Old Wang’s Method of Rising Through the Ranks

Nick’s face was gloomy. He assumed Zhan Liu was just spouting nonsense.

"I’m not here to discuss the theory of fate with you. Because of what happened before, those big shots are terrified. They’re afraid that one day, if you’re in a bad mood, you’ll run over and butcher them. That’s why they sent me here to ask what can be done to get you to calm down a little."

"It’s simple! Just don’t provoke me." Zhan Liu said this casually.

"The problem is that I’ve realized we lack communication with each other, and the values of our two worlds are different, making misunderstandings likely. For example, you care a lot about your sect rules, while people on Earth care more about Federation law." Nick unleashed his silver tongue and began to spin his tale.

"Mr. Zhan, I think we can communicate more and figure out exactly what counts as ‘provoking’ you. That way, we can avoid misunderstandings. A conflict like this one could actually have been resolved through communication and dialogue."

"Oh, that’s easy. From now on, just treat me like the president of your Federation."

Nick’s face darkened, but he continued persuading him:

"Mr. Zhan may have misunderstood the president’s position in this country. Plenty of people in the United States curse the president whenever they have nothing better to do. If they treated Mr. Zhan the way they treat the president, I’m afraid incidents like this would keep happening."

"I think Mr. Zhan might as well take on the title of consultant at S.H.I.E.L.D. We’ll assign you an assistant, and whenever something comes up, that assistant can communicate with us in time and prevent misunderstandings."

Zhan Liu thought for a moment before saying, "The president really isn’t suitable. Then treat me like an ancient emperor. I can do whatever I want, decide who lives or dies, and take whatever I please. That should keep anyone from misunderstanding."

Nick’s face grew even darker. He wiped away his sweat and tried to dissuade him:

"Mr. Zhan, the profession of emperor only exists in the East. The history of the United States is relatively short, and we’ve never had an emperor. Besides, most people in the United States haven’t received higher education. Many are even illiterate and have no idea what an emperor is."

"If they treated Mr. Zhan like an emperor, they probably wouldn’t know how to do it at all. There are also enormous differences between Eastern and Western cultures. Even experts and scholars might not necessarily understand them completely. If they made another mistake, it would only create more trouble."

"So, strengthening communication between us is the best way to solve the problem."

Zhan Liu smacked his lips a few times before nodding. "All right. Having an assistant handle miscellaneous matters for me sounds pretty good. It’ll save me trouble."

Nick let out a long breath and raised his cup. "That’s wonderful. Rest assured, Mr. Zhan. I’ll arrange for the best assistant to come work for you. If anyone causes you trouble in the future, S.H.I.E.L.D. will stand at the front and block them."

The two clinked cups and drained them in one go, after which Nick rose to leave.

After Nick left, Old Wang finally thanked his master in all seriousness.

"Master, thank you for saving my life, and thank you for leading me onto the path of defying heaven and changing my fate. I thought it over carefully just now. I’m not willing to remain merely a background extra, A, and then inexplicably die in some corner one day."

"Your disciple is dull, and my aptitude is poor as well. I have no idea where to go from here. Please guide me, Master, and tell me how I should walk the road ahead."

Zhan Liu stared at Old Wang for a while. Seeing that his eyes were clear and his attitude firm, and that he truly had a plan in mind, he nodded. "It looks like you’ve made some progress after walking once through the gates of life and death."

"I’m not sure how to turn you into a supporting character or protagonist. After all, I don’t have eyes that can see through the future either."

"I can only guide you through a little personal experience. Ultimately, you’ll have to understand your own heart before you can decide which path to take in the future."

"You don’t look like a deep-minded tyrant or a genius of transcendent wisdom. If you want to escape your status as a background extra, you can’t do without combat power. With martial arts as weak as yours, even becoming the protagonist would be difficult."

"This world will certainly see more Magnetic Field Rotation Adepts in the future, but only the frontrunners will be qualified to be called protagonists. You can’t keep slacking off like this."

"Your aptitude isn’t high, but raising your combat power doesn’t require you to advance only in the Magnetic Field Rotation Realm. Power Flow, Complete State, and external assistance are all viable options."

"For you, the fastest way to increase your strength is external assistance."

"You saw those fellows wearing Strong Magnetic Armor that day. Their Magnetic Field Rotation Realms weren’t high, but once they put on those suits of armor, they could immediately unleash the power of Magnetic Field Rotation: Twentieth Heaven."

"That thing was originally made by your senior apprentice-brother, Tony Stark, for his own use. Later, he found it too impractical and abandoned it. But for you, it’s still very useful."

"You should go find Tony and have him build you a suit of Strong Magnetic Armor. The reason I destroyed the previous group’s armor so easily was that the materials were too poor. Tony abandoned the project for the same reason."

"There’s a country in Africa called Wakanda, and it produces Vibranium in abundance. If you can obtain some Vibranium, Tony will definitely be able to make a much more powerful suit of armor. However, that stuff seems unable to conduct energy. You can let Tony figure out how to deal with that."

"By then, Twenty Heavens won’t be the limit. With Tony’s level of technology, going above Fifty Heavens might not be impossible."

Zhan Liu was also looking forward to the Strong Magnetic Armor made from Vibranium. He wondered whether the Strong Magnetic Armor of the future could become something like Ah Fei’s robot.

Tony had the potential to surpass Skynet, and Jarvis’s intelligence was also higher than Ah Fei’s AI. The only problem was that Tony was still too idle. If The Way of Erik succeeded, perhaps he could make some arrangements for Tony.

People were like this. Unless you pushed them a little, you would never know how much potential they had.

"Also, if you want to rise through the ranks and become a supporting character or protagonist, you have to accomplish great things and play an important role in major events. What use is there in staying at home all day without even triggering a side plot?"

"But think it through carefully. If you get involved in a major event and do well, you’ll naturally rise through the ranks. If you mess up, you’ll be served your final meal!"

"Where you go from here is up to you to weigh carefully!"

Nick was highly efficient. An hour later, Zhan Liu’s female secretary had arrived: a Russian beauty named Natasha Romanoff.

"Master, these are several locations S.H.I.E.L.D. has prepared for the new Martial Arts School. You can look them over first and then decide which one to choose."

Zhan Liu took the pad Natasha handed him, flipped through it casually, and chose the largest place.

"This one. Arrange it in the style of the original Martial Arts School."

"All right." Natasha took back the pad, posted the assignment, and then reported, "It should take about fifteen days to complete construction of the new Martial Arts School. Should we release the enrollment advertisement now, or wait until the school is finished?"

"There’s no need for an enrollment advertisement. Those who are meant to come will come naturally. If they don’t, it means they lack the fate to do so."

When Zhan Liu had first arrived, he had accepted ordinary people as disciples to establish himself as quickly as possible. But Old Wang’s situation made it clear: although ordinary people could enter the Magnetic Field Rotation Realm because Earth had been "magnetized," advancing to a higher level was truly extraordinarily difficult.

Now that he had established himself, the disciples he accepted in the future would certainly be people with extraordinary destiny, such as protagonists and supporting characters.

If someone was fortunate enough to become his disciple, he naturally wouldn’t refuse them. Old Wang had seized the initiative and would receive his focused cultivation, but it was hard to say what would happen with those who came later.

He would offer them opportunities, but who could seize them, and who could truly defy heaven and change their fate, transforming from a passerby into a background extra, a supporting character, or even the protagonist, would depend on their own fortune.

P.S. Readers who wish to become supporting characters may post in the comments or the group. I’ll consider adopting them at my discretion. Let me make this clear first: no guarantees are made about what will happen to them.

Thanks to the book friend zhttyfanbin for the reward!