I Can See Your Combat Power

Often times, obstinacy and persistence are separated by a fine line. From the perspective of Tang Luo, with his two lifetimes of experience, the biggest difference between the two is rooted in ignorance.

From the perspective of martial arts, many martial artists are obstinate because their understanding of martial arts is one -sided and inflexible.

A martial artist, whether learning from books or tutelage from elder family members, the more diverse his understanding and style of martial arts the fuller and more rounded his martial arts will be. Consequently, he will have a plethora of strategies to choose from when dealing with various situations.

Many martial artists are obstinate because their understanding of martial arts is shallow. No matter the situation, they only know how to respond with the same martial arts technique, without any other alternative. To them, martial arts is a true or false question: there is only victory or defeat. If you were to tell them that there are many other solutions, they would find it unbelievable.

In their understanding, only what can and cannot be done is “reasonable”. To those who truly understand martial arts, how to respond is merely a multiple-choice question. They know that there are different options for the same situation and that there may not necessarily be only one correct answer. Hence, they are more accepting of different viewpoints and do not lean towards obstinacy.

Further, when one realizes that there are several different, even contradictory approaches to the same issue, they naturally start to think:

Perhaps there are more possibilities that I’ve not taken into account?

Perhaps what I think is right is actually wrong, and what I perceive to be wrong is correct????????????????????????? ⁶

Maybe there’s an even better solution?

With each advancement in their martial arts training, they reaffirm this notion. Consequently, this concept of “martial arts might not be as I perceive” is constantly reinforced.

Over time, on their martial arts path, they are better receptive to criticism or advice from others or become more resolute in their own judgments.

In contrast, obstinate martial artists are unable to accept others’ viewpoints because they have never been convinced during the process of building their understanding. Once their understanding is established, it solidifies into a “characteristic”, and it becomes difficult for new concepts to shake it.

Perhaps this can also explain why “the more foolish a person is, the more obstinate they are”.

Red Cloud Village still does not have any scholars studying martial arts, because the Bridal Clothes Technique is powerful enough. They only have to develop it slightly, and it will far exceed ordinary Mystic-level techniques. It can even lead Du Ziteng to make the foolish boast that the Red Cloud Skill is on par with the Heavenly Pathway Technique. It seems to him that the decline of the Du Family is merely due to fertility problems. If they could resolve this flaw in the Red Cloud Skill and increase the population, they could contend with the Tang and Mi Clans.

As real practitioners of the Red Cloud Skill, does the Du Family not recognize the drawbacks of this technique? Even the truly foolish, when faced with the family’s appalling birth rate, should consider the impact of the technique. However, they continue to cling to the Red Cloud Skill. In essence, it is the Du Family’s ancestors who lack the courage to challenge their own martial arts understanding.

A Martial Arts Grandmaster divided the realm of martial artists into three levels namely, seeing oneself, seeing the world, and seeing the people!

The first two are relatively easy, but the hardest is to ‘see the people’, because this means that your firm martial arts will may be overturned again and again. But each overturn signifies growth, without this process, martial artists find it hard to establish their own true martial arts intent, and recognize the real person within themselves amidst the people and the world.

Obstinate martial artists often haven’t been exposed to various martial arts ideologies, thus the styles of martial arts they have seen are limited. With limited exposure, they maintain a basic, foggy understanding of martial arts lacking those moments of revelation where they see clearly past the fog. Because they haven’t been challenged enough from a young age, they don’t have a broad perspective. They even maintain deep suspicion towards the martial arts view of the outside world, which they don’t understand. They fear to understand the real appearance of martial arts, and as time goes by, they become more and more obstinate and arrogant.

In fact, to say they are obstinate could instead be to say they are afraid; because the Du Family has recognized the drawbacks of the Red Cloud Skill but have missed the opportunity for correction.

Can’t they break such wrong concepts?

Of course, they can, but they are unwilling.

Due to the Du Family’s ignorance and limited capability, they would struggle to find a Mystic-level technique that is as good as the Red Cloud Skill but without its imperfections.

So the Red Cloud Skill has become their most crucial support for survival.

Can they break it?

It’s very challenging. If the Du Family were to realize that the Red Cloud Skill is a backward technique with no future, their martial arts understanding would become chaotic.

Du Family martial artists would be disheartened, decadent, and may even lose confidence.

Then what? Replace it with another technique?

But with their current understanding and capability, where can they find a Mystic-level technique that is stronger than the Red Cloud Skill.

So… it’s better to just stick to one course until success, and not change. Having read through those documents, Tang Luo was deep in thought, his fingers rubbing his chin, carefully weighing the possibility of conquering Red Cloud Village.

Eventually, he arranged and neatly placed the documents, stood up, and left the room. He decided to pay the Scripture Pavilion a visit.

Just as he exited the room, he saw a middle-aged man from the Wind Media Department rush into the main hall, his face pale. The man raised an intelligence report and cried out, “Urgent news! Longjiang has changed its course to Lingjiang, decimating Zangtong City within one day, and is advancing downstream Lingjiang at a speed of almost five hundred miles per day It has completely submerged Fuling City, located one thousand five hundred miles away and is expected to reach Xiling City within three days!”

The chilling cry drowned out all other sounds, bringing silence to the noisy hall. The officer handling the intelligence reports of the Wind Media Department froze as they turned to look at the man holding the intelligence report.

“Calm down, present the report. Suspend all intelligence gathering on Jianghn’s battlefield and prioritize sending this flood warning to the representatives of the three branches and all branch leaders, and have them immediately gather at the main sect!” Tang Feng, the head of the Wind Media Department, reprimanding the officers for their unprofessionalism after being stupefied by a piece of news.

As the highest-ranking officer of the Wind Media Department, he couldn’t stand the slightest delay in information transfer. Even a second’s pause would put the Tang Clan at a disadvantage compared to the Mi Clan. Because everyone in Xihng knows that the Wind Media Department of the Mi clan is always faster than that of the Tang clan. This news should have already been placed on the desk of the Leader of the Mi Clan.

Tang Luo, who had intended to go to the Scripture Pavilion, was surprised He felt an odd feeling in his heart as he thought that the change in Longjiang’s course was unusually timely.

He walked over to the most detailed map of Lingjiang present in the center of the Wind Media Department and studied it carefully. As he observed, Tang Luo’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

Xihng is located in the middle of Lingjiang, in a low-lying area. To the south lies the Longzhou central plains, spanning for thousands of miles, and the north is made up of numerous mountains and rivers. This flood wouldn’t greatly affect the Tang and Mi clans, as even the sparse mountains in the south would be enough for the entire population of the Mi Clan to settle. Moreover, the north is surrounded by mountains.

The arrival of the flood means there won’t be any urban warfare. Both clans are almost on par in terms of their water warfare abilities. The Mi Clan’s Celestial Bird Feather Guards firmly hold air dominance, and without the Chariot Mace of Trio of Animals to compete, the Evil Phoenix Carriage of Mi Yang, which is Xihng’s top battle chariot, seems even more dominant. Starting a war amidst the flood is unfavorable for the Tang clan.