Chen Shijie waved his hand, and a scorched area on the sand table instantly returned to normal.
"Do you know how to use the sand table?"
"Not very well," Zhao Xing reluctantly admitted. He didn’t dare to reveal too much. Knowing things from reading books was one thing, but being perfectly clear about how to use military equipnt in the army was too strange.
"It’s written in the ’Military Strategy,’ you can look it up yourself." Chen Shijie pointed to a pile of chaotic docunts. "Almost forgot, Gui Niang is still waiting for in the side hall... You go ahead and read, I’ll be right back."
With that, Chen Shijie transford into a gust of wind and left.
Zhao Xing examined the Marching Hall on his own.
Besides the illustrated sand table, there were also many grassn in the hall. The grassn were very small, almost the size of a palm.
Additionally, there were battle formation drums, "hurry up and march" orders, and various military flags.
These items emanated a faint glow, indicating their high grade.
"What rank did Old Chen hold before? Could he really have been a Standard Seventh Rank?" Zhao Xing pondered as he began to flip through the docunts on the table.
The content was diverse and covered many topics.
"Detailed Training of Big Spear Soldiers," "Fiery Fire Formation of the Five Elents Camp," "Hundred chanisms of the Engineering Camp," "Minister of Agriculture’s Military Strategy," "Exotic Beasts: White Bone Golden Toe," "Hundred Battles: Earth Advantage Chapter," "Seventh Rank Food"...
Old Chen’s huge table was completely covered with books, both on the top and underneath.
As a qualified Military Minister of Agriculture Officer, Old Chen’s reading volu and his proficiency in magic were several tis that of a Literary Minister of Agriculture.
"Old Chen is quite competent," Zhao Xing evaluated in his heart.
He didn’t read anything else but instead looked for materials related to the Xuantian Sect.
"In the winter of Chengkang 241st year, Xuantian Sect demons caused chaos in Dao Yuan Continent. The demon bandit ’Wanhua True Monarch’ used an evil technique to corrupt and control a garrison captain in Qinglong Prefecture, leading forty-seven people to attempt a massacre in the prefecture city, intending to spread disaster to fourteen counties. They were killed by the Marquis ’Zhou Jue’ fifteen days later..."
"In the spring of Chengkang 249th year, Xuantian Sect demons robbed two Dragon Head Tower Ships carrying Grotto Heaven materials on Wanchuan Mountain in Dayuan Prefecture, trying to distribute them to the seven counties’ populace of Dayuan Prefecture, spreading the belief in the Evil God... Three days later, the demon bandit ’Fazhen Shangren’ and two Evil Gods were eliminated by the Night God’s Guard Commander ’An Ding’ and the Dayuan True Monarch."
"In the sumr of Chengkang 257th year, Xuantian Sect demons attacked Minghu Taoist Academy, causing 420 casualties among the students..."
"In Chengkang 261st year..."
...
Chengkang was an era na before Jingxin.
Now it was the 15th year of Jingxin, not that far apart in ti.
Chen Shijie had searched for activities related to the Xuantian Sect from the past century.
"Each ti they were swiftly eliminated, the demon bandits were quickly killed, yet they kept popping up to cause trouble now and then," Zhao Xing noted as he read the intelligence reports.
The trouble with the Xuantian Sect was that those sent out to cause trouble were all powerful individuals nearing the end of their lifespan.
They were already close to death, so nothing mattered to them, making them act recklessly.
Even if they were killed, it didn’t matter much.
In most cases, the Xuantian Sect didn’t aim to seize territory or treasure. As long as they could cause distress to Great Zhou and spread awareness of their existence, they achieved their goal.
Planting seeds of fear in the populace’s hearts, letting them know about the Xuantian Sect’s existence was the goal.
It’s not necessary to believe in them, fear itself is nourishnt for the Evil God.
"Starting from the Jingxin era, they’ve changed tactics, plundering people everywhere. This is a new round of plotting." Zhao Xing compared the intelligence with his past life’s mories.
He also pondered how to remind Chen Shijie while maintaining a proper level of disclosure.
He couldn’t let himself appear too unusual.
.....
Chen Shijie took over two hours to return.
When he ca back to the rear hall, he seed a bit downcast. It was clear that Gui Niang was soone he genuinely cared about.
Zhao Xing didn’t intend to pry into Chen Shijie’s personal matters. He found affairs of the heart very troubleso. Even a tough man like Old Chen could be affected by a woman. In the future, he thought it was better to keep relationships simple.
"How’s the reading going?" Chen Shijie asked.
"Not bad," Zhao Xing put down the docunt he was holding.
"Then let’s begin," Chen Shijie said.
Zhao Xing ca to the illustrated sand table and replaced it with the map of Nanyang County.
"Buzz~"
The sand table gently trembled. The ten-ter long by four-ter wide table began to transform.
New mountains and rivers erged on top, and soon, even the weather conditions of various places were generated.
Zhao Xing found the location of Gu County on the sand table and infused it with primordial energy.
Gu County imdiately expanded, occupying the entire sand table.
"Assuming I am a mber of the Xuantian Sect, hiding anywhere in Gu County except for Gucheng, the first thing to consider when planning to capture you, the Standard Ninth Rank Minister of Agriculture in Gucheng, is the timing."
Zhao Xing’s opening statent took Chen Shijie by surprise. He had asked Zhao Xing to consider from his perspective, but Zhao Xing directly thought from the Xuantian Sect’s viewpoint.
"What kind of timing?" Chen Shijie asked.
"Yang Month, Yang Day, and Yang Hour are the best," Zhao Xing replied.
Chen Shijie furrowed his brows, "To avoid the temple’s monitoring?"
"Yes," Zhao Xing pointed to the Great Zhou Temple in Gucheng. "The first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh months are Yang Months. From looking at the intelligence, every ti the Xuantian Sect dispatched ghost clones, it was always in these months."
"Moreover, it was always during Yang Month and Yang Day."
"During these specific tis, the monitoring ability of the Yin Gods in the temple weakens."
"Although the power of the ghost hiding within the Xuantian Sect also weakens, acting during these periods is advantageous under similar conditions."
Chen Shijie nodded, acknowledging the logic.
When everyone has an advantage, to the Xuantian Sect, it’s equivalent to having none, since their ghosts could never defeat those in the Great Zhou Temple anyway.
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