Chapter 2

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After three months of cultivation, Chen Xi had a good understanding of the peculiarities of this world and the wonders of mental energy. It wasn't true that having strong mental energy would automatically grant you great power. In fact, based on what Chen Xi had learned from history, while strong mental energy provided good defense, its offensive capabilities, even when resonating with the natural elements, were not very lethal.

If you wanted to strike down your opponent with lightning, you might as well forget it; it was simply impossible. Although mental energy didn't significantly boost combat power, it undeniably enhanced one's thinking. The stronger the mental energy, the faster and more agile the thinking. Something that would normally take an hour to understand could be grasped in just ten minutes, a significant difference.

If the existence of qi greatly increased a warrior's combat power, then the existence of mental energy could be said to significantly elevate a wise person's thinking. It was hard to say which was more important, but these two different paths of development determined the future paths of everyone.

Of course, some people tried to cultivate both qi and mental energy, aiming to enhance their combat skills and thinking simultaneously. However, most of them ended up on a dead-end path. While there were indeed people who had achieved success by cultivating both, reaching the pinnacle was extremely difficult. At least, according to the history Chen Xi knew, no one had managed to do so.

After understanding this, Chen Xi decisively abandoned the cultivation of his physical body. The Chen Xi from the past had also cultivated a bit of qi, but it was very little. However, due to his family's teachings, the cultivation techniques were still quite good.

Now that Chen Xi had recovered, he could still use that bit of qi to lift large stones. If he worked hard and fought a few battles, he might even become a centurion. However, advancing further was unlikely.

As for reaching the level of Xiang Yu, who could traverse the air, that was simply beyond human capability. According to historical records, only about twenty-four warriors in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms could achieve such feats. As for someone like Lü Bu, Chen Xi found the idea incredibly impressive, almost like a human missile!

Since the Chen Xi from the past had cultivated both qi and mental energy, his mental energy was also quite weak. It was probably difficult to even defend against the arrows of a child who hadn't cultivated qi...

Fortunately, the fusion of the two Chens might have stimulated his brain, leading to a continuous increase in his mental energy over the past three months. This was one of the things Chen Xi was quite proud of. With his current mental energy, he could already use some secret techniques and spells to create fog, make it rain, and defend against arrows, which was considered a significant achievement.

According to Chen Xi himself, his thinking had become much broader, his cognitive abilities had greatly increased, and his learning ability had continuously improved. If he had had this memory and thinking speed in the past, he would have long been at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chen Xi felt that he had evolved.

"Snap!" Chen Xi tossed the book onto the desk, having finally finished reading all the books in his family's collection. He had memorized the important ones and had a general impression of the less important ones. The growth of his mental energy had also slowed down. Now, he could be considered a true Eastern Han person.

"Master, aren't you going to cultivate your mental energy?" Chen Lan asked, looking at Chen Xi sitting idly under a tree.

"There's nothing left to cultivate," Chen Xi said with a bitter smile. He had only recently realized that after reaching his current level of mental energy, there were no more textbooks to follow. The rest was up to his own insights. He might experience a sudden transformation, or he might remain at this level for the rest of his life. Even if he did transform, it would only make his mental energy purer, less susceptible to distractions, and easier to use.

"Nothing left to cultivate?" Chen Lan asked, puzzled, not understanding what he meant.

"The wind is picking up; let's go back. It's going to rain," Chen Xi said, changing the subject. It was raining again, and he had already mastered this so-called secret technique. With his knowledge of how rain forms from his past life, he could use it more easily, with a larger range and less energy consumption.

"The wind is picking up?" Chen Lan looked up at the sun, but before she could argue, the sky turned dark.

Chen Xi smiled and pulled his only servant back to their living quarters. The rain he had been working on all morning covered dozens of miles. With the sky full of moisture, it would likely rain for a long time and heavily. No one would guess that this was a man-made spell, as Chen Xi had only played a role in triggering it.

"What a heavy rain!" Chen Lan exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, a heavy rain," Chen Xi sighed, having completely mastered the few spells recorded in the books. As for formations, he still didn't understand the principles behind them. There were also secret techniques, none of which he had.

Speaking of secret techniques, Chen Xi was quite envious. After all, in this world, Zhang Jiao had used the Yellow Turban secret techniques to transform hundreds of thousands of unorganized and undisciplined Yellow Turban rebels into invincible Yellow Turban warriors. The reason they lost was because Zhang Jiao died; otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain. Zhang Jiao had a secret technique that could greatly enhance a person's combat power and buff thousands of people at once. Thousands of fearless Yellow Turban warriors were enough to crush the so-called elite forces of the Han Dynasty, showing the terrifying power of this technique. If used as a trump card, it would be an invaluable tool for turning the tide.

As for formations, Chen Xi didn't know much about them. He hadn't heard of anyone setting up a large formation to crush the enemy's superior forces. However, he had read in books that true formations had the power to reverse the course of a battle. Since he had never seen one, Chen Xi could only wait and see.

As for whether he would encounter someone willing to teach him, Chen Xi couldn't guarantee it. In this era, many things were only passed down to inner disciples, and outsiders could only hope for the best. After all, it wasn't easy to summarize these techniques, and it was reasonable not to pass them on. For the current Chen Xi, all of that was too far away. What he needed to do was wait for something to happen.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion had passed, and next came Dong Zhuo's entry into Luoyang, followed by the coalition of eighteen warlords against Dong Zhuo. Before that, there was the declaration of war against Dong Zhuo. Whether this declaration was brought out by Cao Cao after his failed assassination attempt or was a forged edict made a significant difference.

Although both were forged edicts, the implications were vast, almost determining the course of many subsequent events.