The demon cultivator elder continued his inquiries into Liu Er concerning Ning Zhuo, finally understanding the reason.
“Ning Zhuo is temporarily attached to Little Six due to a family vendetta.”
“He himself has goals of wandering, so after this great battle, he will depart.”
“Furthermore, if the war goes poorly and he sees no hope of vengeance, he will also leave midway.”
“As for him and the Ning family’s support for Little Six, on one hand, Ning Zhuo himself has a good relationship with Little Six; on another hand, it is the family vendetta; and finally, it is to scheme for the profits of spoils of war.”
“After all, often, war wealth is the most lucrative.”
Thinking thus, the demon cultivator elder no longer paid attention to Ning Zhuo.
Liu Er, seeing his master’s demeanor, knowing the demon cultivator elder was skilled in divination, felt a stirring in his heart and probed, “Master, is this Ning Zhuo destined to have no affinity with me?”
The demon cultivator elder immediately said sternly, “Little Six, you must immediately dispel such thoughts!”
“Although you possess a Royal Decree, you must understand that the matters within the Royal Decree are not absolutely destined to occur.”
“A Royal Decree is merely a great tendency; it can also be changed.”
“Therefore, even if Ning Zhuo is destined to have no affinity with you, you can change this through your own efforts, turning no affinity into affinity, making him your subordinate.”
“If Ning Zhuo is destined to have affinity with you, but you repeatedly squander opportunities, leading to the loss of talent, that is your fault. If you cannot grasp the opportunities in destiny, it is in vain.”
“Do you understand?”
By the end of his words, the demon cultivator elder’s expression had changed to one of stern reprimand.
Liu Er hurriedly bowed down, respectfully thanking his master for the scolding, vowing to always remember his master’s words in the future.
“Hmm.” The demon cultivator elder nodded, his expression softening.
Precisely because a Royal Decree can be changed, the demon cultivator elder personally came to protect this crucial juncture.
In Liu Er’s early development, Mu Lan was exceptionally important to him, a most critical stepping stone that allowed Liu Er to blend into the officialdom of the Two Notes Kingdom in a positive manner.
Otherwise, relying solely on his half-demon identity to strive would inevitably lead to him not being accepted by the high-level mainstream, and even if he possessed talent, it would be buried for many years.
The demon cultivator elder changed the subject: “Regarding the matter of the right to spoils of war, Little Six, what are your thoughts?”
Liu Er’s face was solemn, and he bowed and clasped his hands: “Disciple sees two major disadvantages.”
“Firstly, it may harm our reputation for integrity. Such a reputation needs to be cherished; it is greatly needed when mingling with the righteous path. This disciple’s identity is awkward; without integrity and other virtuous names of the righteous path, it will be nearly impossible to proceed.”
“Secondly, the majority of our army’s expenses are funded by Ning Zhuo, and in the future, it is likely to be entirely funded by him. If the right to spoils of war is taken back, the entire army will be eating the Ning family’s rations. If this continues for a long time, will the Three Generals Camp belong to us, or to the Ning family?”
Liu Er observed his master’s expression, seeing the demon cultivator elder stroke his beard and nod, his expression one of satisfaction, and then grew a bit bolder, continuing, “Disciple previously wished to inquire about the affinity between the Royal Decree and Ning Zhuo.”
“In truth, it was also for the sake of this matter.”
“If Ning Zhuo has no affinity or connection with me, then accepting the Ning family’s funding at this time might as well be bolder.”
“The Ning family is, after all, in the Southern Bean Kingdom, not within the Two Notes Kingdom.”
The demon cultivator elder saw Liu Er still wishing to speak and decisively reached out: “Alright, handle it thus.”
“I called you here this time for another matter, one a thousand times more important than any Ning Zhuo or spoils of war!”
“Since you, Little Six, wish to pursue Mu Lan, then be decisive, bold, proactive, and magnanimous.”
“Mu Lan is the daughter of a general, a tiger woman, who most admires heroes of the battlefield. If you are sly and furtive, even if you ultimately defeat Shuang Jing and Sun Gan, you will not win Mu Lan’s heart.”
Liu Er gasped: “This… Master, this disciple naturally possesses a heroic spirit, and I very much wish to express it.”
“It’s just that the enemy’s power is too great, and my Three Generals Camp has just been established; this small family enterprise is very likely to be thrown into disarray.”
The demon cultivator elder again reached out to stop Liu Er’s explanation.
“You may go.”
The old man waved his hand towards the direction of the Three Generals Camp.
Liu Er was surprised, but he quickly understood. As he withdrew, he said, “Master, your meaning, disciple understands.”
“After returning, I will publicly and grandly pursue that Mu Lan.”
Liu Er looked up again and found that the demon cultivator elder had disappeared.
“Master is still so mysterious and unfathomable,” Liu Er sighed, then turned and returned to the military camp.
The demon cultivator elder, however, had not left, and remained in his original spot.
It was merely that the old man’s illusions were unique, deceiving Liu Er.
The demon cultivator elder’s face was ashen, blood sprayed from his seven orifices, and a large amount of vital essence and lifespan surged with the flowing blood, rapidly depleting.
The old man endured the bitter pain.
The intense pain in both his body and mind made him wish he were dead, each day feeling like a year.
Finally, the pain gradually subsided, and blood no longer flowed from the old man’s seven orifices.
This was the disadvantage of divination.
Everything has two sides, advantage and disadvantage; this is the balance of nature.
Divination can often deduce the future trend, which is the great advantage of this craft among the hundred arts of cultivation. However, its disadvantages are far more numerous and severe than other cultivation techniques.
The demon cultivator elder’s recent experience was a result of him relying on divination, guiding a key figure, causing intense fluctuations in destiny, and making the old man bear the brunt of this fluctuation, suffering a strong backlash.
And this was not even a key reminder!
A key reminder, also known as pointing out destiny, is very difficult and requires the diviner to have a strong spirit of dedication and sacrifice, as it may lead to death due to backlash from leaking heavenly secrets.
The demon cultivator elder’s reminder just now was not a key reminder, not pointing out destiny.
If earlier, before Liu Er had inquired about the crucial information regarding Mu Lan’s dual cultivation and before he had the desire to pursue Mu Lan, the demon cultivator elder had clearly reminded him about this matter, that would have been pointing out destiny.
Liu Er received extremely valuable guidance from his master. Upon returning, his actions were quite decisive.
He summoned Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Ning Zhuo and publicly announced the reclaiming of the right to spoils of war, but only for a portion of the people.
“Since this portion of people does not want this right, we will increase their rations and win them over.”
“Another portion of people still wishes to retain their right to the spoils of war, so we will continue to leave it to them.”
“Statistics on these two groups of people are cumbersome, and there are many tasks; we will have to rely on the strategist.”
Ning Zhuo immediately stated that this was what he should do and praised Liu Er’s arrangements as mature and strategic, very stable, much better and more comprehensive than his own suggestions.
Following this, Liu Er announced that he would openly and honestly pursue Mu Lan.
As expected, this decision met with simultaneous opposition from the other three.
But Liu Er displayed a man’s fearless spirit and a will unafraid of difficulties, igniting a surge of hot blood in Guan Hong and Zhang Hei.
They all expressed their firm intention to follow.
Seeing this, Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but wonder what Liu Er’s hidden trump card was, that made him so confident!
But since the three generals had already agreed, Ning Zhuo, despite his curiosity, also decisively expressed his compliance.
“Thus, the situation of the Three Generals Camp will take a sharp turn for the worse, even becoming more difficult than the Red Flower Camp.”

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