Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1330
"He may be talking nicely right now, but he was obviously treating me as some sort of test subject. Perhaps eighty percent of what he said was true. He has indeed dedicated a lot of effort and resources to me, but so what? A tool is always a tool, and a test subject is always a test subject!
"If I had told him the truth at that time, he certainly would've ushered me into the training of 'phase two'. He probably would've given me various kinds of violent missions so that I would work hard and sacrifice myself for him and the Li family. The higher the combat ability that I demonstrated, the more arduous that the missions he entrusted to me would've been. One day, I would die on a certain battlefield for the interests of the Li family as cannon fodder. Why would I do that?
"Therefore, I chose to hide the mutations inside my brain and pretended to be a useless coward who loathed killing and could not fight anyone, waiting for the best opportunity.
"In the best opportunity that I envisaged, I shouldn't be at the nest of the Li family, where there was absolutely no way for me to escape, and it would be best if Li Lingfeng could be trapped by certain things or experts. That was the only way that a small fry like myself could escape from the drag net.
"Today is probably the best opportunity. I can tell that Li Lingfeng has been starting to lose patience. If my seal was not cracked by the end of this year, it's hard to tell if he would switch to crueler methods to refine me.
"In the meantime, it is obvious that Brother Yao is not on the same side as Li Lingfeng, and you two are likely to have huge conflicts. So, despite your abrupt arrival and the possible accidents and unexpected factors it will bring, I do not have any choice except to bet everything!"
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao asked, "Have you never considered the possibility that Li Lingfeng was not lying? Or rather, is it possible that he sincerely wants you to be his heir and inherit the entire Li family someday, although he lied to you about certain things?"
After a brief silence, Li Jialing chuckled.
"I'm afraid that you haven't figured it out yet, Brother Yao."
Looking at his burning eyes in the mirror, Li Jialing said, "From the beginning to the end, I have never considered being someone like Li Lingfeng. Or rather, I despise the idea of becoming someone like him!
"Even if he truly becomes the leader of the Li family one day and one of the four Kurfürsten of the Imperium, so what? He will only be a spokesperson that the Li family nominated and a component of the enormous machine. He is expected to give his all for the interests of the Li family and even die for it!
"I do not want to live such a life. I do not want to be restrained or controlled by anyone. I want to be… absolutely free!
"So, even if Li Lingfeng has truly planned a smooth and brilliant life for me, I do not want to live it at all just because he wants me to!"
As he approached the end, the young man was almost gnashing his teeth in fury.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled. "Sorry. I was a bit too excited. Maybe it is because I've been manipulated and repressed for too long. How about it? What's your theory on everything now that you have learned the background? They say that the observers understand a game better than the players in it. As an 'observer', can you explain the questions that have always bothered me?
"When Li Lingfeng raised the Origin Plan, my first reaction was that it was absolutely not to be believed. But on second thought, it seems fairly reasonable that the nausea and sense of fear that disturbed me in the past were the pieces of mutated Three Fundamental Laws.
"So, if Li Lingfeng was lying and there was no such thing as the Origin Plan, I would never have been corrupted by the foul forces of the Covenant Alliance. What can my problem be ascribed to?"
"It's very simple."
Thinking carefully for a moment, Li Yao still decided to say it out loud. "You were never corrupted by the foul forces of the Covenant Alliance, but one of your parents was from the Covenant Alliance. That will explain everything."
Li Jialing was stunned.
It was the first time that Li Yao had seen undisguised astonishment on the young man's face. For some reason, Li Yao had a weird sense of joy.
His lips cramping, Li Jialing mumbled to himself, "It—It does seem to make sense."
"Yes. If they were both from the Covenant Alliance, you would've been bound by the Three Fundamental Laws. All your feelings and will would've been eradicated," Li Yao said. "However, if you are only half a native of the Covenant Alliance, and the man who passed the blood of the Covenant Alliance on to you was not a pure native of the Covenant Alliance because he was somewhat breaking the boundary of 'Three Fundamental Laws' after the many adventures he had, it will certainly be much easier for you to break the barrier that has been inherited by your genes and your soul because it is nothing more than broken fragments."
"Brother Yao, you said just now that you were scared of me." Li Jialing could not help but hold his abdomen. "But I'm starting to feel that you are too immeasurable and horrifying. Have you deduced everything based on the broken pieces of information just now? Why do I feel that you are so certain as if you know it is a fact?"
Li Yao's own body blinked in the space port not far away and said, "Like you said just now, the observer knows the game better than the players do."
Li Jialing sniffed, obviously not satisfied by the answer.
But he was too smart to waste his time on pursuing the question any further.
"The Covenant Alliance…" he said gloomily and looked at himself in the mirror, with additional feelings in his eyes.
"If it's true, how will you feel?" Li Yao asked. "Will you feel that it is a bit… weird?"
"It doesn't matter." The young man took a deep breath and suddenly relaxed. "It doesn't matter whether I'm the offspring of Cultivators, Immortal Cultivators, those of Covenant Alliance, or any monstrous creatures. I will always be a free, unstrained spirit. I don't care about it at all as long as other people do not mess with me!"
"But it is obvious that Li Lingfeng is messing with you and even manipulating you right now," Li Yao said. "I suggest you pay more attention to Li Linghai."
"Right. You mentioned Li Linghai at the very beginning of our encounter." Li Jialing's eyes suddenly turned sharp. "Why?"
"Assuming that Li Lingfeng has been lying about the existence of the Origin Plan, and you are nothing more than a 'perfect test subject' that he has carefully produced, it is obvious that he did not invest so much time and so many resources into you because of the spur of the moment. He must've been planning to use you against someone," Li Yao remarked. "It is also the reason you asked him who sabotaged the Origin Plan just now, right?"
Li Jialing was somewhat surprised and admired Li Yao even more. "You've seen through that too, Brother Yao?"
"Of course. Whoever Li Lingfeng accuses of being the schemer that disrupted the Origin Plan is likely the one that he wants you to deal with." Li Yao smiled. "From what I've seen now, Li Lingfeng wants you to deal with Li Linghai."
Li Jialing sneered. "Like I said just now, I am uninterested in the conspiracies and power struggles of the leadership of the Li family. I'll be a fool if I intend to deal with the queen of the Imperium!"
"Uninterested is far from enough," Li Yao said. "Has it ever occurred to you why Li Lingfeng wants you to deal with Li Linghai? Despite all the cutting-edge refinements you have had, you are no older than twenty. With your current combat ability, it's questionable that you would be able to defeat Wuying Lan. On what grounds does Li Lingfeng believe you are capable of dealing with Li Linghai?"
Li Jialing frowned. "Hehe. Wuying Lan is not worth mentioning at all. I kept part of my strength to myself just now, but I see your point, Brother Yao. It is indeed a very important issue."
"Consider such a possibility," Li Yao said. "You are deeply connected to Li Linghai in a certain way. Li Linghai is confident that you can deal with Li Linghai not entirely because of your combat ability but also because of the very special 'connection'. Is it possible?"
Chapter 2079: The Soul Is Delicious! |
Li Jialing was stunned again.
Li Yao's words cast him into deep thought for a long time. In the mirror, he was covered in an obscure mist.
"All you said makes a lot of sense." Li Jialing's eyes were suddenly sharper than ever, tearing apart the mist and staring at himself in the mirror. "Who are you exactly? Why do I feel that you seem to know everything? Or rather, you did not show up by accident but had always considered me as your target?"
"Well, that is not exactly the case. My target at the beginning was really not you but Li Linghai, Wuying Lan, or Manjusaka itself," Li Yao admitted frankly. "However, there is indeed something in you that interests me very much, which is the reason I risked approaching you. As for what exactly it is, we'll talk about it after you get rid of the control of Li Lingfeng and I destroy Manjusaka. It will be useless even if we talk about it now!"
The young man raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to destroy Manjusaka?"
"What, any problem with that?" Li Yao asked.
"Not at all." The young man smiled. "That's exactly what I want."
Li Yao smiled, too. "That's good. On a completely irrelevant note, we have been talking about tricks and schemes all the time, which are truly annoying. Should we change a topic so that we can get to know each other better?"
The young man frowned. "Like what?"
"Like, you can tell me the feelings you had when you grew up or your values and outlook," Li Yao replied. "Huh. I'm starting to understand how you got your slightly extreme and sordid personality.
"A poor kid who lost the protection of his parents at a young age was thrown into such a perilous place as the Li family where strength was all that mattered. He suffered endless bullying and humiliation, and he was sent to laboratories for the cruelest refinement now and then. But after he was granted massive strength through the procedures, he could not unleash the fury and hatred in his heart at all because of the constraint of a weird barrier.
"He wanted to get rid of the dark fate, but it was such an unparalleled expert like Li Linghai who was manipulating him with a string from up above. He wanted to live a free, unrestrained life, but he was covered in the ubiquitous shadow of the Li family… As time went by, he was gradually reduced to what he is today. How heartbreaking!"
Li Jialing's lips were trembling as he said in amusement, "What do you mean by 'reduced'? I'm feeling very good about myself right now. What are you trying to say exactly?"
"All I want to say is that, although fate treated you unfairly, you should not completely give up hope, and you should believe in brightness and justice," Li Yao said sincerely. "Try to be sunnier wherever you can. It is not a bad idea to help other people in need now and then, too. Also, it is very important that you do not vent the darkness that other people poured on you onto the innocent people…"
"Wait a moment, Brother Yao," Li Jialing interrupted Li Yao impolitely. "What's your problem?"
"Huh? Watch your manners, kid!" Li Yao said.
Li Jialing turned off the showerhead. Wiping his wet hair, he said, "If this is not a trap of fancy words and you do not have a problem, are you one of the Cultivators from the tales?"
Li Yao pondered for a moment. If Starlight was about to launch a massive attack like moths charging into a fire, it was impossible for him to turn a blind eye to their inevitable doom. So, his identity as a Cultivator would be exposed sooner or later.
At the very least, he would not be able to conceal it from Li Jialing.
Besides, he did not want to conceal it. It was not like he could just watch the young man who was suspected of being the blood son of his foster father grow into 'the most perfect Immortal Cultivator', could he?
"Yes," Li Yao admitted straightforwardly.
"Huh?" Li Jialing blinked. "You are really a Cultivator. Then how come you do not know anything about Starlight?"
"You can consider me a wild Cultivator," Li Yao said. "Why are you so surprised? You haven't seen any Cultivators before?"
"I haven't," Li Jialing replied dutifully. "The Cultivators, as foolish and childish creatures, went practically extinct hundreds of years ago across the entire Imperium. Occasionally, a few kittens jump out and make some noise, but they barely cause any trouble.
"To be frank, I'm not surprised to see a few Cultivators, but it is indeed beyond my expectation that the Cultivators have an expert like Brother Yao among them. How could you have advanced to such a level with your juvenile and idiotic beliefs?"
"It seems that you have some misunderstandings about Cultivators." Li Yao smiled, trying to turn the waves that he released into a gentle spring breeze. "That's fine. There will be a lot of time in the future for me to discuss the path of the Cultivators with you. I believe that you will certainly perceive a lot of things, for example, 'the greatest service is the service for the people and the country', 'with great power comes great responsibility', and so on. Trust me. You will certainly be enlightened and reborn!"
"…May I refuse it?"
"Of course you can. I am a very reasonable man. As long as you can stop me from sending waves of information to your brain incessantly, you can absolutely refuse it. Come on. Try to resist my overwhelming waves!"
"…"
"However," Li Yao said, "first things first. Let's go to Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan's control center now and see what those two bad guys are up to exactly!"
Li Jialing took a deep breath in relief and put on a sloppy robe. Rubbing his belly, he said, "Okay. But before that—"
"What?" Li Yao asked.
Li Jialing smiled. "I'm hungry."
…
When Li Jialing stepped into the dining room specially prepared for the honorable guests who had come to Manjusaka for trials and visits, he happened to run into a batch of Immortal Cultivators who had just returned from the 'paradise of sins' after playing or taking their trials.
Those people still carried the stench of dust and blood of the Land of Sins, not entirely freed from the extreme stimulations in the battlefield slaughters. They were swaggering arrogantly and talking loudly. The entire lobby was filled with their laughter.
"Eight. I took down eight in a row. It feels good!"
"You didn't see it, but the sinners were actually quite clever. They were like rats hiding in a gutter. It was not an easy task to catch their tails. I had to burn all of them in the end. Hahaha!"
"Unsatisfying. I haven't enjoyed myself enough yet before I was summoned!"
"Isn't it supposed to better prepare us for the upcoming epic quest, Dying Light? You will definitely enjoy plenty then!"
Thrilled, the many Immortal Cultivators raised their cups and toasted themselves.
There were also a lot of Li Jialing's peers in the room, who were unqualified to take part in the real trials in the Land of Sins and could only stay in Manjusaka for simulation training. They could only visit and experience the Land of Sins in a couple of days after the epic quest was over.
At this moment, they surrounded the adult Immortal Cultivators and listened to their brothers and sisters talking about the stories of slaughter full of envy.
Like a moving block of ice, Li Jialing passed everyone and picked the simplest foods from the buffet window. Then, he sat in a corner and began to savor them.
Drinking the soup slowly, he shifted his big eyes and stared at the heated crowd.
Such direct eye contact meant provocation in many places.
"You are not hungry; you are just in a mood for trouble, aren't you?" Li Yao said.
Li Jialing tore the bread into shreds and tossed it into his mouth casually. "How did you know?"
"Of course I know. A useless young man who has always been bullied by his companions suddenly gains unparalleled strength. Then, he 'accidentally' runs into the companions who used to despise him. Even an idiot knows what will happen next!" Li Yao sighed. "Those people are unlucky enough to be here."
Li Jialing smiled and intentionally made noises as he drank the soup.
As he expected, somebody soon noticed him sitting in a corner by himself.
"Hey, boy!"
A few tall and brawny young men of the Li family, just as Li Jialing wanted them to, swaggered up to him with hideous grins.
The young man in the lead was 1.5 times the height of Li Jialing, and he had a neck thicker than Li Jialing's waist. His short, spiky hair was as hard as needles. His energy and agitation that had nowhere to be vented seemed to be emanating from his every pore, making his whole body shine in grease.
The young man's name was Li Yingxiong. He was one of the guys who ranked top on the 'ledger' in Li Jialing's heart.
"Why haven't we seen you in the past couple of days? We were doing the simulation training of the highest level. Where were you?" Li Yingxiong knocked Li Jialing's desk so hard that his soup was splashing. "You did not hide in fear because you were intimidated by our declaration that day and thought that we were really going to kill you in the simulation training, did you?
"Hahaha. It was just a joke. In any case, there are so many members of other families here. Even if we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't do it until we return to the Li family. Why would we do it here? It will only make the Li family a joke for everybody else.
"However—"
Li Yingxiong suddenly put on a grave face. He roared with additional fury, "The brothers of our family have just returned from the trials in the Land of Sins. Everybody is greeting them. How dare you drink your soup slowly here? Did you not see their arrival because your eyes are blinded by your sh*t, or have you completely forgotten the rules?
"Hehe. Even if your eyes are blinded, have your ears been blocked, too? I'm talking to you! Do you hear me or not?"
Holding the bowl with both legs, Li Jialing took another sip of the soup comfortably. Savoring it for a moment, he replied slowly without raising his head, "The soup is delicious. You are very lucky."
