The young emperor felt a lingering fear for the first time.
If it hadn't been for that squad of Black Armor Guards, wouldn't he have just...
Fang Zhiyi seemed to know what he was thinking. He reached out and rubbed the boy's head. "Don't worry. You carry a bit of weight now. This insignificant favor is enough for him to keep you safe."
Looking at the young emperor's expression, Fang Zhiyi continued, "Next, you need to make yourself even more valuable."
The young emperor only half-understood, but he knew that listening to his Grand Tutor was definitely the right thing to do.
"Grand Tutor, what is this strategy called?"
"This strategy... is called driving the tiger to devour the wolf."
"Driving the tiger to devour the wolf..." The young emperor muttered to himself a few times and nodded excitedly. He did not notice that two new faces had replaced the eunuchs serving him, nor did he know that that very night, the patrolling Black Armor Guards had unprecedentedly added a new route outside his bedchamber.
Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi draped a coat over his shoulders and played chess against himself, turning a deaf ear to his family's urging to rest.
"Little Hei, being enemies with the whole world is probably just like this."
Little Hei watched him struggle against himself and said, "As far as I know, there were emperors like this in the history of your world too..."
The chess piece in Fang Zhiyi's hand slowly descended. "Just surviving is already hard enough. Winning... is almost impossible."
The knight in his hand landed on the grid, perfectly pinning the red general's flank.
"Forget it. I'll do my best and leave the rest to fate. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just run away." Fang Zhiyi stood up. "I'm a bit tired."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's all my fault, okay? I can't give you a points store, and I can't let you summon soldiers from scattered beans..." Little Hei grumbled, but this time Fang Zhiyi didn't reply, just staring blankly at the bright moon in the sky.
At the morning court assembly, Guo Qianyue's face looked extremely grim. Yesterday, he received news that two of his informants had actually been hanged by the Black Armor Guards on charges of plotting to murder the emperor.
He glared resentfully at the triumphant Huang Huaili.
He would remember this grudge.
After his last speech, the young emperor seemed to have found a bit of the feeling of being an emperor. However, according to Fang Zhiyi's instructions, he would not speak up proactively. Instead, when the ministers presented their memorials, he would put on a show of reading the documents. Even if some of the characters written on them were obscure and difficult to understand, he had to pretend that he could read them.
The Grand Tutor had said that even if he didn't understand, he had to pretend he did, because he was the emperor.
The emperor could not have things he didn't understand.
With just a brief exchange of glances with Fang Zhiyi, the young emperor quickly received the signal.
"I approve of the matter stated in this memorial," he said, picking up a document.
The courtiers below all craned their necks, trying to see whose memorial it was, until Huang Huaili stepped forward. "This old minister thanks Your Majesty!"
The young emperor was clearly a bit surprised. "Prime Minister, is this your memorial?"
Huang Huaili nodded. "Yes. This old minister believes that the scholars coming to the capital for the examinations this time require more perfect supervision, so I volunteered to preside over this spring examination..."
"Prime Minister, aren't you just trying to take this opportunity to pave the way for the youth of your Huang family?" a sarcastic voice rang out. Huang Huaili was entirely unafraid. "Lord Guo, your words are slandering my good intentions."
Guo Qianyue snorted coldly. He took two steps forward and bowed to the young emperor. "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that a major event like the spring examination was entirely the responsibility of the Imperial Academy when the late emperor was still alive. Now, having a Prime Minister interfere is against the rules. I fear the scholars of the world will also refuse to accept it."
The young emperor glanced nervously at Fang Zhiyi. Seeing Fang Zhiyi's hand gestures, he remembered the scenario simulation the Grand Tutor had set up for him that morning.
"Uh, then, then what are the Grand Marshal's thoughts?"
"This old minister believes that the ancestral etiquette and laws cannot be changed. This matter should still be handed over to the Imperial Academy to convince the public."
"You surnamed Guo, who doesn't know that the Imperial Academy entirely belongs to your Guo family?" These words were extremely heavy. In any other dynasty, if these words were spoken, the cold sweat on the back of the person named would probably soak their clothes. But Guo Qianyue didn't panic at all.
"Prime Minister, watch your words. The Imperial Academy belongs to the emperor, to the imperial court, to the people of the world. How dare you slander me?" After speaking, he stared straight at the young emperor. "Your Majesty, this old minister makes bold to ask Your Majesty to clear my name!"
The young emperor's hands, hidden in his sleeves, were already clenched into fists. He was scared to death inside.
"Since, since that is the case, I will, I will..."
Seeing his hesitation, Prime Minister Huang took a step forward. "Your Majesty! The country has only just stabilized. The Imperial Academy existed in name only during the previous turmoil. The current Imperial Academy is nothing but a group of people fishing for fame and compliments. This old minister still makes bold to ask Your Majesty to hand over the matter of the spring examination to this old minister to preside over! Otherwise, the hearts of the people in the world will be hard to calm, and Your Majesty will also bear a bad name!"
The young emperor's face turned pale. "Alright, alright!"
"You surnamed Huang, you actually dare to threaten the emperor?" Guo Qianyue grew anxious. Having been suppressed twice in a row, he felt resentful.
"You want to slander me? Grand Marshal, this is in front of the emperor. Could it be that you still want to hit me?"
"I..."
Fang Zhiyi gently nudged the young emperor with his foot, and only then did the young emperor remember that he hadn't finished his lines. "Grand Marshal, calm your anger!"
It was absurd that an emperor had to ask his minister to calm down, but it actually happened.
"I, I think, how about the Grand Marshal cooperates with the Prime Minister to jointly preside over the spring examination?"
The two mutually hostile men below turned their heads in unison, only to see a frightened child. Then, the two retracted their gazes and glared at each other.
"This old minister obeys the decree!"
"Hmph, this minister thanks Your Majesty!"
After the court assembly was dismissed, the young emperor followed closely behind Fang Zhiyi.
"Grand Tutor, why did I have to say that today?"
"Because first of all, on the surface, you are a frightened young emperor. They won't suspect you of having any hidden motives. Secondly, your suggestion that they jointly preside over the spring examination seems like the best solution you could think of as a puppet emperor, but in reality, it traps them in the colosseum of the spring examination. Next, if they want to secure their own benefits, they will have to fight. Two guys who can attack each other right in the court assembly will surely cause an unimaginable uproar for the sake of profit."
The young emperor nodded, and then his eyes lit up. "I think I understand. This is also like killing three warriors with two peaches!"
"The principle is similar. But don't get cocky. The reason they asked you is because it's a show for the people of the world. At least in the eyes of the world, you are still the emperor. But after the court assembly is over, you are absolutely nothing."
The young emperor instantly became a bit crestfallen.
Fang Zhiyi patted his head. "Don't bow your head, the crown will fall."
"Ah? Grand Tutor, what is a crown?"
"Hahaha..." Fang Zhiyi thought of the rest of that saying and inexplicably found it somewhat funny. The young emperor just looked at him, his face full of a thirst for knowledge.
"Let's go. To the study. Today I will teach you how to catch fish in troubled waters."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
