the inky sky. All of Nameless Mountain gave off a crisp, clean scent. It was as though it had just undergone a baptism. The pitter-patter of rain was finally absent from the ears, replaced by the faint sounds of birds calling and insects chirping. Chen Fan sat alone in a chair atop the wall, toying with the jade slip left behind by Medicine King Valley before their departure, his gaze fixed on the weathered canyon walls outside the cave. Dazing off. This world offered little entertainment, yet he seemed to have grown fond of spacing out like this—idly sitting within his own territory, a domain where he held absolute control and safety, living in peace of mind. This was quite nice. Only... Someone was unwilling to let him enjoy such comfort. Just then— "Young Master." Sick Monkey walked up onto the wall, draping a coat over Chen Fan's shoulders, and said softly, "Are you still dwelling on what happened today? The Dan Sect truly crossed the line. No one can blame you for being so angry today, Young Master." "..." Chen Fan was taken aback for a moment before he chuckled and shook his head. "Angry? What reason do I have to be angry? Honestly, I didn't feel much anger at all. He was merely an arrogant fool relying on his sect's backing. The world is full of all kinds of people, so naturally there is no shortage of his sort. "Still, how should I put it? In many cases, when others expect you to be furious, you need to display an appropriate amount of fury. "Otherwise, people will take it as weakness. "And that would mean running into far more trouble whenever you try to get things done later on." "Is that how it works?" Quehou had never expected such an answer from his young master. After pondering for a moment, he said hesitantly, "Back when we were at the Jiangbei Chen family, the others in the private school always mocked me for being a sick invalid. Back then, I didn't really feel much anger either, because I truly was sickly. "But if I had rushed forward to fight with everything I had the very first time someone insulted me... "Would fewer people have bullied me?" "Exactly." Chen Fan slung an arm around Sick Monkey's shoulder and said with feeling, "Even if you can't beat them, it doesn't matter. Even if they knock out a mouth full of your teeth, as long as you gouge out one of their eyes, no one will dare bully you ever again. "This is called striking one blow to keep a hundred away. "Whenever you enter a new circle... "If someone is the first to jump out and bully you... "Remember: "No matter the cost, you must gouge out one of their eyes. Otherwise, you'll be bullied forever. "What you consider gentility will look like weakness in the eyes of others. "You have to go mad first. Only when you show gentility after being mad will others believe it to be true grace." "But..." Sick Monkey hesitated. "What if I'm truly not strong enough to gouge out their eye, and can only scrape their skin? Should I still fight?" "Fight. So long as you can ensure you won't be beaten to death, you must fight." "A scrape is so minor. Will others still fear me?" "No, but they won't dare bully you too much either. Because even if it's only a minor scrape, no one wants to get their skin torn open for no reason." "I understand!" Hou suddenly had a flash of realization. "So according to your plan, Young Master, going to the Dan Sect tomorrow is actually just to scrape off a layer of their skin? You don't actually intend to wipe them out?" "..." Chen Fan looked at Quehou and sighed helplessly. "We aren't quite that weak. "I read through the jade slip left by the young master of Medicine King Valley. It contains general intelligence on most factions in Jiangnan, excluding Medicine King Valley itself. "The defenses of the Dan Sect's headquarters are not particularly strong—they can't even compare to the Gongyang clan's. "A huge portion of the Dan Sect's foundation comes from their network of connections. Many factions are kept in check by their control over medicinal pills and dare not make enemies of them. Under pressure from the Dan Sect, those factions would naturally play petty tricks against us. "For example— "Once the rainy season in Jiangnan ends and our chamber of commerce prepares to travel there for trade, this faction might stop us today claiming their outpost is under repair and closed to visitors, while that faction might bar our way tomorrow claiming passage is forbidden, and all sorts of other petty nuisances. "Though the impact is minor, it is thoroughly disgusting. "Or, for another example: "The Dan Sect's most famous pill is the Cultivation Pill, which rapidly elevates cultivation. Consequently, the Dan Sect possesses the greatest number of high-level cultivators, and they are exceptionally adept at assassination. "Someone might pop up to assassinate me tomorrow, and another might try the day after. "It would be a massive headache. "The Dan Sect's greatest pillars are only two things: connections and assassination. What we need to do is strike preemptively before they have the chance to bring either of those pillars into play. "As long as we move fast enough that they can't react, then once stripped of those two pillars, how much stronger could the Dan Sect be compared to the Jiangbei Chen family? "Just you watch." Chen Fan leaned back against his chair, gazing into the darkness shrouding the top of the sinkhole, and murmured, "Right now, the outside world is abuzz with discussion about this matter, precisely at this juncture where Jiangbei's rainy season has concluded and Jiangnan's is about to begin. "Everyone is undoubtedly guessing how the Dan Sect will deal with us once Jiangnan's rainy season ends. "The Dan Sect is also itching to use this to flex their muscles to the outside world, once again cementing their status in Jiangnan. "What we must do... "Is strike first. "Dead men's connections are no connections at all." Chen Fan fell silent, merely leaning back in his chair in contemplation. If this matter was not handled properly, his path forward would be far more difficult. Fan Domain wanted a seat at the table. Under these circumstances, he had deliberately cultivated an image of youthful impulsiveness before the outside world. Executing the Dan Sect's young master that day and marching upon the Dan Sect the very next day fit this persona to perfection. There was no helping it. His foundation was shallow. If one faction came to provoke him today and another tomorrow, his resources would soon be exhausted. But if he established the reputation of a lunatic who would march on someone's doorstep willing to take mutual destruction over being provoked, far fewer people would dare cross him. Just as an activated Nightwatcher was infinitely more intimidating than an inactive one. This battle had to be fought. Moreover, it had to be won decisively, striking fear of Fan Domain into their hearts. After a long while... He said softly, "Tell everyone to take inventory of our resources tonight, then get to sleep early." "Yes." "..." The dead of night was silent. Sick Monkey and the others had all gone to sleep. Only Wang Kui was still busy in the warehouse, conducting the final count. Chen Fan looked at the long sword in his hand. The ghost king's attack had dropped a great deal of ghost stones and exotic treasures. Yet the most precious of these exotic treasures... Were the three dropped by the ghost king in his hands, along with the remaining seven he had sorted out. [Exotic Treasure Name]: Ghost Eye. [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Green. [Exotic Treasure Effect]: An essential upgrade material to elevate an arrow tower to a Level 6 cannon tower. Holding this exotic treasure grants ten meters of visibility in the darkness after the descent of Eternal Night. Currently, the camp's strongest cannon towers were Level 5. The two Level 6 cannon towers had both been utterly demolished by the ghost king, one of which had been a Level 6 Ghost Eye Cannon Tower with a 'rare qualitative change upgrade branch.' It was truly a pity. Fortunately... Seven Ghost Eyes had dropped, allowing seven more Level 6 cannon towers to be crafted. He planned to install all of them onto the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. This would cause some waste. However, the actual situation was not as rosy as he had painted it to Hou. How could a massive faction that had developed for so long possess no hidden trump cards? To be safe, he intended to bring his entire fortune with him this time. Once the trade route was established... After Jiangnan's rainy season ended, relying on his ability to directly view stat panels, he would be able to steadily purchase large quantities of Ghost Eyes or materials capable of upgrading towers to Level 6. The remaining three exotic treasures had all dropped from the ghost king. [Exotic Treasure Name]: Port. [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Green. [Exotic Treasure Effect]: Building blueprint. Can be used to construct a port by the sea to accommodate passing ships. This was of no use for now. Yet it could prove useful in the future. Perhaps they could trade with factions across the sea. So far, he had not seen any faction possessing a ship. That was assuming there were factions across the sea. However, he was not yet clear on how ships dealt with the darkness; taking a boat out sounded like serving a buffet to whatever ghost creatures lurked in the waters. [Exotic Treasure Name]: Heaven-Deriving Sand Table. [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Green. [Exotic Treasure Effect]: Can consume multiple ghost-skin maps to acquire all the effects they ought to possess, display in real time the life-and-death status of disciples holding faction command tokens, and interface with other structures. This was a large-scale map. A large-scale map of a higher tier than ghost-skin maps. A ghost-skin map of Jiangbei lost its effect once taken into Jiangnan territory, becoming cloaked in hazy fog, and the same applied to a Jiangnan map taken into Jiangbei. While residing in Jiangnan, one could not view changes on a Jiangbei ghost-skin map. Yet with this Heaven-Deriving Sand Table, while holding down the fort in Jiangbei, he could monitor the Jiangnan ghost-skin map in real time. Quite a fine exotic treasure. Beyond that, the Shadow-Projecting Formation could also interface with the Heaven-Deriving Sand Table. This meant he would no longer need to rely on the Eternal Night Lord panel deep within his soul to check on creatures entering the range of his Shadow-Projecting Formation. The imagery from the Shadow-Projecting Formation would appear directly on the Heaven-Deriving Sand Table. He would not have to keep constant watch on the Eternal Night Lord panel. "..." He looked down at the miniature sand table in his hands. He could vaguely discern several white dots—the range of the Shadow-Projecting Formation. The sand table could expand or shrink at will. As long as enough Shadow-Projecting Formations were erected and one person was assigned to monitor the sand table at all times, it would be virtually impossible for assassins to infiltrate his territory. This was a major undertaking. During the rainy season, the camp had primarily focused on defensive fortifications, with virtually zero civilian infrastructure. Once this matter was settled, he would need to recruit a batch of workers to build up his rear base. There would be plenty to do moving forward. However... Whether the Dan Sect fell would dictate whether he could pursue these endeavors in peace. The final exotic treasure was: [Exotic Treasure Name]: Star Observation Terrace. [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Yellow. [Exotic Treasure Effect]: Wonder building blueprint. Must be constructed at a high vantage point. Can observe ghost tide movements across a vast expanse. Requires slaying a ghost king within the faction's territory to satisfy construction requirements. This was the first wonder building he had ever acquired. It was also the first time he had learned that such things as wonder buildings even existed. Just then— Wang Kui emerged from the warehouse and looked up toward Chen Fan seated on the wall. "Domain Lord, the resources have all been cataloged." Inside Warehouse No. 1. Wang Kui held bamboo slips brought from the Archives Chamber and reported: "A total of seventeen factions came to offer congratulations, essentially all prominent, major factions." "Mm." Chen Fan nodded slightly. This was only normal. Outposts across the wilderness had not yet been rebuilt; without sufficient strength, no faction could make a round trip within a single day. One needed Skeleton Horses for that. "The ghost stones total 92,700. Adding what we obtained from slaying the ghost king and other sources, the camp's current total ghost stone count stands at 112,300. "Among them, the faction that gifted the most ghost stones was Medicine King Valley, presenting ten thousand ghost stones. "Ranking second was the Qiuhe Wang family, with 9,832 ghost stones. "Ranking third was..." "Tell me the least." "The least was the Jiangbei Chamber of Commerce, who gifted three thousand ghost stones and nothing else." "Phew..." Chen Fan exhaled softly, his expression calm and silent. That was quite a substantial haul. What surprised him somewhat, however, was the Qiuhe Wang family. "The Qiuhe Wang family gifted 9,832 ghost stones?" "Yes, and more than that. Aside from ghost stones, they also delivered seventeen unopened white exotic treasures, eleven opened white exotic treasures, two unopened green exotic treasures, one opened green exotic treasure, and two building blueprints. All have been placed into the warehouse." "..." Chen Fan paused for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "So decisive?" He had seen plenty of people severing their tails to survive. His own departure from the old camp had been severing a tail to survive. Yet this was the first time he had seen someone cut things so clean. This was essentially the entirety of the Qiuhe Wang family's fortune. To put it bluntly, Patriarch Wang's wives, children, and kin would instantly tumble from a life of wealth down to commoner status. From another perspective, it also demonstrated the weight of Patriarch Wang's word within his clan. "Bring out those exotic treasures and let me take a look." Aside from the Qiuhe Wang family, the exotic treasures gifted by the other factions were basically all unopened. Although the value of an unopened exotic treasure was difficult to assess, one could still glean clues from its exterior. According to the unspoken rules of the martial world, their value ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Blueprint > Command Token > Formation Plate > Weapon > Seed > Other. Even before a blueprint was unsealed, one knew it was almost certainly a building blueprint, undoubtedly of immense value. Command token exotic treasures also tended to produce fine items according to historical patterns, such as the Clear Breeze Array installed within the ghost fire. Seed exotic treasures were very easy to identify—a cluster of seeds wrapped in a thin membrane. In all likelihood, they wouldn't yield anything extraordinary. As for the 'other' category... This was the hardest type to evaluate. Some resembled towers, others looked like fans, coming in all manner of bizarre shapes. Ninety-nine percent of them were trash, while the remaining tenth of a percent yielded incredible prizes. This was also the best-selling category in the marketplaces. Many rogue cultivators were willing to take the gamble. If they struck it lucky, a bicycle would turn into a motorcycle. Some factions had included exotic treasures alongside their ghost stones, but whether by coincidence or prior arrangement, every single one had sent seed-type treasures. He checked their stat panels one by one; none were particularly outstanding. It was inherently difficult for seed-type exotic treasures to be exceptional. Furthermore, based on the color and the variety of seeds, one could roughly deduce what kind of seed-type treasure it was. What these people had given him were merely ordinary seed treasures that had been carefully chosen.