Outsmarting the Enemy

Zhuo Dapeng is a penniless scholar. After ten years of hard study, he sets out on his first journey, only to meet with misfortune as soon as he leaves home. By a strange twist of fate, he finds himself trapped on Huilong Peninsula. Struggling to survive and protect himself, he lays false trails and shows compassion: the fallen come to the rescue of the fallen. From then on, Zhuo Dapeng is drawn against his will into the feuds and conflicts of the martial world, setting him on a turbulent path. A poor scholar with no strength to even lift a chicken, he ventures alone into danger, uncovers one mystery after another, sees through the shifting schemes, and relies on the strategies in his mind to plan, devise clever tricks, pit his wits against his foes, and govern with virtue. Those who act with sincerity win the submission of others who do the same. Though this is a martial arts novel, its focus is on layers of deduction. The heroes and champions from every corner of the book scheme and struggle against one another, each exercising their cunning. Obstacles are laid one after another, traps are set at every turn, and no one can ever be fully prepared. With his intelligence, strategy, and courage, the protagonist rescues those in need and fights his way across the land. He proves to everyone: “Martial arts may be precious, but knowledge decides the outcome. Martial skills can be mastered in an instant, while wisdom wins battles a thousand miles away.” This truth has always held. The book is divided into three volumes: upper, middle, and lower.