108: Pre-war preparations: A hundred schools of thought converge into one strategy (Part 1)

The turmoil in the real world temporarily subsided. With the intervention of Cloud City officials, the military, and the hidden forces behind Su Yueyao, Lin Zhou's home was strictly protected. The bandits suspected to be from the "Void Sect" seemed to have vanished into thin air, temporarily losing their tracks. But everyone knew this was just the calm before the storm; the true test lay in the upcoming finals.

The time left for Lin Zhou and Yuncheng No. 1 High School was less than twenty-four hours.

The recovery functions provided by the virtual battlefield could only heal superficial wounds and replenish basic Divine Power. They had limited effect on the core Origin Qi lost by the kin, the Origin consumption of hero units, and the mental exhaustion of the gods themselves. Especially for Lei Huang and Yan Li, their main kin forces were almost entirely wiped out in the semi-finals, making it impossible to return to Peak combat strength in a short time. Even if they forcibly replenished some low-level units, they would merely be cannon fodder in the finals.

The situation was critical to the extreme.

In the team channel, the atmosphere was oppressive.

"My Thunder Giants... less than three out of ten remain in the core battle group, and the hero units are heavily injured and haven't recovered." Lei Huang's voice was raspy and unwilling. "In the finals, I'm afraid... I won't be able to provide effective output."

Yan Li's situation was similar. The Phoenix race found it difficult to reproduce, and her only remaining main Phoenix was also injured, its Phoenix Flame greatly reduced in power. "My flames will likely struggle to burn through that Behemoth's defense."

Zhao Hao (spectating) was anxious but helpless: "My Red Dragons are still in the resurrection cooldown period... Dammit!"

Su Yueyao was silent for a moment before speaking coldly: "My Moon Elves are still relatively intact. Moonlight Power can be used for healing, dispelling, and a certain degree of control, but it lacks a decisive means of attack."

Everyone's gaze finally fell on Lin Zhou. He was the only person in the team who still maintained relatively complete combat power and was their only hope.

Lin Zhou didn't speak immediately; his consciousness sank into his own divine Domain.

The Dragon Vein Mountain Range was majestic, Spiritual Qi surged like a tide, and the [earth vein spiritual spring] gurgled, nourishing all things. After successive battles and the Dragon Vein Fusion, the foundation of his divine Domain had indeed grown much thicker.

Under the leadership of Elwin (LV37), the Literary Heart Elves' Literary Qi became purer, and their understanding of principles deepened.

Under the command of Bronzebeard (LV35), the [Tiangong Workshop] was in full swing. Not only were they repairing equipment, but at Lin Zhou's instruction, they were also using Dragon Vein stone and remaining precious Materials to urgently develop and build some special mechanical creations.

Under the management of Snik (LV34), the Law Fishmen kept the divine Domain in perfect order, with the power of Law faintly resonating with the orderly characteristics of the Dragon Vein.

His Hundred Schools Kin had reached an average Rank of LV30, and the hero units were approaching the threshold of LV40. Judging solely by the data on paper, his core strength was not even weaker than some ordinary finalists.

But... the opponent was Hao Tian! It was that half-step legendary Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage!

In Lin Zhou's mind, the figure of that giant beast, like a golden mountain, surfaced again. That power that crushed everything, that near-absolute defense... In a head-on clash, even if he were in perfect condition and gave his all, the chances of winning were slim. He might even be instantly crushed by overwhelming force.

He had to find another way!

"Everyone," Lin Zhou's voice rang out in the team channel, steady and calm, "if we fight head-on, we have no chance of winning. For the remaining time, I will go into seclusion to deduce tactics. Lei Huang, Yan Li, do your best to recover; even if you can only provide a sliver of interference, it's good. Classmate Su, your Moonlight is crucial; please maintain your best state. Zhao Hao, you are responsible for collecting past battle footage of Cangqiong Academy, especially records of Hao Tian's actions. Don't miss any details!"

"Understood!" Everyone's spirits lifted. If Lin Zhou hadn't given up, they still had hope.

After exiting the team channel, Lin Zhou took a deep breath. After briefly explaining things to the military personnel guarding him and his parents, he completely sealed his personal cultivation room. He needed absolute silence to integrate all wisdom and seek that slim chance of survival.

His consciousness completely sank into the [Temple of Civilization] deep within his Sea of Consciousness.

Within the sanctuary, light orbs representing the thoughts of Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, Daoism, the School of Military, the School of Medicine, the School of Names, and the School of Diplomacy flickered like stars, emitting unique Dao charms. Before, he had mostly invoked the power of a single school to face enemies. But now, what he needed to do was integrate! He needed to master the wisdom of the hundred schools and deduce a composite tactic specifically targeting the Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage and the entire tactical system of Cangqiong Academy!

His mind split into countless strands, simultaneously connecting to different thought orbs, beginning a frenzied deduction.

Deduction Scenario One: Frontal Defense.

Confucian Vast Righteous Qi formed a barrier, and the Legalist Net of Law was used for restraint, attempting to withstand the Golden Behemoth's charge.

Result: Defeat! The Vast Righteous Qi was torn apart by pure power, and the Net of Law was useless against the [High-level Super Body]. The Golden Behemoth's [War Stomp: Earth Splitter] could easily tear the ground apart and break the formation. Conclusion: Cannot block head-on.

Deduction Scenario Two: Mobile Guerrilla.

Utilizing the Daoist Concept of "Swift as the Wind" combined with the School of Military's deceptive tactics, attempting to kite the Golden Behemoth.

Result: Fraught with difficulties! The terrain of the Honghuang Mountain Realm was complex, limiting absolute mobility. Although the Golden Behemoth appeared somewhat clumsy, its burst speed was not slow, and Cangqiong Academy possessed Silver Pegasus Knights for interception and herding. Once forced into a dead end, the consequences would be unimaginable. Conclusion: Extremely high risk, cannot be used as the primary tactic.

Deduction Scenario Three: Environmental Utilization.

Emulating the semi-finals, using the steep environment of the Honghuang Mountain Realm to create traps.

Result: Negligible effect! The Golden Behemoth possessed the [Lord of the Earth] trait, making it keenly aware of terrain changes and highly adaptable, even able to mobilize the power of the earth to stabilize itself to a certain extent. The difficulty of creating a natural disaster capable of trapping or even heavily wounding it was several times higher than at the Lava Rift, and the opponent would never fall for the same trick easily again. Conclusion: Can be used as support, difficult to use as a decisive means.

Deduction Scenario Four: Decapitation Tactic.

Concentrating all forces to attempt to bypass the Golden Behemoth and directly attack Hao Tian's body or his command core.

Result: Almost impossible! Hao Tian's own strength was unfathomable, and he was surrounded by layers of protection. The anti-air and magical barriers formed by the Storm Giants and Spirit Dragons were nearly flawless. Conclusion: This path is blocked.

Deduction after deduction, failure after failure.

The absolute power and defense of the Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage, combined with Cangqiong Academy's complete system, felt like an flawless, perfect war machine, inducing despair.

Lin Zhou's Mental Energy was being rapidly consumed, and his face was pale, but the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Failure was not without value; every failure allowed him to more clearly understand his opponent's strength and characteristics, and it also allowed him to eliminate incorrect options one by one.

"Power... order... savagery... space... time..." he muttered to himself, the fragmented thoughts in his mind beginning to collide and reorganize.

He thought of the Daoist Concepts of "overcoming hardness with softness" and "governing by doing nothing"—not passive, but following Laws to find the "gaps" in the opponent's power system.

He thought of the essence of the School of Military: "the best victory is to win by strategy" and "subduing the enemy without fighting." True victory might not be destruction, but making them unable to function.

He thought of the School of Names' sophistry of "unifying similarities and differences" and "separating hardness and whiteness." Could he, at the level of rules, briefly "confuse" or "strip away" certain advantages of the opponent?

He thought of the School of Diplomacy's strategies of "befriending distant states while attacking neighbors" and "withdrawing the firewood from under the cauldron." How could he divide and weaken their whole?

Gradually, a vague and extremely bold tactical framework began to emerge in his mind.

This tactic did not seek instantaneous burst damage or a frontal rout, but rather a kind of... control and transformation. Utilizing the diversity and rule-interference capabilities of the Hundred Schools' Dao to construct a special "Domain" or "situation" on the battlefield, constantly weakening, delaying, and dividing the forces of the Golden Behemoth and Cangqiong Academy, turning a head-on decisive battle into a war of attrition comparing endurance, wisdom, and rule mastery!

"Trading space for time... overcoming savagery with order..."

Lin Zhou's eyes suddenly lit up, like a flash of lightning through the darkness!

He had grasped the key!

The Golden Behemoth's power was the ultimate "savagery" and "destruction," while the Dao of the Hundred Schools, especially the integrated Dao, had "civilization" and "order" at its core. Use order to combat disorder, use rules to neutralize brute force, and use vast strategic space and continuous time to trade for the constant erosion of the opponent's absolute power advantage!

This line of thinking was different from all previous tactics; it was more macro-level, focusing more on the application of rules and "momentum"!

Excited, Lin Zhou immediately began to perform deeper tactical refinement and skill construction deductions around this core idea. This required him to exquisitely combine the powers of multiple schools of thought in an unprecedented way.

Time flew by in the frenzied deduction.

In the real world, night fell and was gradually dispersed by the morning light.

The moment of the final drew closer and closer.

The others from Yuncheng No. 1 High School were all waiting anxiously. They didn't know if Lin Zhou could find a way, but they chose to believe.

Inside the cultivation room, Lin Zhou suddenly opened his eyes. Deep in his pupils, it seemed as if countless chapters of civilization and shadows of war sandboxes flashed by. Although his face was exhausted, his spirit was like a divine weapon tempered a thousand times, emitting a sharp and calm aura.

He spread his palm, Divine Power and the Fire of Civilization intertwining to outline an incredibly complex and constantly changing three-dimensional tactical model in his palm, which integrated the essence of at least five schools of thought!

The strategy was complete.