The army of the Jin Kingdom had failed too many times, and even someone like Meng Jingzhou felt hopeless, thinking victory was impossible. "Can I really win?" he asked himself in the cave, finding the answer to be so bitter it was hard to say out loud.
"Um, a spider?" Meng Jingzhou noticed a spider weaving its web. The spider failed again and again but kept trying, which deeply impressed him. "If a spider can keep fighting after so many failures, can’t I do the same?"
Encouraged, Meng Jingzhou decided to regroup and fight the Liang Kingdom again! "The Liang army is stronger than us, but the gap isn’t so wide that we should give up. If I give up, what will happen to the Jin Kingdom behind me?"
"I believe that as long as I have a good strategy, victory is possible!" Meng Jingzhou clenched his fists, already formulating a plan in his mind. After several failures, he had learned the tactics of the Liang general. The Liang general had won many times, so his confidence must have grown. Meng Jingzhou decided to pretend to lose, retreat in a panic, and lead the Liang army into a canyon, where he could surround them instead.
This time, he was determined to catch them off guard and not let down the hopes of the Jin people! "Thank you for the lesson," he said, bowing to the spider. Without its inspiration, he might have fallen into despair, and then there would be no hope for victory.
There were many mosquitoes and bugs in the cave, and to show his gratitude, Meng Jingzhou caught a bug and brought it to the spider. However, the spider didn’t seem to understand his gesture and bit him instead. "It’s a poisonous spider..."
Meng Jingzhou felt dizzy and passed out.
He didn’t know how long he was unconscious—maybe a few minutes or a bit more—but when he woke up, he felt a surge of strength in his body. "What happened to me?"
He noticed that his vision, hearing, and senses had all become sharper, and his body felt incredibly agile, as if he had been reborn. His right hand moved instinctively, and suddenly, white silk shot out from his wrist.
"What the heck is this?"
The white silk stuck to the wall, and when he pulled on it, he found it surprisingly strong. "It’s like spider silk!"
He placed his hands against the wall and was amazed to find he could stick to it, easily climbing up. "I remember being bitten by the spider... Where is it?" When Meng Jingzhou looked for the spider, he found it had been killed by a praying mantis.
He stomped on the mantis to avenge the spider. He inherited the spider's will and prepared to regroup his army to fight the Liang Kingdom again.
On the night before the decisive battle, wearing dark clothing, he used his newfound strength to carry out a solo assassination, directly killing the Liang general.
The Liang general was stunned. They were both generals; shouldn’t they be fighting each other on the battlefield? Instead of a final showdown, Meng Jingzhou jumped straight to the end and killed the general!
The Liang general had guards, but they weren’t as agile as Meng Jingzhou. He successfully killed the Liang general. The general was a rare military genius, and after his death, the Liang army was left without a leader. Meng Jingzhou led the Jin army to defeat the Liang army.
Meng Jingzhou passed the test.
...
At the headquarters of the Immortal Sect, the leader and deputy leader were silent after reading about Meng Jingzhou's method of passing the test.
A second way to pass had really appeared.
The leader rubbed his forehead and said, "What’s up with this spider? How could a single bite give someone spider-like abilities?"
"Could I bite a spider and turn into one?" The deputy leader was also confused. After thinking for a moment, he seemed to remember something and took out an ancient book from his storage ring. He pointed to a passage and said, "I found it! Look here, the ancient texts mention a peculiar spider on the Central Continent that had the same strength as an ordinary spider and never bit anyone. But anyone bitten by it would undergo a mutation."
"This type of spider went extinct tens of thousands of years ago."
The deputy leader analyzed logically, "The conflict between the Jin and Liang kingdoms happened a hundred thousand years ago, and we are perfectly recreating that scene. So, theoretically, it’s possible for this peculiar spider to appear in the cave."
The leader nodded, "It seems this Meng Jingzhou not only has perseverance but also a sharp mind and good luck."
Luck is often elusive, but it can sometimes be reflected in other ways. For example, Meng Jingzhou was the only one among many trying to pass this test who was bitten by a spider and mutated, showing his luck was extraordinary.
Someone with such great luck would have a smooth path in cultivation and achieve great things in the future.
"Let’s see how the others do. I don’t believe there’s a third way to pass."
...
Lu Yang watched the spider continuously weave its web and fail, lost in thought.
"If a spider can catch prey by weaving a web, why does waiting for a rabbit to come fail? Isn’t it just sitting still waiting for prey to come? What’s the difference?"
"Is it because bugs don’t think and just mindlessly bump into the web, while rabbits are smart enough to avoid trees?"
"If bugs don’t think, does that mean spiders don’t either? If the spider keeps failing and weaving its web, is it a sign of willpower or just stubbornness?"
"If rabbits know to avoid trees, why are there still people who don’t turn back after hitting a wall?"
Lu Yang’s thoughts wandered far. After experiencing failure, he didn’t lose heart; he was just hiding in the cave from the rain while thinking of ways to defeat the enemy.
Seeing the spider weave its web made him ponder many seemingly profound but ultimately useless questions.
Suddenly, a praying mantis appeared and ambushed the spider while it was unprepared. The spider fought back fiercely, using its web to its advantage, but the mantis was quick and agile, and after several exchanges, it killed the spider.
Lu Yang witnessed this process and stood up, recalling the mantis's movements.
He learned from the mantis how to skillfully use its two flexible forearms and its agile footwork to leap in all directions.
"Imagine myself as a mantis..." Lu Yang murmured to himself, feeling as if he had learned something similar before and had a natural talent for it.
Lu Yang became like a human mantis, combining strength and grace, moving quickly and powerfully, capable of defeating any opponent with his punches.
Historically, the generals of the Jin Kingdom were at the mid-stage of Qi cultivation, and Lu Yang inherited that level of cultivation.
In the end, he transformed, becoming a large mantis, striking swiftly with his forearms and smashing the cave walls.
Lu Yang sighed, "So this is the legendary Mantis Fist of the martial world? Its power is immense, but ordinary people can’t learn it."
Lu Yang simplified the Mantis Fist, making it easy to learn, and widely promoted it in the army. The combat power of the Jin army surpassed that of the Liang army without needing any tricks, pushing forward effortlessly.
Lu Yang passed the test.
...
"Who is passing this test like this!" the deputy leader shouted angrily.
For the alliance leader, give me a hug and an update.
(End of chapter)