Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1643 - 1636: Speak from Personal Experience

Chapter 1643: Chapter 1636: Speak from Personal Experience

"Why are you fretting over something like this? Are you worried the boss might charm her?" Hu Daoke couldn’t help but tease.

"Stop spouting nonsense," Cheng Ziang shot him a glare, replying, "I’m concerned she might harm the saint. Don’t forget, she’s a master of the Fog Concealment Skill. If she really intends harm, we’d never see it coming."

"But don’t we have a Nascent Soul? Isn’t the Nascent Soul Realm supposed to counter the Fog Concealment Skill?" Hu Daoke spread his hands as he asked.

"Xiao Fula mentioned her method for breaking the Fog Concealment Skill is straightforward—just keep your eyes fixed on her. Brutal, but simple. However, there’s a prerequisite: she must first locate Hun Jiansi’s whereabouts before she can pursue her. In other words, if no one can identify Hun Jiansi, then not even the Demigods can do anything, unless you deem every stranger around you suspect to be Hun Jiansi." Cheng Ziang shrugged as he spoke.

"Didn’t you meet her before?" Hu Daoke continued asking.

"Why do you think it’s called the Fog Concealment Skill? Even if you’ve met her, you can barely recognize her movements," Cheng Ziang replied helplessly.

"Will she listen to you?" Tangmo suddenly asked an unrelated question.

"Uh, probably..." Cheng Ziang scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Because of your charm?" Baiyue asked, following up.

"Perhaps..."

"It’s just because he’s handsome, so Hun Jiansi became his little fangirl!" Hu Daoke remarked enviously.

"Knock it off. That’s not it." Cheng Ziang glared at him as he replied.

Of course, Cheng Ziang knew why Hun Jiansi admired him.

To be sure, his good looks played a part. But more importantly, after Liseya’s countless brainwashing attempts, Hun Jiansi’s image was firmly etched into his mind, enabling him to effortlessly see through her Fog Concealment Skill and capture her true form.

Hun Jiansi’s rise was because of her Fog Concealment Skill, but her downfall came from it as well. Though the skill granted her immense advantages—ascending to the ranks of one of the eight eccentrics of the Heterogeneous Hall at a young age—

It also brought her a severe drawback: her sense of presence was reduced to the bare minimum. Sometimes, even without deliberately using the skill, no one noticed her.

It seemed like an ironic punishment; even in a crowd, Hun Jiansi possessed no presence whatsoever—like she was utterly invisible.

If she were someone with social anxiety, such a situation would undoubtedly be ideal for her. But Hun Jiansi happened to be a girl who loved to laugh and chatter. Being overlooked by others didn’t feel like bliss to her at all—on the contrary, it felt like torment, a form of punishment.

And precisely because of this, she valued Cheng Ziang immensely for being able to find her each time. If Cheng Ziang forgot about her again, she would once more become a "person of air."

Perhaps it was for this reason that Hun Jiansi cherished Cheng Ziang greatly, to the point she was willing to listen to some of his suggestions.

While the group was chatting, below the city walls, Huayu Ting was coaching Feng, helping her absorb the combat lessons of the day.

"Did you see?" Huayu Ting asked.

"I saw." Feng nodded earnestly.

"What did you see?"

"Go all out, and spare no means!"

"Haha," Huayu Ting chuckled lightly at this, then spoke with seriousness, "Remember, if there are outsiders watching, don’t go overboard. If there’s no one around, let your methods get dirty. Or, just deal with the outsiders too."

"Understood!" Feng nodded solemnly.

"The ultimate goal of cultivation is to achieve absolute power, defeat the enemies you need to defeat, and protect the people you need to protect. Therefore, as long as power can be attained and enemies can be defeated, any method is acceptable—there’s no limit. That’s the law of the martial world," Huayu Ting instructed.

"Got it..." Feng nodded but seemed a bit hesitant this time.

In her years with the Advance Team, especially after a period of learning on Earth, Feng had developed her own understanding of people, society, and power.

Although she also respected the philosophy of might makes right, the Confucian ideals she had absorbed impressed upon her that the ultimate goal of wielding absolute power is to stabilize order and promote fairness.

If that goal cannot be achieved, it’s merely selfishness or arrogance.

During her first encounter with Luo’er’s group, Feng had been ruthless and cold-hearted.

But as time passed, and with Luo’er’s tireless guidance, Feng began to alter her stance. Now, no matter what decision she made, she sought the team’s counsel first before acting. This might be cumbersome, but at least it didn’t lead to regrets.

When close to virtuous company, one becomes virtuous; near those with vices, one absorbs those vices. Luo’er, with his refined elegance, was like a gentlemanly jade; people interacting with him were often softened, becoming more tempered. Cheng Ziang was one example, Hu Daoke was another—two young women were similarly affected, and even Fulajie’er underwent a transformation, so it was inevitable that Feng, whose worldview hadn’t yet solidified, would follow suit.

"What are you thinking about?" Noticing her hesitation, Huayu Ting couldn’t resist asking.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. I understand now. Thank you, Master." Feng shook her head, dispelling her gloomy thoughts.

"I’m not your master, and you don’t owe me thanks."

Huayu Ting waved his hand but couldn’t help letting his gaze linger on the two long blades Feng carried. Those blades had allowed her to slay adversaries and break through defenses, leaving a lasting impression on him. Accustomed to relying on his fists and feet, he found himself inexplicably drawn to swords and blades now.

Feng’s twin blades were remarkably exquisite and carried an air of resilience in their design. Particularly striking was the one with a porcelain-blue floral pattern—it was exceptionally eye-catching.

Previously, Huayu Ting had been indifferent to weapons due to his reliance on unarmed combat. But once he focused on her blades, he discovered he felt an inexplicable sense of allure toward them.

Of course, outright asking to have them was something Huayu Ting couldn’t bring himself to do. While he didn’t care much about personal dignity when dealing with enemies, he valued decorum around acquaintances and friends, especially those who were guests.

"It’s good for you to carry weapons. Remember, unless you reach my level, never engage an enemy unarmed unless absolutely necessary. You never know when someone might strike your acupoints. Most people know how to do this—it’s not something to underestimate."

After coughing lightly, Huayu Ting turned away, speaking with focused intent.

He had the confidence to make such a claim because he mastered the methods of fighting cultivators unarmed, enabling him to achieve impressive results.

Though Feng had trained in swordsmanship since childhood, her cultivation level was still at the beginner stage, making her susceptible to being outmaneuvered. In such situations, avoiding unarmed combat was undoubtedly her best option.

Feng had a deeply ingrained lesson in this regard—the memory of her time in Meila Village. There, an eccentric East Continent traveler approached her unarmed, exploiting her complacency to seal her primary acupuncture points, leaving Luo’er scrambling to find ways to cure her. In the end, it was Xia Yue who forcefully reopened them.

From that perspective, Flow Redirect was certainly an efficient and cost-effective technique.

Thus, the crisis involving the Huayu Family was resolved with the complete retreat of the Wuting Clan. As the young Patriarch, Huayu Ting displayed the poise and competence befitting his role, earning widespread admiration while dispelling doubts from some skeptics.

But Huayu Ting didn’t come out entirely unscathed. This event signified the Huayu Family’s formal alignment with the Wen Family. While it didn’t mean the Huayu Family had officially joined the Wen Family, it guaranteed the Wu Family wouldn’t show them any mercy anymore.

With only nine states in Kyushu, the Wen Family had openly declared allegiance to surrounding Zhili and Shengyuan Prefecture. Meanwhile, the major families in other states mostly remained neutral.

Under the Wen Family’s Cabinet reforms over the last hundred to two hundred years, the Dongsheng Dynasty had become increasingly focused on civil over martial pursuits. Cultivation was no longer the sole avenue for advancement—studying and entering civil service were equally viable paths to success.

The Cabinet government resolutely implemented the Rotation Officials System, akin to Otherworld’s practice of turning local autonomous governance into centralized management under the Cabinet’s oversight through civil officials.

Though this system had been in place for over a century, resistance across various states and counties remained formidable.

Civil officials were staunch advocates of the Wen Family, but the Wu Family showed no restraint toward these powerless civil servants. Violent clashes were commonplace, and oftentimes, the influence of local leaders outweighed that of local officials.