Listening to the Young Emperor recount how perilous today had been, Fang Zhiyi smiled.
He naturally knew; after all, he had secretly followed him the entire way. With his skills, he wouldn't be discovered by those guys.
"It is a pity. Since the guy surnamed Guo could not find trouble with you, the trouble comes to me."
"Grand Tutor?"
"Never mind the Grand Tutor title for now, just memorize these names." Fang Zhiyi handed over a piece of paper with a few unfamiliar names written on it. The Young Emperor read it carefully for a moment before holding the paper over a candle to burn it.
"Today, when Guo and Huang disrespected you, I was observing. Only these few people gnashed their teeth in grief and indignation, while the other examinees were looking around, clearly choosing sides or observing the situation. If you want to achieve great things, you must find the right people." Fang Zhiyi paused. There was a knock on the door. Before the Young Emperor could even speak, the person knocking simply pushed the door open. It could not be helped; neither the Young Emperor nor Fang Zhiyi had much prestige or face.
"Grand Tutor Fang, the Grand Sima wishes to have a word with you."
"Alright, I will go right away."
"Grand Tutor..."
Fang Zhiyi turned his head and glanced at the Young Emperor, whose face was full of worry. He felt a bit comforted in his heart; at least the boy was not an ungrateful wretch.
"Do not give me that look. You still have to write your reflections for today."
The worry on the Young Emperor's face instantly faded by more than half.
"Lord Guo!" Fang Zhiyi's acting skills exploded. He put on a look of extreme grievance, which made the gloomy-faced Guo Qianyue freeze for a moment.
"Grand Tutor Fang, you have taught him well!" After his brief stun, Guo Qianyue still spoke these words with a cold and sinister tone.
Fang Zhiyi's face was filled with panic. "Lord Guo, why do you say this?"
Guo Qianyue continued with a fake smile, "I am praising Grand Tutor Fang for your excellent guidance of the Emperor."
Fang Zhiyi was visibly taken aback. "My Lord, you... you do not think I could teach that little... the Emperor to oppose you, do you?"
Guo Qianyue's gaze never left Fang Zhiyi's face. From the moment Fang Zhiyi stepped into this courtyard, Guo had even thought of his miserable end. But looking at it now, Fang Zhiyi was still the same Fang Zhiyi—subservient and timid as a mouse. This was one of the reasons they had chosen him in the first place.
An old fox like him still had the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood. If he had previously suspected that someone around the Young Emperor was stirring up trouble, Fang Zhiyi's suspicion now seemed the smallest.
"Oh my heavens, I said I should not be this Grand Tutor! My tigress of a wife insisted I take the position just for the extra salary. If I were not the Grand Tutor, I would not have to live in fear all day. It would be so much better to just be a censor, and I would not be caught between you two lords..." Fang Zhiyi wailed and complained to the heavens, looking exactly like a new bride who had married the wrong man. Crying passionately, he even grabbed Guo Qianyue's clothes to blow his nose.
Guo Qianyue frowned and took a step back. He seemed to have caught some information.
"Are you saying that the one surnamed Huang..."
Fang Zhiyi panicked slightly and immediately waved his hands repeatedly. "I did not say anything, my Lord! You and Lord Huang are both top-ranking officials, the heads of the civil and military branches. Please do not make things difficult for me... Why don't you just dismiss me?" Speaking up to this point, Fang Zhiyi seemed to have figured it out. "Lord Guo, tomorrow I will resign in front of all the officials!"
Guo Qianyue looked at him, unable to find any flaws for a long time. All Fang Zhiyi showed was incoherent panic and escapism.
"Lord Guo, although I am resigning, could my salary still be paid as usual..."
Guo Qianyue felt somewhat helpless; he had overcomplicated this fellow in his mind. His eyes shifted, and the smile on his face became gentle. "What are you talking about, Grand Tutor? The Emperor is young and still needs your ample guidance..."
Fang Zhiyi knew that the most dangerous moment had passed.
"However, Grand Tutor, I want to ask one thing. Have any suspicious people approached the Emperor recently?"
Fang Zhiyi paused, thought seriously for a moment, and shook his head. "No. Well, the newly replaced eunuchs have been quite close to the Emperor, but that is perfectly normal."
"Eunuchs..." Guo Qianyue's eyes turned sharp. It seemed all other factors could be ruled out. His informants had been eliminated by that guy surnamed Huang; so this was what he was plotting?
Seeing Fang Zhiyi muttering in panic about resigning, Guo Qianyue felt a bit annoyed. However, he knew very well what a person like Fang Zhiyi was after. He immediately had a servant bring over a few silver notes and shoved them into Fang Zhiyi's hands with a face full of smiles. "Grand Tutor Fang, you must not mention resigning again. Without you, the imperial court would fall into chaos."
Fang Zhiyi looked somewhat in disbelief, his eyes fixed firmly on the silver notes, his greed completely undisguised.
This also completely dispelled Guo Qianyue's final doubts.
"It is just that when the time comes for you to help advise the Emperor, I hope the Grand Tutor will put in a bit more effort."
Fang Zhiyi nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course!"
Coming out of the Grand Sima's estate, Fang Zhiyi did not go home, but instead went straight into the palace. Seeing the Young Emperor sitting there nodding off, he sighed.
Being a puppet emperor was not easy; he knew this too. So, he softly woke the Young Emperor and told him to go back to sleep.
The Young Emperor was happy to see Fang Zhiyi return safely. He did not know since when, but he felt that in this massive imperial palace, only Fang Zhiyi was on his side.
But Fang Zhiyi's teachings were omnipresent. Right after he asked what the Grand Sima had said to Fang Zhiyi, Fang Zhiyi repeated the entire process. He did not feel the slightest bit of shame for appearing weak and easily bullied. Instead, he asked the Young Emperor, "What principle did you understand from this?"
The Young Emperor shook his head, but then looked at Fang Zhiyi. "I do not know, but... as long as you are alright, Grand Tutor."
Fang Zhiyi also felt a bit helpless. "When the enemy is strong and we are weak, showing weakness is necessary. After all, a person must stay alive to have a chance. If you lose your life for momentary so-called honor, you truly lose everything."
The Young Emperor nodded repeatedly.
"I did three things. First, to confuse the guy surnamed Guo, making him still believe that I, Fang Zhiyi, am just a greedy and cowardly nobody. Second, to make him think that all the recent changes are the doing of Huang Huaili. Third... I accepted his silver. In his eyes, I am now his man."
"But Grand Tutor, if he confronts Chancellor Huang, would you not..."
Fang Zhiyi raised his hand and smacked him on the head. "Are you stupid? Would you go and verify something with your own mortal enemy?"
The Young Emperor covered his head, his face full of shame.
"You are the Emperor. Remember, the truth of some matters is actually not important. What people believe in their hearts is what matters most. He just wanted to hear the news he wanted to hear, so I gave it to him, but I could not give it to him directly..."
"Grand Tutor, what is the use of this?" The Young Emperor lay down, staring blankly at Fang Zhiyi.
"To intensify the conflict and create chaos. If we want to survive, we can only make things as chaotic as possible."
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
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!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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...
