Chapter 130: White Cloud Method

Inside the Alloy Carriage, Chen Xiyi frequently glanced at the Game Map and Game Log to make sure his good brother and friend wouldn’t die for any reason.

Luckily, he had a habit of digging Shelters everywhere. Through the Home Protector’s teleportation, he went directly from the Shu King Palace back to the lakeside where he had been fishing earlier, then drove the carriage at full speed.

At this point, he couldn’t worry too much. Whether he was exposed or not didn’t matter anymore—this was his good brother. If anything bad happened, who would send him these things in the future?

Sending both a Fairy and an inheritance—though there was a long time between them—was like getting gifts without lifting a finger for Chen Xiyi, who had no time to collect them himself.

During this time, Chen Xiyi also mailed several dozen servings of food over and told Li Zhao to hide well.

He didn’t say he was coming. Under normal circumstances, Li Zhao would surely stop him. And as for surprises, they had to be unexpected to work.

“Moyan’s three abilities are all quite good, especially the Qi Connecting with Senses. If Qi Sensitivity was what allowed my five senses to detect the Qi Mechanism, Tongmu allowed me to see the invisible Qi Mechanism, and Zhangliu allowed me to hear the otherwise non-existent sound of its flow, then Moyan allowed me to touch the intangible Qi Mechanism.”

Chen Xiyi pinched a strand of wind energy between his fingers, which seemed to challenge normal logic.

Among the Five Sense Organs bonds, Tongmu was the eyes, Zhangliu was the ears, and Moyan was the tongue.

But in the Five Senses bonds, sight was Tongmu, hearing was Zhangliu, and touch was Moyan. That was why Moyan’s Qi Connecting with Senses allowed Chen Xiyi to make contact with the intangible Qi Mechanism.

As for the remaining taste and intellect, they probably would grant him corresponding amazing abilities as well.

The only thing that puzzled Chen Xiyi was why a book became touch. Normally, shouldn’t a book correspond to intellect?

As for the tongue, one could stretch it a bit by saying scholars rely on their mouths—it could be the tongue among the Five Sense Organs, or it could be the mouth.

As for the Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting bond, it seemed quite odd to Chen Xiyi—what did the Six Arts have to do with Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting?

More importantly, this ability didn’t seem to give Chen Xiyi any boosts at all.

And the explanation wasn’t concise like the “Domination” ability.

After studying it for a long while inside the Alloy Carriage, he found he had very little idea about it.

Of course, he knew what the Six Arts were.

“Wait, something’s different.”

Chen Xiyi suddenly realized something: today, while driving the Alloy Carriage, he felt unusually smooth—and it was instinctive. If he paid close attention, he felt something unnatural, as if the carriage shouldn’t be driven this way.

When he drove according to his feeling, the carriage seemed to go faster.

[Speed: 110 (Six Arts: +10%)]

Chen Xiyi observed the Alloy Carriage and confirmed it wasn’t an illusion. The “Driving” aspect of the Six Arts ability was actually able to break through the Home Game’s limits, increasing his carriage’s speed by a full 10%.

And the more important thing was that this happened without Chen Xiyi having any systematic learning.

“This really is a top-tier bond brought by a Fairy.”

Chen Xiyi realized that the Six Arts wasn’t just one ability—it was six abilities.

Rites meant etiquette, but it was more than that; it even included various calendars and rituals. It was equivalent to this ability activating when Chen Xiyi set up a Formation Array.

Music meant dance and music, but not just that—it also included physical fitness, agility, and other abilities. It could even work with Rites; after all, without a good body, how could one sustain an entire dance and music performance?

Archery meant shooting arrows, but it also included combat enhancements. Chen Xiyi suspected that if he encountered an attack now, he would instinctively counter.

Driving referred to handling carriages and such, but Chen Xiyi suspected it could enhance any vehicle or mount, and it seemed to come with beast-taming abilities as well.

Calligraphy, needless to say, was about writing. Just by practicing his handwriting, his ugly writing could disappear, and it could be used for drawing talismans, setting up arrays, and even carving.

The last one, Mathematics, was probably the main event. Mathematics, also known as calculations and arts, and the Qi Refiner’s ability was called the Art of I Ching Divination.

This made Chen Xiyi’s logic even stronger. There weren’t any signs yet, but he guessed it would show up during research.

This was basically a six-in-one super package.

Moreover, with the Driving ability, Chen Xiyi found he now had some ability to judge the road outside, not completely in the dark like before.

However, the Six Arts abilities were still in their early stages. To bring out their full potential, Chen Xiyi had to learn the related knowledge, and the Six Arts could speed up his practical application, turning it into strength and experience.

Otherwise, without related knowledge and relying only on instinct, it would be a complete waste—like having a treasure mountain but not knowing it.

“Sigh, the burden of learning just got heavier. Why couldn’t it just give me the Six Arts abilities directly?”

Chen Xiyi couldn’t help but sigh.

“But it’s fine. Li Zhao started a chamber of commerce, right? I’ll just spend some money and have him buy the related books for me. It’s not a big deal.”

Regarding this, Chen Xiyi decided to make full use of his advantages instead of slowly buying the books himself.

Li Zhao’s chamber of commerce must be quite large; otherwise, how could he have poached a bank manager to be vice president?

From afar, Chen Xiyi heard the roar of cannons, thanks to the hearing boost provided by Zhangliu—otherwise, he wouldn’t have heard it.

This also meant Chen Xiyi was getting close to Li Zhao.

“They’re already using cannons? Could the final assault have started already? They were supposed to hold out for two days, and they haven’t even lasted one.”

Being besieged for three months clearly meant they were negotiating terms, but managing to drag it out for three months was impressive.

Besieging without attacking—if they were out of ammunition and food now, they could break the city with very low cost.

As for reinforcements, honestly, these warlords would call themselves “Great Commander” just by occupying a small town or village; it was possible this was their only territory.

Chen Xiyi’s gaze fell on the Game Map.

“So many people. In that case, the White Cloud Method I set aside earlier can be tested further. Good thing I already whitened it—no one would ever think it looked like a great demon’s technique.”

Originally, he wanted to call it the River Styx Method or Blood River Method, but then he thought that sounded too much like a great demon’s style, since when cast, it was surrounded by dark clouds and bloody mist, looking quite terrifying.

After all, it was a spell improved from negative Qi Mechanisms.

Later, after obtaining a coexistence structure, Chen Xiyi worked hard to transform it, eventually turning it white—and not a pale white, but the kind of white that made one think of a Righteous Knight in flowing white robes.

Even though the effect didn’t change, putting on a nicer outfit was like washing it clean.

Between dark clouds with bloody mist and blue skies with white clouds, anyone could tell the latter was a righteous person, while the former was clearly an evil demon.

Even the ghost spirits he transformed into looked like human shadows, changing from their original eerie Ghost Qi appearance to a more illusory form.

If there had been enough time and data, Chen Xiyi would have added special effects to the soul-devouring aspect of the White Cloud Method, like ascending to heaven or salvation, ensuring no one could tell its original function.

Chen Xiyi narrowed his eyes. As for these warlord soldiers, he wasn’t planning to spare them.

If they were just fighting among themselves, that would be one thing—it didn’t concern him. But this time, they had threatened his interests.

His good brother was almost killed—that just wouldn’t do.

So he decided to make an example of them. Not only would the soldiers besieging the city die, but the entire warlord faction had to go too.

As for innocence?

Not to mention this was a civil war—if it were a war against outsiders, Chen Xiyi wouldn’t have much to say. But they were fighting their own people—how could they be innocent?

…

Li Zhao listened to the continuous cannon fire and couldn’t help but feel bitter. “I’ve let you all down because of me.”

In the room, including him, there were thirty-five people. None of them were in good spirits, but their eyes held a light—the light of defiance.

“What kind of talk is that, President Li? From the day we joined the Salvation Society, we were prepared for this. It’s just a pity that our great ambition hasn’t been realized, and we’re about to die. It’s truly hard to accept,” said a young man, standing up and speaking firmly.

“Now, with warlords causing trouble and foreigners in power, we have a heart full of passion to save the people, but alas…” A middle-aged man sighed, not finishing his sentence.

Another person added, “We have the will to kill the enemy, but not the strength to turn the tide.”

“If we had just a little more time, we wouldn’t be here sighing in despair,” Li Zhao said helplessly. He had planned it all out a month ago: using his public-facing chamber of commerce, plus the Salvation Society formed secretly with like-minded people, they would take over Gui City. With guns in hand, they could do so much more.

They did take the city, but then something went wrong.

The previous warlord, hearing that Commander Qian from Min City was coming to attack, quickly took all his troops and fled, also taking a large amount of wealth and supplies.

Then Li Zhao’s chamber of commerce smoothly took control of Gui City. But as soon as they took over, the Min City Army besieged them.

They fought for a month. If not for Li Zhao, the Salvation Society, and the entire city uniting as one, they truly wouldn’t have held out.

At the start of the second month, the Min City Army realized they were a tough nut to crack but also discovered they were low on food and ammunition. By besieging them and starving them out for a month or two, they could take the city with minimal casualties, maybe even without a fight.

As for the fleeing warlord, Commander Qian wanted Gui City, not the warlord himself.

But now, Gui City had reached its limit, and the officers of the Min City Army noticed. So today, they launched the final assault.

Because they were out of ammunition and food, Gui City essentially had no fighting power left.

When the cannons sounded, everyone in the Salvation Society knew it was over.

If only Li Zhao had had two more months after taking control, the situation wouldn’t have come to this. He could have used the chamber of commerce to restore Gui City’s defenses.

“Since things have come to this, all of you should leave. I’ll stay behind and give an account to that Min City commander,” Li Zhao said gravely.

“No, if you don’t go, I won’t go either,” Mi Hong immediately objected.

“Does the President think we’re the kind of people who fear death? Since joining the Salvation Society, we never thought about backing down,” another person added.

“Only by living do we have a chance. If we die, everything is lost. If I die, it just means one less comrade. But if you all live, we can have even more comrades,” Li Zhao explained.

In the room, no one would yield to the other.

“It’s bad—the city gates have been breached. All of you, quickly change clothes and leave the city with us,” said a wounded soldier who rushed in, dealing a heavy blow to everyone in the Salvation Society.

After the chamber of commerce took control of Gui City, the Salvation Society naturally moved from the shadows into the open.

“You all go quickly. I’ll find a way to meet Commander Qian and ask him to control his troops. Otherwise, it will be another disaster for the common people,” Li Zhao said, his expression changing abruptly.

With that, he hurried out the door. In the direction of the breached gate, for some reason, a vast expanse of white mist was spreading—more like clouds than fog.