Bitter Realm: Have the Four Realms been united today?

Chapter 37 Promises, Jokes

"No!" Jing Yunfeng knew what Xuanming was thinking, which was why he couldn't help but show him sympathy.

"With Mr. Yue's abilities, surely he can train a few capable assistants!"

Xuanming originally thought that when Yue Tianji said yesterday that only two people were handling government affairs, he did not include other people in lower positions.

I didn't expect there were really only two people. This imbalance in their studies is just too exaggerated!

How do these two people train their bodies?

How come you weren't exhausted?

"It's not that the strategist is unwilling to teach, but that everyone is unwilling to learn this skill and wastes their time."

"How is this a waste..." Xuanming subconsciously retorted, but he realized his mistake halfway through his sentence and immediately changed the subject, asking:

"Since Brother Jing and the others all believe that learning martial arts is worse than learning literature, then why do they have such high regard for Mr. Yue?"

Perhaps because Xuanming had agreed to stay and had become one of their own, Jing Yunfeng spoke with less restraint.

"Before we met the strategist, we thought studying literature was useless."

"Our strategist is unparalleled in his planning and has never missed a single move. He has conquered cities and territories many times without lifting a finger, but we still feel that studying literature is useless to us."

Xuanming noticed the difference in the two instances of Jing Yunfeng mentioning "useless" and seemed to be deep in thought.

Ignoring Xuanming, Jing Yunfeng continued, "The strategist has proven to us that studying literature is useful, even more so than studying martial arts."

"However, the strategist is exceptionally talented."

"Due to poor physical constitution in his early years, he did not achieve good results in martial arts, so he turned to literature."

"He defeated all the wise men of the Shenyu region in just ten years, and the world praised him as the one who could see the sky with a single glance."

"How many people in this world are like the strategist?"

"We are of mediocre talent, and studying both literature and martial arts would only be a waste of our energy, far inferior to those who specialize in one."

"If one abandons martial arts and only studies literature, one will not even reach one-thousandth of the strategist's level, and will be unable to protect oneself at all."

"Therefore, giving up studying literature is our only option. As long as we have enough strength, we can overcome any schemes."

"I see!"

Xuanming finally understood why everyone in the Shenyu region valued martial arts over literature.

It wasn't that they were foolish or lacked foresight, but rather that the chaotic environment of war left them with no other choice.

It's like a point-adding game.

You have a limited number of talent points, so adding points to your weapon directly increases your combat power at a 1:1 ratio.

Gavin indirectly increases combat power, but the proportion varies.

For example, before breaking through 30, the ratio is 10 to 5. It will become 1 to 1 after increasing to 60, and 10 to 15 or higher when it reaches 90 or higher.

In short, the returns are high in the later stages, but an initial investment is required.

If Gavin doesn't have enough talent points, he's just asking for trouble and wasting his time.

Anyone can understand this calculation, and anyone would make this choice.

But while he could understand, this fact was absolutely terrible for Xuanming.

"How can I investigate clues about the artifact if I get bogged down in these trivial matters!"

Xuanming couldn't help but sigh. Nothing had gone smoothly for him these past few days; it was all bad news.

"It's all that dirty thing's fault! It must be because of it that I'm so unlucky!"

Seeing that Xuanming looked unwell, Jing Yunfeng realized that his words had frightened the boy and quickly tried to persuade him.

"Young master is valued by the strategist, so his talent must be extraordinary. He will not have to exert much effort to handle these matters."

"Although the strategist was also impatient with these matters, he had long wanted to get rid of them."

"But after all, the young master has only recently joined the strategist's school, and the strategist won't immediately become a hands-off manager."

"Perhaps one day, the strategist will encounter another young talent as gifted as you, young master."

"Now that you have a junior brother, you can escape just like Ce Shu did."

With each word Jing Yunfeng spoke, Xuanming's expression grew increasingly grim.

After saying just a few words, Xuanming's face was filled with despair, and he wished he could turn around and run away.

Forget about gathering intelligence and using others to seize the artifact!

Seeing that Jing Yunfeng was about to persuade him again, Xuanming hurriedly stopped him.

"Stop, Brother Jing, I understand what you mean. Tell me about Mr. Yue instead!"

Seeing that Xuanming's expression was getting increasingly grim, Jing Yunfeng knew he had said the wrong thing and dared not say anything more.

If Xuanming really runs away because of him, Yue Tianji won't punish him severely, but Muyun Zhishu will definitely skin him alive.

"Master Strategist is proficient in magic and formations, but his cultivation is insufficient, and some powerful formations require the cooperation of others to be cast..."

This time, Jing Yunfeng didn't take a detour. Fifteen minutes later, the two stood outside the study door again.

Xuanming closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. When he opened his eyes again, his demeanor was even more sharp than before.

Jing Yunfeng was also taken aback by Xuanming's sudden change.

He could vaguely see a hint of the celestial being's aura in Xuanming at this moment.

Xuanming raised his hand and knocked on the door. After receiving permission, he pushed the door open and entered. Jing Yunfeng closed the door and disappeared back into the shadows.

"Sir!" Xuanming bowed, but his expression and tone no longer showed the unease and fear he had shown before. Instead, he appeared calm and composed.

"Hmm," Yue Tianji said as he wrote, "No need for formalities!"

"Yes!" Seeing that Yue Tianji was still busy, Xuanming did not disturb him and walked to the desk from yesterday.

Everything above is still the same as yesterday: the unfolded bamboo slips, the fallen brush, and the Xuan paper with illegible characters.

Xuanming tidied up the table briefly, then put away the bamboo slips and reopened the cultivation manual to read it.

After finishing his official duties, Yue Tianji slowly walked behind Xuanming and uttered two words.

"Take off your clothes!"

Xuanming was taken aback. After careful consideration, he realized that Yue Tianji wanted to see the effect of the wound medicine on him.

He loosened his belt, turned slightly to the side, and let the clothes on his right shoulder slide down, revealing the wound.

The scabs on both sides of the wound have fallen off, and if it weren't for the fact that the skin hadn't yet returned to its fair color, it would look as if there hadn't been an injury at all.

However, the healing of the middle part of the wound was not as good as that of the two sides.

Yue Tianji frowned and asked, "Did you aggravate your wound after returning to your room yesterday?"

"Hmm! I accidentally pressed on it while sleeping, it's nothing serious." He was preoccupied with that demon yesterday and didn't have the energy to pay attention to the wound on his shoulder.

"Xuanming, there's no need to deliberately cater to my preferences."

"I...I'm sorry."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuanming's sharp aura vanished instantly.

He knew that Yue Tianji disliked his self-deprecation, so he tried his best to remain calm and composed, thinking about what Yue Tianji would say and do if it were him.

"Sir, I didn't mean to imitate you, I just..."

"I understand. In my presence, in this study, I will not blame you."

"This is my promise; you don't need to feel obligated."

"I understand. Does what you said yesterday still stand, sir?"

"I was too tired yesterday, did I say anything?" Yue Tianji rubbed his forehead, pretending not to remember.