My Level Zero System-Chapter 293

At the heart of this strategy was the deliberate ceding of territory—not once, but twice. And this point troubled Duong Wanshan. Wouldn't such an act lead others—especially those at the higher echelons—to view him as weak and unworthy of trust? 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

To this, Daoist Yunyu offered a subtle smile.

"Lord, you are mistaking the true purpose of this war."

Duong Wanshan had been bestowed with a celestial treasure by an Immortal, gaining prestige and momentum over the other two. His threat level, accordingly, was far greater. On the surface, he appeared powerful and untouchable—but in truth, his situation was dangerously precarious.

This tactic of ceding land to gain aid was, in essence, a strategy of 'feigning weakness to confuse the enemy' (kỳ địch dĩ nhược).

Let others see Duong Wanshan as lacking the pride of a true monarch—cowardly before a great enemy, willing to cede land rather than fight to the death. Then, Daoist Yunyu posed a question:

> "If you were Chen Shanha or Guo Wusong… what would you think?"

Duong Wanshan answered without hesitation:

"If a man can give away one city to curry favor today, he may offer five cities tomorrow. Such weakness invites predation. What sovereign would fear such a man?"

And that was precisely the point.

Even if he was gifted by the Immortals, if Duong Wanshan's own capabilities appeared lacking, others would naturally lower their guard toward him—reducing the likelihood of coordinated attacks against him.

This was the core of the plan:

—Portray a strong foe as a weak, cautious ruler, afraid of battle.

—When Duong Wanshan goes to the Hundred Schools Alliance seeking reinforcements, they too will already know he's been ceding land for aid.

—To them, he will seem petty and cowardly, undeserving of worry.

Daoist Yunyu concluded:

> "This strategy may ruin your reputation, Lord,

but it will also secure you the final victory.

Abandon vanity—and reap the real profit."

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After having resolved the matters of the Eastern Region and the Ghost Dao, Li Qing began to pursue the second objective in his grand design.

He had discovered that ever since the arrival of the Six Paths Ascension Trial into the world, the high-ranking cultivators of the Ghost Dao had become peculiarly silent — even to the extent of not observing the final battles of the Heaven's Mandate bearers. The Jade Fragment was also unable to provide assistance, lacking any foundational information. Thus, Li Qing dispatched a divine incarnation to the Ghost Dao's central stronghold — Mount Diyu — to investigate.

Strangely enough, though the array formations and restriction seals protecting the mountain remained active, Mount Diyu was completely devoid of any cultivators on guard. This forced Li Qing to stealthily infiltrate and descend deep into the heart of the mountain. There, he discovered that all of the Ghost Dao's rank-seven and rank-eight cultivators were gathered, performing some kind of ritual.

He was swiftly detected. Without hesitation, Li Qing detonated his divine incarnation, leaving the Ghost Dao grasping at air.

Having obtained sufficient foundational data, the Jade Fragment was finally able to deliver its analysis:

The Ghost Dao was in secret communion with a great being from beyond this world — an Existence of Conceptual Grade.

This being sought to descend into the world, but due to the presence of Heaven and the Heaven's Adversary, it could not force its way in directly.

Li Qing had arrived in the Western Region — the final heterodox domain yet to be unified.

Unlike the other lands, the Western Region was dominated by desert terrain. The inhabitants survived primarily by relying on scattered oases. The three Heaven's Mandate bearers in this region were no different; each held dominion over a single oasis, forming a fragile triangle of power.

This time, there was no need for elaborate stratagems or intricate manipulation — for Li Qing had already seized upon their fatal weakness, the single most critical resource in this land: water.

One may go half a month without food and still survive, but without water for three days, even the strongest will perish. If Li Qing could sever the water supply to each of the factions, they would no longer have the luxury of prolonged skirmishes or cautious maneuvers. They would be forced into desperate conflict, tearing at each other like starving beasts — and in the end, only one would remain. As for Li Qing, he cared not who the victor was — only that there was one.

To contaminate the water sources, Li Qing did not resort to poison — for in a world steeped in mystical arts and cultivation, toxins could be swiftly neutralized.

Instead, he employed a far humbler yet deadlier weapon: feces — more precisely, the viruses and bacteria contained within it. Such filth would be of no threat to cultivators, but for ordinary soldiers, it would be devastating.

As for the source of the filth, Li Qing simply pilfered it from each faction's own waste disposal sites. Because water was a strategic resource, the Western Region had long imposed strict controls to ensure that sewage did not seep into underground aquifers — ironically making Li Qing's infiltration all the more convenient.

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Certainly. Here is the faithful English translation of Part 4: The Calamity of the Three Disasters in proper xianxia novel style, with names consistently rendered into Pinyin:

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Part 4: The Calamity of the Three Disasters

The season of thunder was approaching — the most opportune time to transcend the Lightning Tribulation, one of the Three Disasters. However, Li Qing was well aware that the Eight Immortals (Ba Xian) and others would investigate such a tribulation intensely. Thus, careful planning was essential.

A standard "lure the tiger from the mountain" strategy — such as sealing off Heaven — would likely fail this time. That tactic had already been used too often, and it had long since drawn suspicion. More importantly, such a seal always seemed to appear right at the onset of thunder season — the exact moment ideal for overcoming the Lightning Tribulation. Anyone with a shred of sense would see something was amiss.

Therefore, Li Qing still planned to lure the enemy away — but with a twist.

This time, he only needed one minute to complete the tribulation. As long as he could delay those who were hunting him for at least sixty seconds, that would suffice.

Li Qing laid out his plan.

First, he could not undergo the tribulation during thunder season — that would be far too obvious. If he chose not to face it during that time, then there was only one alternative to accumulate enough lightning: drawing it down himself.

However, drawing lightning would also attract attention. Therefore, the location had to be somewhere capable of concealing the disturbance caused by such an act.

With the assistance of the Jade Piece, Li Qing identified three ideal locations:

Wanlei Gorge: located in the desolate Sa Prefecture, this canyon was perpetually engulfed in thunder and lightning, ravaged year-round by natural destruction.

Stormwind Plains: situated in Eastern Zhou, a vast prairie spanning thousands of li, where howling winds and unrelenting storms roared without cease throughout the year.

Geopulse Abyss: in the Northern Region, a massive subterranean rift riddled with magnetic anomalies, giving rise to arcs of lightning spontaneously forming in the void beneath the abyss.

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Lightning Tribulation could not be overcome merely by summoning thunder. The concentration of thunder and lightning had to reach a certain threshold. Among the three locations, only Geopulse Abyss (Di Tu Abyss) failed to meet the standard, as the lightning there arose from the void — far weaker than the natural thunderbolts in the other two places.

However, Geopulse Abyss was the ideal place to conceal oneself, with terrain plunging straight into the depths of the earth. Moreover, its apparent unsuitability for tribulation made it a perfect blind spot — no one would expect Li Qing to be there.

To overcome the Lightning Tribulation, Li Qing needed to forge the tribulation himself. He planned to construct a "Void Lightning-Conducting Feng Shui Array". But he could not set it up directly at Geopulse Abyss — that would be far too conspicuous. Instead, he would construct another feng shui array elsewhere, which would function as a conduit, channeling lightning from a distant location into the Abyss to concentrate the thunder force required for the tribulation.

Once the Lightning Tribulation was completed, Li Qing would immediately escape through a prearranged teleportation array.

Using the Map of the Four Regions of Jiuzhou, Li Qing carefully selected 108 positions to serve as lightning rods. These rods were scattered as widely as possible, ensuring they didn't cluster in any one area, which might otherwise draw attention to the true tribulation site. He placed the greatest number of these rods in Beizhou and Yangzhou, creating a convincing false zone to mislead enemy investigators.