My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 445 - 305: The Best of Both Worlds

Li Mansion.

The beautiful female official from Zhao Country looked at Li Nuo and said, "As long as you help the Fourth Prince ascend the throne, we will definitely fulfill our promises to you."

If it hadn't been for the New Year, Li Nuo really would have driven her away.

After all this trouble, his appointment to control the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and Zongzheng Si in Zhao turned out to be empty promises.

These two were clearly taking advantage of him.

He did find out what exactly they needed his help with.

The old Emperor of Zhao, sensing his time was near, was preparing to pass the throne to one of his four sons.

Within a year's time, the four princes of Zhao were to jointly act as regents, each demonstrating their abilities; the one with the most outstanding achievements would become the next Emperor of Zhao.

Zhao was no minor kingdom; ascending the throne meant not only possessing supreme authority but also attainment of cultivation in the Sixth Realm.

Naturally, the four princes would resort to all possible means to secure the throne.

These two were representatives of the Fourth Prince of Zhao, asking Li Nuo to go to Zhao to assist.

In other words, the premise of Li Nuo controlling Zhao's laws for a while was that he had to help the Fourth Prince of Zhao succeed in capturing the throne.

If he had that capability, would he even need to go to Zhao?

Li Nuo couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you seek the School of Cross and Vertical?"

This matter was right up the alley of the School of Cross and Vertical, not something typically handled by followers of Legalism.

The female official shook her head and said, "There were indeed strategists from the School who approached us, but we refused them. They're full of schemes and cannot be trusted."

Li Nuo asked, "And you trust me?"

The female official replied, "Honestly, before we left Zhao, we consulted a diviner from the Yin Yang School, who told us that someone in Daxia could help us, so we came here."

Li Nuo exclaimed in surprise, "You dared to calculate that!"

He wasn't surprised that the Yin Yang School could predict such matters; instead, what shocked him was that anyone would dare to calculate the fate of the Five Great Dynasties.

This wasn't something you couldn't calculate, but doing so involved major karmic consequences; aftermath was inevitable following such a prediction.

The beautiful female official lowered her head and said, "After completing the divination, Master Gongsun passed away..."

Li Nuo wasn't surprised by the diviner's death, but he was curious and asked, "How do you know I am the person who can help you? Did that master calculate that it was me?"

The female official shook her head and replied, "No, she just said that when I arrived in Daxia and met the person, I would naturally know. I have a feeling... you are the one I'm looking for."

For a moment, Li Nuo was at a loss for words.

He didn't know how he could help them...

But the Yin Yang School wasn't a bunch of charlatans; a Fifth Realm practitioner from the Yin Yang School could indeed glimpse the true will of the heavens.

Perhaps they truly predicted something.

The female official looked at Li Nuo and said, "I know you are a practitioner of Legalism, and I can promise you that even if the elder brother loses in the end, he will certainly offer you substantial compensation, certainly larger than what you've gained in Daxia over half a year..."

Li Nuo did not immediately respond.

After sending the two away, he began to carefully ponder.

The female official's final words weren't wrong; staying in Daxia wasn't beneficial for his cultivation anymore.

All who could be eliminated had already been dealt with by his father at the court, leaving nothing for him.

From a standpoint of cultivation, anywhere was better than staying in Chang'an.

If the Fourth Prince of Zhao succeeded in assuming the throne, what the female official promised him was merely a word away from the Emperor.

Additionally, accomplishing this task held another significant advantage.

This matter was the kind of achievement the School of Cross and Vertical desperately sought.

Especially the achievement accompanying an Emperor from the Five Great Dynasties, it was immense, potentially elevating a commoner to the Fifth Realm of the School in one fell swoop.

Countless members of the School spent their lives waiting for such an opportunity.

Typically, practitioners of Confucianism often simultaneously cultivate Legalism as the two philosophies have similar ideas and can be practiced together.

However, there had never been anyone known to practice both Legalism and the School of Cross and Vertical at the same time— one must always remain fair and just, and the other employs whatever means necessary to achieve goals, inevitably violating the Law. One can only choose one or the other.

Unless the methods employed by the School of Cross and Vertical are all upright and honorable.

But seizing power is not child's play; it's all about who is darker and more ruthless in their methods.

If he chose this path, his practice of Legalism would have truly been in vain.

Nevertheless, whether or not he helped the Fourth Prince of Zhao, his trip to Zhao was now unavoidable.

Regarding Zhao Country, Li Nuo didn't know much. He recalled his father's study housed history books of various countries and he was never interested in this area before, so he had never perused them.

The court was pushing for a major law reform concerning the nobles, and his father was still busy in the Ministry of Justice.

In his home's study, Li Nuo could enter freely. He walked into his father's study and quickly found the book he was looking for on the bookshelf.

This book contained detailed records of the history of Zhao Country. After reading for a while, Li Nuo discovered that it was a tradition in Zhao Country for the princes to rule together, and the one with the best administrative performance would be chosen as the successor.

Unlike Daxia, Zhao Country never established a Crown Prince.

The Emperor would select a few princes early on, giving them certain powers and subject them to an evaluation of their performance.

During the evaluation period, the one with the best performance, and most recognized by the people and court, would become the next Emperor.

The practice of princes in Daxia taking turns to rule the country took after that of Zhao Country.

The designated princes, in order to gain recognition, would undoubtedly strive to improve their performance but would also watch for their competitors' mistakes. This made Zhao Country, among the Five Great Dynasties, universally recognized for having the most uncorrupted officials and the best public order.

However, the book also mentioned that there were still issues in Zhao Country.

For example, the princes only focused on the capital area, as it was directly related to their performance, neglecting the plight of the people outside the capital region.

Moreover, the problems with nobles and famous families were issues all princes were reluctant to touch.

Their policies and actions were all superficial, not genuinely for the people, and so forth...

Li Nuo closed the book.

The situation in Zhao Country was much better than he had expected.

The rivalry among the princes was out in the open, where all were judged by their performance, and no underhanded means could be used.

At least, not openly.

As for how much recognition each could gain, that was up to their own methods.

Some princes distributed porridge daily at the city gates, while others directly gave money to the people, hoping to raise their popularity among them.

However, more important than the people's support was the backing of the officials, making the internal intrigues within Zhao Country's court no less intense than those in Daxia, if not more so.

Many strategists also used this opportunity to join the camp of those princes fighting for the throne, advising them on their campaigns.

Those who supported a prince who later successfully ascended the throne would certainly see their fortunes soar.

Among them were members of the School of Cross and Vertical.

That being said, Li Nuo might actually be able to help them.

As long as he assisted them in improving their performance positively, without resorting to any conspiracy or trickery, he could not only practice as a Law Practitioner but also as a practitioner of Cross and Vertical Skill.

Missing this opportunity, he would have to wait decades for another chance to earn such merit.

Leaving aside the reputation of the School of Cross and Vertical, their capabilities were indeed strong.

The control of the School of Cross and Vertical and the restrictions of Legalism were somewhat similar but also different, and perhaps even stronger than Legalism.

Restraining someone remotely was something both the School of Cross and Vertical and Legalism could achieve.

But Legalism could only restrict the person's actions.

The School of Cross and Vertical could kill a person remotely by crushing their heart.

During the incident of King Han's princely heir framing Yiren, it was a member of the School of Cross and Vertical who covertly took action.

Moreover, the School of Cross and Vertical could invisibly control people's thoughts, something that Legalism could not do.

This ability was quite compatible with Legalism.

Although the Law Code could lock down a criminal's identity, convicting him required gathering evidence oneself.

If he had the cultivation level of the fourth or fifth realm of the School of Cross and Vertical, once a criminal was locked down, he could influence their thoughts to make them confess the process of their crime.

Unfortunately, he didn't know how to cultivate as a practitioner of School of Cross and Vertical...

Both the School of Cross and Vertical and the Yin Yang School relied on transmission from a master, and it was almost impossible to enter these disciplines on one's own.

Above the Law Code, although there was a portrait of a fourth realm practitioner of the School of Cross and Vertical, Li Nuo could obtain the cultivation of the fourth realm of the School of Cross and Vertical directly by consuming lifespan, and utilize the methods of the School of Cross and Vertical, but without gaining his memories, entry into the School of Cross and Vertical was still not possible.

He couldn't always achieve the abilities of the School of Cross and Vertical through sacrificing lifespan.

A hundred days of lifespan per usage was too much for him to afford.

Presently, there should be many practitioners of the School of Cross and Vertical in Zhao Country. Later on, one could be legally captured to inquire, but it was unknown if they would talk...

Li Nuo stood up, placed the book back in its original position, and was about to leave when his gaze suddenly shifted.

He pulled out a book adjacent to the history book of Zhao Country and looked at it.

On the cover of the book, several large characters were boldly written.

"Introduction to the Techniques of Cross and Vertical".