The intelligence network in Mount Tai was exceptionally effective. With silver being scattered everywhere, the mont Liu Biao deployed his troops, Mount Tai’s intelligence network had the information. The entire intelligence analysis and processing departnt was supported by just three people: Guo Jia, Jia Xu, and Fa Zheng.
However, Jia Xu barely showed up for work, and Guo Jia was constantly drunk. So, in reality, the workload fell almost entirely on Fa Zheng. Of course, while it seed like this on the surface, both Jia Xu and Guo Jia kept an eye on things. As long as Fa Zheng didn’t make any significant mistakes, they let him handle it, making Fa Zheng the actual head of intelligence processing in Mount Tai.
“Is this just giving away free kills?” Chen Xi’s face twitched when he heard the news. The troop distribution seed like a setup for Sun Ce and Zhou Yu to gain experience and accolades—perhaps even capture a few generals.
Jia Xu didn’t respond imdiately. He had received intelligence from Guo Jia indicating that Zhou Yu’s abilities fluctuated greatly. At his peak, Zhou Yu was so formidable that even Guo Jia found him difficult to handle. But at his low points, Zhou Yu barely managed to be a first-rate commander and advisor.
Regardless of whether Zhou Yu was at his best or worst, Jia Xu believed Wang Wei and Wen Pin were no match for him. He agreed with Chen Xi’s assessnt that this deploynt was essentially giving away kills.
However, this assessnt ca without full knowledge of Zhou Yu’s abilities. If Jia Xu understood Zhou Yu better, he would realize that Wang Wei and Wen Pin were essentially courting death. Zhou Yu’s ntal abilities were incredibly potent, especially when applied against his enemies.
Zhou Yu’s talent could weaken the intelligence of anyone whose ntal strength didn’t match his, and complete immunity required twice his ntal and intelligence levels. No one in the entire Three Kingdoms could et that criterion. As a result, even Jia Xu would find his intellect slightly dulled if facing Zhou Yu at his peak, which could have significant consequences.
“If Zhou Yu is at his best, Wang Wei and Wen Pin don’t stand a chance,” Jia Xu would have said if he knew the full extent of Zhou Yu's abilities. Zhou Yu’s talents made him a nightmare for less experienced opponents, turning them into re obstacles to be easily overco.
“Maybe they underestimated Sun Ce's forces. Five thousand soldiers seem like easy pickings,” Liu Ye said, rubbing his chin. “But Liu Biao is being reckless. Even though he’s regained most of his lost territory, his overall strength has been severely depleted.”
“Overconfident, perhaps,” Fa Zheng said arrogantly. “Yuan Shu’s main forces have gone to Wan City to fight Cao ngde, and Liu Biao thinks he can swoop in for easy gains. I think he’s dood.”
“I wouldn’t say dood,” Lu Su said after reviewing Fa Zheng’s report. “As long as Huang Zhong and Kuai Yue are with him, Liu Biao’s army won’t be easily defeated. Huang Zhong is the sa formidable warrior Chen Xi often ntioned—capable of going toe-to-toe with Lu Bu.”
“Yes, that’s him,” Chen Xi confird. “With a general like him, the army’s morale will be incredibly high, and such a powerful warrior might even awaken his own special abilities.”
The possibility of generals awakening special abilities was sothing Chen Xi had accidentally learned from Zhao Yun. It hadn’t been recorded in history because there hadn’t been many such warriors in the past four hundred years. When Zhao Yun noticed sothing unusual about his troops after activating their cloud qi, he had consulted Chen Xi, leading Chen Xi to suspect that high-level warriors might indeed possess such abilities.
“Awaken abilities? That reminds ,” Fa Zheng said after so thought. “According to the information I’ve gathered, Lu Bu’s cavalry is about ten percent stronger than any other general’s cavalry.”
Jia Xu glanced at Fa Zheng but said nothing. It wasn’t surprising to him—Lu Bu’s cavalry was famously powerful, possibly thirty percent stronger under his command. However, Fa Zheng’s observation that individual soldiers beca stronger under Lu Bu’s leadership was more intriguing.
“When Lu Bu leads cavalry, each soldier’s strength increases by about ten percent. This ans that in a large-scale battle, Lu Bu’s forces could match an entire encirclent strategy,” Fa Zheng explained, his eyes gleaming.
Everyone stared at Fa Zheng in shock. The idea that a general’s presence could enhance the physical capabilities of an entire army was staggering.
“Considering our current abilities, I suspect that any warrior capable of achieving inner qi manifestation may have their own unique talents,” Fa Zheng continued. His ntal abilities had been gradually awakening, allowing him to analyze and understand these phenona better.
“Any other examples?” Chen Xi asked, comparing this information with what Zhao Yun had told him. He was becoming increasingly convinced that all warriors with inner qi manifestation might have special abilities, making intelligence gathering on this matter crucial.
“Yes. Xiahou Yuan, under Cao Cao’s command, marched his troops to Wan City in three days without losing any combat effectiveness. Their marching speed was about twenty percent faster than ours during forced marches. If they weren’t exhausted after three days, their normal march might be fifty percent faster than ours,” Fa Zheng reported, sharing a remarkable piece of information.
“When Zilong commands troops, they beco immune to ambushes, remain eerily calm in danger, and maintain their courage even when surrounded,” Chen Xi added, seeing Jia Xu’s probing gaze.
“If it happens once, it can be seen as a coincidence. But if it happens repeatedly, it suggests a pattern,” Chen Xi said calmly.
“We need to understand the conditions that trigger these abilities. By the way, Filial Piety, is your ntal ability related to human analysis?” Jia Xu asked.
“I’m not sure,” Fa Zheng replied, shaking his head. He had only recently begun to awaken his ntal ability and hadn’t fully understood it yet. “What about yours, Jia Xu?”
“Mine is related to analyzing situations,” Jia Xu replied with a neutral expression. He wasn’t lying—his ability indeed involved analyzing situations and logically deducing outcos, though he didn’t reveal everything.
Fa Zheng turned to the others. After a mont’s hesitation, Lu Su spoke up.
“My ability is related to cold, or more accurately, it’s about ignoring the weakening effects of cloud qi. I can use it without relying on any external factors and weaken others based on their strength. I’ve tested it and found it can affect up to ten thousand soldiers.”
Old Su was as transparent as ever—either he kept things to himself or he shared everything openly, without any deception.
“That’s terrifying. What about you?” Fa Zheng asked Liu Ye.
“ntal imrsion…” Liu Ye said with a pained expression. “And it’s out of my control…”
“What kind of ability is that?” Fa Zheng asked, puzzled. ntal abilities could be straightforward, but Liu Ye’s was unique and hard to categorize.
“It ans that whenever I start thinking about sothing, I get fully imrsed in that perspective or role, and I can’t stop. It’s like I’m stuck,” Liu Ye said sadly. It wasn’t that he wanted to overthink things, but once he started, he couldn’t stop—it was beyond his control.
“In that case, I get it. Zichuan, what’s your ability?” Fa Zheng asked, curious to hear about Chen Xi’s ability now that everyone else had shared theirs.
“This is hard to explain. I haven’t figured out what my ability is yet. It’s definitely there, and it’s definitely passive, but I’m not sure what it is,” Chen Xi said with a shrug.
“Tell us about it. Maybe we can help you figure it out,” Fa Zheng suggested eagerly. He had tried to trick Guo Jia into revealing his ability but failed, so he didn’t want to miss this chance.
“Last year and this year have had remarkably good weather. It’s been perfect—no disasters in Lord Xuande’s territory, while nearby Yanzhou has suffered from both droughts and floods. It’s strange, isn’t it?” Chen Xi said, seemingly out of nowhere. His comnt made everyone think deeply, and they began to realize that the weather really had been unusually favorable in their region.
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