Chapter Thirty-Four: The Divine General Gao Shun

  Gongsun Zan guessed something, but before he could speak, Lü Bu said: "You're right, those pearls were the Soul Pearls of the Divine Generals. All these divine generals are loyal to me, Lü Bu, and I've found them all for you!"

  Lü Bu stretched out his hand as if stroking the starlight, and continued: "Young man, gather the power of the seven stars, form the Seven Star Formation, and the benefits will be self-evident. How many benefits there are, the woman behind you will explain to you herself. Now, I'll tell you one last thing."

  Lü Bu's halberd, the Guandao, suddenly split in two, and a new Dragon Halberd appeared. Lü Bu grasped one of the halberds in each hand and continued to ask: "Since there are two Lü Bus, it is only natural that there be two types of weapons. You've been using the Dragon Halberd for the past couple of days, and it seems to suit you well. I must tell you, however, that the Guandao is a difficult weapon to master. The choice of which one to learn is yours!"

  Gongsun Zhan gazed at the two different halberds, the Green Dragon Halberd was indeed easy to use, but he always felt that its power was not great, and his own skills were always a little regretful, as if they had not been fully utilized. So he could only give up on the Green Dragon Halberd and turned to look at the Fang Tian Painting Halberd.

  "Very good, your choice is excellent. I'm very satisfied, this Guandao will be yours." Lü Bu tossed the Guandao, and it landed upright in the center of a small lake.

  "You're conscious world has expanded dozens of times, if it weren't for me, Lü Bu, holding it down, it would have collapsed and disintegrated long ago. At that time, your consciousness will be in a state of chaos, and no one can save you!" Lü Bu said, and then disappeared into thin air, gone in an instant.

  Gongsun Zan was shocked and frightened by what he heard, never expecting the world within his conscious mind to expand so rapidly, with such dangers lurking. He involuntarily turned his head to look at Daiyu, who gestured for him to gaze upon the Fang Tian Hua Halberd.

  Daiji's voice was clear and sweet: "It's truly an indescribable power, coming and going in your world of consciousness without any obstruction, yet never harming the origin of this world." Daiji had always admired Lü Bu's strength. Since the divine image scattered into dust and her starry sky of consciousness merged with Gong Sun Ce's, she had been tightly bound to this world of consciousness after suppressing the Five Virtues' power for him, with limited freedom.

  "He is Lü Bu, how can he not be strong?" Gong Sun Zan looked at the Fang Tian Hua Halberd bathed in the dense starlight, as if he understood. This Fang Tian Hua Halberd was the last thing Lü Bu gave to him, and its purpose seemed to be to suppress his own Five Elements' power within the starry sky.

  "Little brother seems to have achieved a rare and great victory today?" Daji looked at Gong Sun Ce's eyes, very concerned. Gong Sun Ce immediately told the story of today's battle, and then talked about Chu Mengmeng who inherited the ghostly way of Guo Jia. Unknowingly, he omitted An Meng's affairs.

  As the two were talking, Gong Sun Ce suddenly felt a numbness on his back. Turning around, he saw that a bead had popped out from behind him - it was the Divine General's Soul Bead! The bead burst out violently and exploded into a pile of scattered dust in mid-air, causing Gong Sun Ce and the other person to retreat repeatedly, looking rather disheveled.

  "Sister, what's going on?" Gong Sun Ce suspected that the divine general soul bead on his back was about to betray him and leave, which is why it shattered. What each divine general soul bead represents, he understood better than anyone! It can revive a true divine general, not like Du Yuan Zheng's fake one, although his heavenly soldiers were real.

  A true god will not merge with humans, but directly manifest in their true form. As soon as they appear, they are at the peak state, which is an advantage, and the disadvantage is that there is no extra potential for growth. Moreover, the number of subordinates has a limited number, and once it's full, one can only work on quality.

  "I feel a soul awakening, it might be your brother's divine will!" Daji's voice was filled with joy. Gong Sun Ce's power had grown stronger, and she could go even further. The two of them looked together at the place where the pearl had exploded, seeing starlight gathering into a cluster, a silver-white cluster emitting a blue light, in which a man's figure was gradually taking shape.

  Daiji said that it's indeed a soul awakening. The man absorbed all the light balls and stood up. Gong Sun Ce looked at him, seeing that he was about 1.8 meters tall, slightly shorter than himself. The man wore short clothes, with well-proportioned muscles, sturdy. His face was ordinary, but with clear facial features. A pair of eight-shaped whiskers added a lot of dignity to the man.

  The man glanced around and finally stared at Gongsun Zan, kneeling on one knee, bowing his head and clasping his hands together. In a clear voice, he said: "General Gao Shun pays his respects to the lord!"

  Gao Shun! A relatively unknown Three Kingdoms general, yet a name that is often mentioned with relish by Three Kingdoms enthusiasts. Gongsun Zan was naturally very familiar with him, and it's said that Zhang Liao and Chen Gong were both inferior to Gao Shun in Lü Bu's camp.

  Gao Shun was a man who attached great importance to his personal cultivation. He had a dignified bearing and was strict in governing the army. Gao Shun did not drink alcohol, which was rare for a military general at that time. He also refused to accept gifts from others. When Hou Cheng, another of Lü Bu's generals, had one of his famous horses stolen by his groom, he chased after the thief and retrieved the horse.

  Many generals brought gifts to congratulate him, and Hou Cheng entertained the generals with his own brewed wine. Before the banquet, Hou Cheng first sent some wine and meat to Lü Bu. Lü Bu was furious because he had once issued a ban on drinking in the army. Hou Cheng was very frightened and hurried back to pour away the wine and return all the gifts brought by the generals. The "Su Shu" says: "To degrade wine and avoid suspicion, so as not to be polluted. To avoid suspicion and keep distant from doubt, so as not to make mistakes." In this respect, Gao Shun did it.

  Gao Shun also had the qualifications to be a famous general, his subordinates only had more than 700 people, and their armor and weapons were well-maintained every day. Whenever there was a battle, it was almost invincible, and people gave his troops a title - Trap Array Camp.

  Unfortunately, Gao Shun followed Lü Bu, and under the halo of Lü Bu's divine bravery, Gao Shun's brilliance was greatly diminished; under Lü Bu's strategic vision, Gao Shun's talent was discounted.

  Gao Shun was a loyal minister. He followed Lü Bu wholeheartedly, although he knew that Lü Bu would not achieve great things. Gao Shun often advised Lü Bu: "The rulers who destroy their families and countries are not because they do not have loyal ministers and able ministers, but because the rulers cannot use people properly. Every time you speak and act, you do not think deeply, and after things happen, you push them off as 'mistakes'. Your mistakes are too many."

  Gao Shun's words are not only applicable to governing the army and the country, but also have practical significance for modern enterprises in using people. Lü Bu also knew that Gao Shun was a loyal minister, but he still did not make good use of him. Especially after Hao Meng rebelled, he became even more estranged from Gao Shun.

  Wei Xu and Lü Bu were related, so Lü Bu handed over all of Gao Shun's troops to Wei Xu to lead, taking away Gao Shun's military power. Whenever there was a battle, Lü Bu would again hand the troops over to Gao Shun to command. In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Bei was defeated several times by Gao Shun's army, showing Gao Shun's ability in using his troops and his bravery in charging into the enemy camp.

  These troops normally belonged to Wei Xu. Even so, from the time Gao Shun followed Lü Bu until he died for him, he never showed any resentment or complaints.

  In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", after Gao Shun was captured by Cao Cao, Cao Cao asked him: "What do you have to say?" Gao Shun remained silent. Then Cao Cao had Gao Shun strangled to death. This depiction is very impressive and Gao Shun's character was also elevated through his silence. He did not utter words like Zhang Ren that would be remembered for eternity, such as "A loyal minister does not serve two masters"; nor did he follow the worldly wisdom of his time, like Zhang Liao, who chose to live in harmony with the circumstances.

  If Gao Shun was willing to surrender to Cao Cao, Cao Cao might not have refused to reuse him. If Gao Shun surrendered to Cao Cao, he would likely become a famous general like Zhang Liao. He chose to remain silent and loyal to his master Lü Bu, fulfilling the righteousness of following Lü Bu for many years, and also fulfilling his own integrity.

  Gongsun Zan's mind flashed with information about Gao Shun, and he helped Gao Shun up, but didn't know what to say. Daiyu seemed to also know Gao Shun, and congratulated him from the side: "With such a great general as your younger brother, how can you worry that your achievements won't be established?"

  Gao Shun did not dare look at Daiyu and replied with his head lowered, "The goddess is overpraising me. Gao Shun only did what was within his duty and does not dare to be called a great general."

  Gongsun Zan hastily said, "How can he not be made a general?! You have the ability to make him a general, what else is a great general?!" He did not speak ill of Lü Bu, no matter what, Lü Bu was still Gao Shun's former master, and he himself was Lü Bu's successor, so he had to show some restraint.

  "Your Excellency has the demeanor of Cao Gong, and I can serve Your Excellency with all my might. It is indeed a great fortune for me." Gao Shun said suddenly, looking at Gong Sun Ce. This made Gong Sun Ce feel somewhat complacent, joyful in his heart, trying to remain calm, but still revealing a happy expression on his face. Then he heard Gao Shun continue: "Your Excellency and Cao Gong have similar personalities, treating people like old friends."

  Daiji listened and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, Gong Sun Ce's face turned black. Gao Shun, however, was nowhere to be seen, and with a clenched fist said: "My lord, I still need to gather the souls of our fallen comrades who died in battle. I will take my leave first, please forgive me."

  Gongsun Zan looked around, seeing that the spiritual energy in the sky was still flat and didn't know where Gao Shun had gone to condense his battle soul. Seeing Gao Shun's confidence, it seemed like condensing a battle soul was a simple matter, he nodded and said: "This region is also quite vast, you can find a place yourself to condense your battle soul. I'm really looking forward to the appearance of the Trapping Array Camp!"

  "I will not let the master down!" Gao Shun cupped his hands and bowed, transforming into a beam of light that rose upwards. Gong Sun Ce looked up to see Gao Shun enter the seventh star at the very top of the Big Dipper, which seemed to be called the Star of Light, belonging to metal.

  "I thought he was saying I'm as wise and brave as Cao Cao? But it turns out it's just about temperament, Cao Cao's temperament seems to be quite treacherous?" Gong Sun Ce looked up at the twinkling star, only to see that the twinkling star was no longer a pure silver white color, but had mixed in a faint yellow halo.

  Daiyu patted Gong Sunce and smiled: "Who says Cao Cao is treacherous? Is there such a thing as a treacherous nature? What Gao Shun means is that you are sincere to others, you are a true-natured person. It's just that your natural disposition is treacherous."

  Gongsun Ce thought for a moment, and it seemed that he was indeed such a person. In the past, most of his soul was trapped in the sea of consciousness, and the self that appeared on the outside was his true nature, pure and thick. After all his souls woke up and fully grasped the sea of consciousness, he was still his true nature, not pretending to be someone else. It's just that his nature had changed, and he would always make the worst assumptions about everything, filled with suspicion towards anyone.

  Only An Meng, that genuine and kind-hearted girl, was instantly accepted by her in her heart. Guo Liang was because of his simple and honest nature, and also saved her life, so she truly regarded him as a close friend. As for Liu Wei, although he had been following her for a slightly longer time compared to others, she still had many guards against him.

  "Judging from your sister's tone, it seems like you have some admiration for Cao Cao?" Gong Sun Ce and Dai Ji arrived at the central water park, he dove into the water and floated on the surface asking.

  Daiji sat in front of the lake, her delicate white feet rippling the water, and said thoughtfully: "The gods will not favor anyone, my sister just values his character. Cao Cao dares to be himself, acts naturally, and is also very considerate of his wives and concubines. Not to mention ancient people, even in modern times, few can compare."

  Gongsun Zhan floated in the starry sky, although he couldn't control himself to fly up, but controlling himself to float on the water's surface was not a problem. He floated in front of Daiji, grabbed her white and tender legs with one hand, and splashed a handful of water on her jade feet with the other, asking: "Sister, do you like men who are deeply in love?"

  Dai Ji didn't think much of it, letting Gong Sun Ce sprinkle water on her feet. She looked down at Gong Sun Ce floating on the water and sighed: "Sister is a divine spirit, destined to be lonely. Having a younger brother is already good enough, I won't wish for anything else."

  "Gods and ghosts, for a mortal like you, getting too close will only bring bad results. You may have a strong soul and robust energy now, but when your vitality is depleted, disaster and calamity will befall you!" Dai Ji held water in both hands to wash Gong Sun Ce's face.

  Gongsun Zhan took a mouthful of water, not feeling dirty at all, for this was the realm of consciousness, where everything was an emanation of the Five Virtues' power. He bit down on Daiyu's fingertip, and Daiyu pressed Gongsun Zhan's head into the water. Gongsun Zhan wasn't afraid of drowning, but still instinctively opened his mouth, gasping for air, blowing out a string of bubbles that sank into the water.

  "It's okay to stay with my sister, my heart will be calm." Gong Sun Ce resurfaced and drifted back and forth.