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"Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

Li Mu asked.

"I want to challenge the masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and among the military strategists, you are the master."

"I had previously encountered Bai Qi's deputy general, but unfortunately, Bai Qi died too early and I never met him."

Qin Qi suddenly realized that the title "Lord of Wu'an" seemed to be cursed; people with this title never seemed to have a good ending.

"Challenging the Hundred Schools of Thought? Do you know how many masters were among them? You'd probably need a lifetime to defeat them."

"Moreover, some of the philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thought were not good at fighting. For example, the School of Names was not strong in combat, but its sophistry was unparalleled."

Li Mu smiled, as if mocking Qin Qi's overestimation of his abilities, or perhaps he was simply smiling.

“A nobleman from a prominent family, who claims that a white horse is not a horse, I will use the art of debate to confront him and make him admit that a white horse is a horse.”

Qin Qi spoke.

"Ok?"

"The Mohist mechanism can make wood and stone walk, and bronze can open. If you want to know about the mechanical arts of these two schools, ask Gongshu."

Li Mu asked the question.

"I haven't met any members of the Gongshu family, but I have met a few members of the Mo family. They made some small gadgets that surpassed theirs."

Qin Qi spoke.

"The physician's medical skills are unparalleled in the world; he heals the sick and saves lives, practicing medicine to benefit the world!"

"I've met a few people who have competed with me in acupuncture, herbal medicine preparation, and the art of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation, and they all lost to me."

"Good lad, no wonder you dared to challenge the masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought. You are indeed impressive, defeating your opponent with the techniques that each of the Hundred Schools of Thought excels in."

"By constantly learning from your opponent's techniques during the competition, you're trying to integrate the knowledge of many schools of thought and create an even more powerful doctrine!"

Li Mu looked surprised after hearing Qin Qi's words. He guessed what Qin Qi was going to do from just a few words.

If one were to study under the various schools of thought of the Hundred Schools of Thought, it would take countless years to acquire all the knowledge. However, if one were to challenge those masters...

In order to deal with him, the other party will definitely use their true skills, and in this process, he can take the opportunity to learn from the other party's knowledge.

"You saw through me. How about a match with me, General Li Mu?"

Qin Qi had this in mind all along, and he didn't intend to hide it from anyone. After all, he learned it through his talent in battle, which wasn't shameful.

“I already said that Li Mu is dead, and I am just a guardian of the body. However, if you want to discuss military strategy, I can discuss it with you.”

Li Mu had already given up hope and wanted to end his life in this peach grove, but then he saw Qin Qi.

Seeing the other person's talent, he couldn't help but be tempted. He could die, but he couldn't just give up his skills like that!

He wanted to show Qin Qi his military strategy skills, but this was a one-time opportunity, and how much he could learn depended entirely on fate!

Li Mu took two peach wood branches and then challenged Qin Qi to a swordsmanship contest, not a contest of physical prowess, but simply a contest of the exquisiteness of swordsmanship.

"Alright, let's have a swordsmanship contest."

Qin Qi made a slight adjustment, bringing his physical abilities to the same level as Li Mu, and then the two began their battle!

"The first thing I want to tell you is that a general must never be influenced by others!"

"A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders, even if they are those of the king, let alone the words of the enemy."

"You have the advantage and can use force to overpower me, and you can force me to hand over my military strategies."

"But because of my few words you want to spar with me, the outcome of a balanced battle is unpredictable once it begins."

"A wise general will never fight a battle he is not confident of winning. He will only launch an attack when he is several times or even dozens of times stronger than the enemy and victory is assured!"

"You're too arrogant; pride comes before a fall!"

Although Li Mu's words were sharp, he did not launch an attack but instead kept dodging Qin Qi's attacks.

"An arrogant army is bound to lose, but a desperate army can never win!"

"One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane after a second attempt, and exhaust it completely after a third. If you are always thinking about leaving yourself a way out, you will never be able to fight to the death!"

"When you truly have nowhere to retreat, can you still muster the courage to fight?!"

Qin Qi was not swayed by Li Mu's words in the slightest; his decision to duel with Li Mu was his own.

Once you've made a decision, you won't regret it. Life isn't an exam; there are no right or wrong answers.

As long as you don't regret every choice you make years or decades later, that's enough!

Li Mu stared intently at Qin Qi. He refrained from making a move in order to find Qin Qi's weakness, but he found none. This seemingly arrogant young man had no weaknesses!

Each attack appears to have many vulnerabilities, but those are all traps. If you were to attack those vulnerabilities yourself, you would be killed instantly!

"Phew, with each battle, this kid's swordsmanship is constantly improving. He's using battle to hone his skills; he's a truly terrifying genius!"

Li Mu began to show signs of injury, but his gaze remained unwavering, and he continued to refrain from attacking.

He was known as the God of Military Formations. Unlike Bai Qi, he was best at counter-attacks and defense.

His military strategy can be summarized in one sentence: either don't fight, or if you do fight, kill the enemy in one fell swoop!

He doesn't pursue victory; what he pursues is to eliminate the enemy's entire fighting force to the greatest extent possible, so that the enemy has no power to resist in one fell swoop!

War is not a game. Winning every battle is not necessarily a good thing, and losing every battle is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you can lose a hundred times, but winning the last time is enough!

No matter how many victories you have in the early stages, if you lose the last one, you still lose. Li Mu's goal is to settle things in one decisive battle!

This is the same strategy as Bai Qi's, except that Bai Qi's military strategy was to kill all the enemy's men, rendering them unable to fight.

"Chance!"

After a long wait, Li Mu finally figured out all of Qin Qi's habits, actions, and mindset!

At the last moment, aim for that fleeting opening and strike directly. If this move hits Qin Qi, he will undoubtedly lose!

"I won."

Qin Qi instantly changed his move, knocking the peach branch from Li Mu's hand in a flash, and then placed his own peach branch against Li Mu's neck.

"........."

"Very well, very well, you spend all your time hunting geese, only to have your eye pecked by one."

"My greatest strengths are defensive counter-attacks, waiting for opportunities, and anticipating the enemy's intentions to gain the upper hand."

"But you actually defeated me today using the same method. It's true that heroes have always emerged from among the young."

Li Mu instantly realized that he had been tricked from the very beginning. Qin Qi's seemingly continuous attacks could actually be a form of defense.

Qin used an attack strategy, employing deceptive actions and mental states as a defense, deceiving himself and inducing himself to attack.

The moment I launched my attack, a flaw was revealed that I had no opening before, and in that instant I lost.

Qin Qi saw right through him from the very beginning; everything he thought and did was anticipated by the other party.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it; and behind the oriole, there are children with slingshots. Never think you've seen through everything."

"Arrogance will surely lead to defeat, General Li Mu."

Qin Qi smiled and repeated what Li Mu had said to him at the beginning. Now, between the two of them, who was the arrogant one?

"I admit defeat, but I still have other things to discuss with you."

This time, Li Mu did not deny Qin Qi's title, but instead turned to invite him to another discussion.

-----------

Li Mu's most famous achievement was when he faced the Xiongnu. He spent many years training his troops, and on the day he set out, he completely defeated the Xiongnu!

The enemy dared not approach the border of Zhao for more than a decade! A single battle secured over ten years of peace; that is the true victory!

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Drawing on the strengths of many schools or specializing in one?!

"Your challenge to the masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought is simply because you want to combine the knowledge of the Hundred Schools of Thought to create a more powerful doctrine."

"But human energy is limited, while knowledge is infinite. You use your limited life to pursue infinite knowledge."

"The end result can only be the waste of one's spirit and life; it is better to specialize in one thing than to learn from many others."

"With your talent, if you focus on studying military strategy, you may very well become as great as Sun Tzu, the founder of military strategists!"

Li Mu had a very high opinion of Qin Qi. He had never seen such a talented young man before, and he was certain that if Qin Qi focused on studying military strategy...

Within ten years, none of the seven kingdoms would be his match, and his achievements might even surpass those of Sun Tzu, the master strategist!

But Qin Qi is too young now. He is too naive and still tries to learn all the knowledge in the world.

But that's impossible. Life is finite, but learning is infinite. Using limited energy to pursue infinite knowledge will only result in nothing but wasted effort.

"What you said is not wrong, but it's not entirely correct either."

"This towering tree needs its massive branches to get more sunlight, and the road beneath our feet is also built from bricks."

"The biggest problem is that it is too diverse and not specialized, too broad but not pure; it is just blindly pursuing a wide range of knowledge."

"But the biggest problem is not knowing what you really want."

"For me, the various schools of thought are merely a source of inspiration; I am walking my own path."

"The diverse schools of thought, the explorations of our predecessors, are merely the torches that illuminate my path, enabling me to go higher and further!"

"Moreover, people's helplessness and fear stem from the unknown, but after I have thoroughly studied all the schools of thought."

"Is there anything in this world that I don't know? Is there anything that I can't deal with?"

"In the art of war, there is a saying that if you know yourself, you will never be defeated. This is exactly what I am learning from the various schools of thought."

"By gradually increasing my strength and building my foundation, I can go further!"

“Sages are not my goal; what I seek is the boundless Great Dao!”

Qin Qi was not moved by Li Mu's words; he knew from the beginning what he wanted.

Therefore, he will not be influenced by the other party's words or the bright future they present, and he will walk on his own path without deviation!

"Strength, foundation, accumulation, I have underestimated you after all."

Do you know what the most common mistake a novice strategist makes?

"It's military strategy. Those people always think that military strategy is the key, and that as long as they understand the tricks and schemes of military strategy, they can win."

"But they overlooked one point: winning battles is never about strategy, it's about strength! Absolute hard power!"

“Every great general knows the importance of training troops, accumulating strength, and defense. Tactics are merely tools to help reduce casualties.”

"If I had a million elite soldiers under my command, with strong troops, ample supplies and equipment, I would not need any schemes or tricks to conquer the world!"

"But that's where the difficulty lies. A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders, but ultimately, a general cannot leave the country."

Li Mu had always thought that Qin Qi was so young and arrogant in his every move, so the other party must be like those newcomers to military strategy.

They only think about relying on flashy but impractical things, only about winning through schemes, skills, or some kind of unparalleled swordsmanship.

But then he realized he was wrong.

Qin Qi never took any shortcuts; on the contrary, his opponent took the most difficult path.

He honed his physical body, his skills, his mindset, and his spirit to the extreme!

There are no flaws whatsoever. He is well-versed in all schools of thought, and he knows all the moves you use and the schemes you devise.

He knows everything, and he's even better than you, understanding how to use strategies!

You can't win. This kind of absolute dominance can't be won by trickery. The only way to win is fair and square.

He must surpass Qin Qi in strength, willpower, skill, and knowledge; otherwise, he would have no chance of victory.

But a genius like Qin Qi is one in a thousand or ten thousand years; it's simply impossible to find someone stronger than him.

Li Mu stood up. He looked at the peach trees and the names engraved on them, and he looked even older.

'I have no regrets, no worries, everything is ready, and I can die in peace.'

At this moment, Li Mu had no more worries in his heart. He decided to dig up his own grave after Qin Qi left, and then lie in it and leave.

"How did these people die?"

Qin Qi looked at the names on the peach tree and asked.