Qinglong Academy did not only teach martial arts and breathing techniques. There was one lesson rarely spoken aloud, yet quietly became the foundation for those who truly wished to survive in this unforgiving world—strategy.
That day, the sun was nothing more than a pale glow behind thick mist. The strategy training room was located in the eastern wing, separate from the martial arts hall where Li Yuan usually trained.
The room was filled with long tables, ancient maps, jade war pieces, and scrolls of silk inscribed with battle formations. On the walls hung paintings of blood-soaked battlefields and ruin. A heavy atmosphere instantly settled upon anyone who entered.
Li Yuan sat in the very back, silent and observant.
At the front, an old teacher with a long white beard unrolled a large scroll.
"You all know how to breathe. You all can shatter stone with your bare hands. But… who among you knows how to kill ten men without suffering a single wound?"
The students fell silent.
The teacher continued, voice cold and steady.
"Strength is a tool. But strategy is the hand that wields it. On the battlefield, the strong die meaninglessly without direction. But those who understand timing and position… will command the fate of thousands."
On the main board, he drew a curved line.
"This isn't just war strategy. This is the art of killing with the mind."
Li Yuan did not flinch. But within him, something stirred. He began to see strategy not just as a matter of warfields, but of human understanding. Weakness, belief, hope, and fear—each could be turned into a weapon.
"Is it possible to kill… without violence?"
"Can I make the enemy retreat… using only choice and pressure?"
Across the room, Mu Yi Fan Tu listened with narrowed eyes. For those being shaped into the academy's hidden force, this lesson was like a handbook for missions yet to be revealed.
And for Wen Zhi, quietly watching from the upper balcony, this too was part of his trial for the students. He observed with calm focus—especially Li Yuan.
After the class ended, Li Yuan approached a scroll left on the teacher's desk. The writing was intricate but clear:
"True strategy is not about winning battles."
"True strategy is making the enemy believe… there is no battle."
Li Yuan stared at the words for a long time.
"If I can understand this art… perhaps I can end wars without ever drawing a sword."
But he also knew: the world does not always offer the choice not to fight.