"Are you that confident?" Qian Wu continued to ask.

Shen Bai nodded. "As long as His Majesty does not fall, the Great Zhou Country will not perish. I believe that although the current situation is chaotic, there is stability within the chaos. That is my answer. It isn’t about trusting His Majesty, but about trusting the Great Zhou Country, which has weathered the turmoil of war."

When Qian Wu heard this, his furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and he let out a loud laugh. "You truly have extraordinary courage and exceptional talent."

Shen Bai said, "Lord Qian, why do you say that? Is it just because of my answer?"

Qian Wu shook his head. "It’s not just the answer. It’s because you are remarkably similar to the Yin General Department and the Dean of the Academy. They both believe that even in these turbulent times, the Great Zhou Country has maintained a measure of stability. Although I follow the Yin General Department, I can’t see it, yet you can. Very good."

Shen Bai smiled but said nothing.

In truth, he had considered these things before. The more he pondered them, the clearer they became.

Although the Great Zhou Country was currently in turmoil, as its Emperor, the Saint Martial Emperor was holding the line in Xuanjing City. He would never let the country fall into such a state.

The most telling sign was that, despite the turmoil, things remained orderly, and all aspects of society were still maintained.

Furthermore, when Marquis Fengjiang stirred up trouble, the Emperor even had the capacity to deploy forces to deal with him, and the deployment was extremely methodical.

These points alone were enough to show that His Majesty, the Saint Martial Emperor, sitting in the Capital City, must have been making numerous subsequent plans.

If the man at the top panics, the world will fall into ruin. At the very least, greater disasters had not been allowed to spread throughout the turbulent Great Zhou Country, and this was inextricably linked to the Saint Martial Emperor’s stabilizing presence in Xuanjing City.

This was how Shen Bai had arrived at these conclusions.

"The third question." Seeing that Shen Bai remained silent, Qian Wu slowly voiced his third doubt.

"If, in your future travels, you offend a powerful individual with an overwhelming background, what would you do?"

Shen Bai heard the question and, without a moment’s hesitation, answered bluntly, "Kill."

"Aren’t you afraid of offending the power behind them?" Qian Wu asked.

Shen Bai shook his head. "If I show fear, I’ll be targeted anyway. It’s better to just kill them and think about the consequences later."

’What’s the use of being afraid of an enemy’s backers when they’re going to come after you regardless? They want to harm you, and fear won’t make them let you go. It’s better to just kill them and eliminate the threat entirely. The aftermath is a problem for later, not now.’

Indeed, when Shen Bai had offended numerous Demonic Forces in the past, he had never once cowered, because he understood this principle perfectly.

When someone wants to harm you, being afraid won’t make them let you go.

It’s better to just kill them and eliminate all threats.

As for the aftermath, that’s something to think about later, not now.

Qian Wu tapped his fingers on his thigh and continued, "And what if you can’t win the fight, can’t kill them?"

"Then I’d run first."

Shen Bai smiled. "Run to a place where no one can find me, cultivate in seclusion to stage a comeback, and then hunt down and kill every single person who offended me."

"And if I can’t escape, then I’ll risk my life and fight to the death. Even if I go down, I’ll take a piece of them with me."

"Excellent!"

Qian Wu clapped. "I like this personality. In my eyes, the chosen prodigies from the great powers are nothing but hothouse flowers. I much prefer people like you who have risen from the grassroots."

"The younger generation of the Great Zhou Country is lackluster these days. The number of them on the Liangyu List can be counted on one hand. I’m very gratified that you’re ranked one hundred and thirty-ninth, and I hope you continue to strive for even greater heights."

Although he didn’t state it explicitly, it was clear from Qian Wu’s attitude that he was thoroughly satisfied with Shen Bai’s answers.

Liu Wufeng breathed a sigh of relief.

The fact that nothing bad had happened calmed his nerves considerably.

’The Liangyu List?’

Shen Bai rubbed his chin and said, "This is the first I’ve heard of this list."

Although he had been at the Observatory for a long time, the materials he read were all related to the Great Zhou Country.

As for anything outside of it, Shen Bai really hadn’t looked into it.

According to Lord Qian, he was ranked one hundred and thirty-ninth. Yet, among the younger generation of Great Zhou, he was already considered peerless.

In that case, this Liangyu List must represent a scope beyond the Great Zhou Country—perhaps even the entire world.

"There’s always someone better out there."

Qian Wu said calmly, "This world is vast, filled with a sea of experts and countless geniuses. The Liangyu List is a ranking of the younger generation spanning the entire world. For you to achieve the one hundred and thirty-ninth rank on that list is already a mark of generational talent."

A rank in the hundreds might not sound impressive, but this was a ranking for the entire world, not just the Great Zhou Country.

Therefore, Shen Bai’s rank was actually terrifyingly high.

Throughout the ages, monstrous prodigies have always burst onto the scene, and geniuses emerge in an endless stream.

Perhaps a genius is hard to find in a small place, but once you expand the scope to the entire world, the sheer numbers make even geniuses seem as insignificant as a drop in the ocean.

"Today, my doubts have been resolved."

Qian Wu continued, "I am very pleased, so let’s move directly to the next step."

"Shen Bai, according to the original words of Lord Yin General Department, your reward is the position of Prefecture Chief of Nanxing Prefecture. You will depart tomorrow to take up your post in Nanxing Prefecture."

’Prefecture Chief?’

Hearing this, Shen Bai frowned.

They had finally gotten to the heart of the matter, but the topic itself was somewhat surprising to Shen Bai.

A Prefecture-level City was a full level higher than a State-level City.

The experts there were more numerous and concentrated, and the situation was far more complex.

Although Shen Bai was known for Overcoming Adversity and Attacking Upward, the rumors in the Jianghu all said his ability was limited to the Reversal and Unity Realm.