Li Daoxuan knew it was time for him to help again.

He rummaged through the tool box on the table and soon found a disposable lighter with its fluid depleted.

Disassembling the lighter yielded twenty-seven tiny components, from which he took out a small spring.

It was only a few millimeters long!

He lifted it with his fingertip and gently lowered it.

Just as Cheng Xu was about to walk away, he suddenly noticed a strange metal ring descending slowly from the sky and settling before him and Li Da.

The nearby artisans, accustomed to such sights by now, bowed in unison to express their gratitude.

Cheng Xu, however, jumped in fright. “Whoa, what happened?”

Li Da peered closely and exclaimed in delight, “The Deity has bestowed upon us a spring from the immortal realm.”

Cheng Xu also took a closer look. Alright, what lay before him was simply an oversized spring—a half-height spring, in fact!

Having just crushed one of Li Da’s shoddy springs with his hand moments before, the arrival of this heavenly gift ignited his curiosity. “Fascinating! Its function is obvious at first glance! Let this general… ahem… this instructor give it a try.”

Previously, Li Da’s spring was small enough to compress by hand. The Deity’s gift, towering half a man tall, required a different approach. He walked over, lifted it, propped it upright, then leaped and landed squarely upon it.

“Ha! Easily crushed,” Cheng Xu boasted.

Suddenly, he sensed something amiss. An immense recoil surged from the spring coils beneath him. “Biu!” It launched him into the air.

With a yelp, Cheng Xu sailed forward. He arced across the entire artisans’ well, crashed through a window of a craftsman’s home opposite, and tumbled inside in a shower of splintered wood and scattered paper.

Everyone in the artisans’ well gaped, stunned into silence.

About half a minute later, Cheng Xu’s head emerged from the shattered window frame. Blood flowed from his nose and his face was swollen, yet he laughed boisterously. “I understand! Hahahahaha! I grasp this masterpiece’s purpose! It’s a siege engine! No more scaling ladders required for assaults. Deploy ranks of these immortal springs beneath enemy ramparts. Let fierce warriors perch upon them and—in the blink of an eye—they’ll be catapulted inside the city! Divine troops descending from the heavens to slaughter defenders unprepared! Hahaha! The Immortal Siege Spring! Utterly formidable!”

His words ignited instant understanding among the onlookers. “Of course!”

Artisans nodded fervently. “So city walls can be conquered this way! The methods of the immortal realm truly open our eyes! Instructor He grasped the use of an immortal army weapon so swiftly, it’s extraordinary.”

Thirty-Two sighed in admiration. “General Che—cough—Instructor He, your wits are sharp indeed. No surprise the Deity personally chose you to drill the militia. Your capability is unmatched. Truly, you demonstrated great judgment in recognizing talent.”

Cheng Xu puffed out his chest with pride. “Hahahaha! This instructor’s prowess speaks for itself. Bragging isn’t necessary.”

Li Daoxuan could hardly contain his laughter. Such a bunch of clowns, what sort of stunt was this?

He unfurled another large sheet, displaying its message downward. “Melt this. Forge small springs for firearms.”

Looking up and seeing the Decree of the Deity, Cheng Xu gasped in horror. “Deity! Why melt down such a sacred artifact for firearms? This marvel can replace siege ladders! It surpasses firearms ten-thousandfold!”

He whipped around just in time to see Thirty-Two relaying the Deity’s decree to Li Da. Without hesitation, Li Da lifted the giant spring and tossed it into the furnace.

Cheng Xu’s chest tightened so painfully he could barely breathe. “Stop! Don’t burn that Immortal Siege Spring! Cease at once! Aaaaahhh…! Siege masterpiece…! My siege masterpiece…!”

Li Daoxuan laughed so uncontrollably he had to roll up the paper and retreat to have a private chuckle.

…

The sun dipped toward the horizon. Lush green wheat fields swayed softly in the evening breeze.

Gao Yiye and Gao Sanwa, worn from a long afternoon playing with the sun chariot, felt a pleasant fatigue.

The Deity hadn’t called upon her to relay messages today. Instead, He used immense sheets of paper bearing brief decrees to communicate with Thirty-Two and Instructor He. This had gifted Gao Yiye many carefree hours.

She let herself go freely for half a day again, calling Gao Sanwa to drive the car around and play, until sunset when the sunlight could no longer power the sun chariot, and only then did the two return to the front of Gaojia Fortress.

Gao Sanwa had just jumped down from the car when his mother grabbed him by the ear, “Not studying properly, ran off to play again. I’ll beat you dead.”

“Learning to drive is also learning.”

“Dare you argue back?”

The sound of bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat crackled loudly, and the villagers nearby laughed heartily.

Gao Yiye also tumbled down from the car and returned to the watchtower, covered in sweat. But now the sky was not dark yet, so it was inconvenient to bathe. So she stood on the balcony, leaning on the railing, and gazed down at the entire Gaojia Village.

Just as she was feeling refreshed, the voice of the Deity suddenly echoed in the sky, “Yiye, I have a few words to tell you.”

Gao Yiye’s spirit rushed with pride, and she saluted hurriedly.

“Alright, sit down and we’ll talk slowly.”

Li Daoxuan’s voice was gentle and made Gao Yiye feel warm. She sat cross-legged on the balcony and listened attentively.

“Cheng Xu has begun training the militia.”

When Gao Yiye heard this, she involuntarily looked outside. In the open area outside Gaojia Fortress, dozens of villagers were drilling in formations, their shadows stretched long and slanting by the setting sun.

Gao Yiye nodded and said, “Hmm, General Cheng is carrying out Deity’s commands seriously and responsibly.”

Li Daoxuan said, “Cheng Xu’s arrival will speed up the militia’s growth, making them stronger and stronger. But people, once they have power, easily become inflated. As their martial arts get stronger, their equipment becomes finer, and they fight more battles, they increasingly realize their changes, grow more arrogant. They shift from being cautious to becoming domineering, finally living as the people they hated the most.”

Gao Yiye was alarmed in her heart, “Huh? You mean… they could turn as bad as those yamen runners and officials?”

Li Daoxuan said, “If left to grow freely, they will inevitably become like that, because the whole world is teaching them to turn that way.”

Gao Yiye said, “I don’t want it! I don’t want Brother Chuwu and Brother Daniu to become people like that.”

Li Daoxuan smiled and said, “Yes, I don’t want them to become like that either, so I’m going to assign you an honorable and challenging task.”

Gao Yiye pointed at her own nose, “Me?”

Li Daoxuan said, “Cheng Xu teaches them martial arts. You will teach them the principles of being good people.”

Gao Yiye said, “Shocked? Me? How could I possibly do that?”

Li Daoxuan said, “After Cheng Xu teaches them the knowledge of warfare, you go and give everyone a Thought Lesson. Make them recite ten times daily: ‘We are children of the common people, soldiers of the common people, doing everything for the people…'”

He told Gao Yiye everything he knew in detail about principles that could shape a soldier’s soul.

For a soldier, both character and martial arts are essential.

Because they can be a sword to save people or a knife to kill people.