Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1588
"Yes, I'm on your side."
The Fist King said, "But it's only about keeping you safe, not about horsing around with you. Also, I feel that Li Jialing did have a point. You've been too arrogant recently. Or rather, your head is overwhelmed by the torrents of changes, resulting in your high psychological instability.
"Such a trouble-making mental state will greatly increase your odds of encountering dangers and the difficulty for me to protect you. So, I suggest that you slightly change your character and lifestyle?"
"I'm an arrogant troublemaker?"
Han Te bulged his eyes and looked at the Fist King in disbelief. "Master Fist King, even you think that it's my fault, and I've been too arrogant and annoying?"
Pondering for a moment, the Fist King said, "I do not like to judge human beings morally. What you did had nothing to do with me too. However, from the perspective of protecting your safety, it's true that you've been acting rather arrogant and annoying. As far as I know, several guys are already preparing to work together and beat you up in secret. If you do not change yourself, it won't be surprising that you somehow get yourself killed, like what Li Jialing said."
"Even Master Fist King has taken the side of that rich golden-haired boy?"
Han Te stepped back in shock, almost unable to believe his ears. A vague smile of sorrow struggled to appear on his swollen face, and he gritted his teeth for a long time before he finally burst out, "Yes, I am arrogant, I am cocky, I am conceited, but so what?
"From when I was born on the Land of Sins to right now, I've always been a minor cockroach. However tough I am, the experts can easily step on me and kill me, can't they?
"I've been living in fear and may get killed any second since childhood. I've been struggling to survive every second. Nobody has ever given me any chance to be cocky!
"Only in here, only during the brief time when I was in the Big Bai Pirate Gang and the Blue Sky Market can I slightly show myself off. I'm not like you, Master Fist King, you are a big shot. You, Grandpa Yao, and Boss Bai are all magnificent, intimidating big shots. You can be arrogant whenever you want. If not today, tomorrow still works.
"But I am just the humblest person. If I do not show off today, chances are that I will be killed tomorrow. I'll be killed in the vacuum, without leaving the slightest remains!
"Then, why shouldn't I enjoy my life and show off? Who knows where I will be tomorrow? Who knows!
"I'm so scared. I'm scared that I will die an unknown death before I do anything, like so many people did on the Land of Sins and in space! I'm not scared of death, but I want more people to remember me, remember my name…"
Han Te buried his head in his arms and his legs. His shoulders shuddered for a moment before he finally said in a sullen voice, "Master Fist King, does my performance in the past few months really stink?"
The Fist King: "Yes."
Han Te: "Have I really disappointed a lot of people?"
The Fist King: "Yes."
Han Te: "Am I really no match for Li Jialing, and I am not even as good as a little finger of that golden-haired narcissist?"
The Fist King: "In every aspect, yes."
Han Te: "Hey, hey, hey, Master Fist King, you don't have to be so straightforward. Can't you say something nice and comfort my wounded heart?"
The Fist King: "While your recent performance stinks and is absolutely no match for Li Jialing, you are still rescuable. Speaking of which, I may have made a mistake by entrusting you to Boss Bai. He is an excellent fleet commander and a most distinguished space pirate, but he is hardly a qualified life teacher. I will communicate with Boss Bai and change the way of your education. In the meantime, you better control your private life."
"Huh?"
Han Te was confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I am certainly not interfering with your private life. You know who I am. That's the last thing I care about."
The Fist King said, "I'm just reminding you that it will be better for everyone if you could slightly contain yourself, and Liu Li will be less devastated."
"What?"
Han Te picked his ears hard. "My… My ears were humming because of the golden-haired narcissist's beating. I didn't catch what you said in the end. What about Liu Li?"
"Nothing."
After a brief silence, the Fist King said, "You heard wrong. All in all, control your private life and do not let everybody on the street know whom you slept with last night, alright?"
"Okay."
Han Te rubbed his nose and said casually, "I'll try!"
"… You'll try?"
His artificial eyes blinking, the Fist King was in deep thought. A moment later, he leaned closer to Han Te expressionlessly.
In cracking sounds, his two mechanical arms were dismembered, revealing the glittering operation facilities inside.
Han Te was chilled. Sensing a strong crisis from the guy's cold eyes, he screamed in fear, "Master Fist King, what's up? You… You are not going to beat me, are you? You can't beat me. You are supposed to protect me. You can't hurt me!"
"That's right. I certainly will not hurt you but will try to protect you with everything possible."
In the gentlest tone, the Fist King said, "I'm going to protect you from any threat, including viruses."
"Viruses?"
Han Te was stunned. "W-What viruses?"
"All kinds of viruses, particularly those caused by a messy private life."
The Fist King's right arm was thrown over like a whip and took off Han Te's pants. "Considering your recent performance, it is my judgment that your lower half body is under the severe threat of various types of viruses and germs. For your safety, I am going to help sanitize you."
"Lower half body? Sanitize?"
Han Te's face was pale. Looking at the sanitation equipment that the Fist King's left hand presented, he was even more scared and shrieked, "What's that long and thick needle about? That's too unbelievable!"
"It's for the sanitation of the inner wall."
The Fist King fixated Han Te to the ground and explained, "If you want to sanitize a water tube, the shell is only secondary, and the key is the inner wall, right?"
"Ahh!"
Han Te was about to say something, but he was in too much pain to make any meaningful syllable. He simply cried in agony, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
It was not until three minutes later when he became as twisted as a cooked lobster when the Fist King stopped.
"Alright, your little water tube is as good as new and will not suffer any threat from bacteria and viruses for now."
The Fist King said, "However, if you keep on flirting with girls, the odds that you are invaded again will be quite high. So, I will decide according to your lifestyle whether or not you need new preventive therapy—a comprehensive sanitation from inside to outside."
"I was wrong."
Hardly breathing, Han Te held his belly and cramped. "I was really wrong, bro!"
"Good."
The Fist King nodded his head and suddenly changed the topic. "Right, do you know Liu Li's favorite food?"
"Huh?"
The weird question made Han Te forget the pain in his groin, which seemed to have just been hit by a meteoroid. "What's going on?"
"I want to give Liu Li a surprise to keep her in the perfect work state while my body is being polished."
The Fist King stared at Han Te. "Is there any type of food whose flavor she has forgotten herself?"
The nonhuman eyes made Han Te shudder hard again. Covering his belly even more tightly, he stuttered, "… I think so. Liu Li loves her mother's noodles with soft-yolked eggs. There were always two eggs, one on the top and the other buried at the bottom of the bowl.
"Eggs were the most precious ingredients on the Land of Sins because they broke easily during the airdrops. So, only when it was Liu Li's birthday would her mother make the food for her. The egg buried below would be the 'surprise'. Liu Li was very happy every time.
"However, nobody made the food for her again after her mother passed away. Even when noodles were made, one egg on the top would be best. We never had the extravagance to bury a second egg below."
"Got it."
Deep in thought, the Fist King rose and said, "I'm off. You were rather badly wounded. Hurry and go to the infirmary to get some balms for yourself."
"How can I go anywhere right now?"
Han Te felt like crying. In a shivering voice, he asked, "Master Fist King, bro, can't you bring me to the infirmary?"
"No."
The Fist King rejected his request coldly. "I'm in a hurry to cook noodles with soft-yolked eggs for Liu Li to treat her trauma, which is very bad. As for your minor wounds, they will not kill you. According to my scanning, there is no fatal threat around. You can totally move yourself to the infirmary one step after another."
"Cook noodles… Minor wounds… Can't kill me…"
Han Te struggled to lower his head. Looking at his bruised and swollen body, he whined aloud, "Master Fist King, Grandpa Yao entrusted Liu Li and I to you and asked you to protect us together! Our privileges are too different. You can't be that biased toward me, can you?"
The Fist King had already walked away, but hearing that, he turned around and squatted before Han Te, nodding his head solemnly.
"Yes."
The Fist King said solemnly, "I'm exactly so biased."
Chapter 2500: A Total Mess |
Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling!
Two bullets that had been carved with complicated stripes, leaving two streaks of brilliance behind, one red and the other white, were chasing and colliding with each other. They were now gathering and now splitting, drawing the most sophisticated maze in the midair.
When one of the white bullets was losing and about to be blown off by the red bullet, another two white bullets flew close out of nowhere and joined the battle, making the red and white lines and curves even more complicated.
If one were to observe it more carefully, they would discover that it was not four bullets, but a hundred of them in red and white respectively, which were flying randomly as if they were on a 3D chessboard. It was also like the most astounding and magnificent battle of space fleets.
Every bullet was a chess piece and a starship. The collision of bullets was exactly like the capturing of chess pieces and the mutual destruction of starships.
The spiritual energy around the red bullets was obviously more abundant, giving them a higher speed and a greater strength. In the one-versus-one competitions, the white bullets were almost crushed.
However, the deployment of the white bullets entailed the most erudite arts of fleet commanding. Now that they had been gathered, there were thousands of variations. When the battle formations blossomed one after another, the red bullets were often separated from each other and attacked both sides.
The two parties moved faster and faster with their respective advantages until the only things that could be seen were two fuzzy mists of light. The mists of light crashed and infiltrated each other, almost passing each other's "defense line" at the same time and darting at the enemy's commander behind the scene.
The two commanders took action at the same time. Performing the skill of remote manipulation to the maximum, they cut the enemy's force field at first before they captured all the bullets within their own field. The bullets were condensed inside their palms into four scorching and explosive metal balls and tossed at the center of the battlefield. Two deafening explosions immediately echoed, and the blast almost destroyed the entire training room.
When the blast and the smoke gradually dispersed, Li Yao and Boss Bai, the two commanders, laughed at the same time.
"A hundred years ago, when I first saw you, I thought that you were just a cunning, sleazy, and fearless thief. I never expected that you would achieve what you have achieved today!"
Shaking the metal scraps on his hands off, Boss Bai looked at the ground that was riddled with holes by the shrapnel and said with mixed feelings.
"I never thought that I would be able to meet Boss Bai again, or that you would have such… wonderful experiences," Li Yao said sincerely.
His comment was not just for Boss Bai but also for Yan Xinjian, the other soul that had been melted into Boss Bai's body.
Deep below the ground of Spider Den, Li Yao had tried to break into a new level under the help of the training log that Yan Xinjian left behind. It took him five years before he finally broke out of seclusion and completed the first major leap of his life.
Therefore, Yan Xinjian could almost be called a half master for him.
Because of such a connection, his relationship with Boss Bai was naturally highly unusual.
One and a half months had already passed since they occupied the Blue Sky Market. The construction of the Coalition Fleet of Pyromaniacs had been preliminarily finished. The battle missions had been issued. The tactical deception and the intelligence collection work regarding the outside world were being carried out in order too.
The war outside of the Blue Sky Space Zone had already begun. The edge of the Imperium was on fire. The four families had asked the "National Protection Army" that had been resting in the Blue Sky Market to join the war many times. It was time to march out and teach the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium a lesson about the awesomeness of "pyromaniacs"!
Li Yao was going to the "Seven Seas Grand Market", the nest of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, the next day. That was why he had the time to have the final practice with Boss Bai in the training room today.
"Li Yao, I have a bad memory right now."
Looking at Li Yao, Boss Bai said, "Remind me. Did I ever thank you for saving Bai Kaixin?
"Forget it. I can never thank you enough for that thing. Thank you, Li Yao. Also… It's great to see you again. Really."
When he mentioned his son, the head of space pirates who craved to rage and dominate the multiverse looked and sounded much more gentle. His eyes were particularly sincere when he looked at Li Yao.
"I'm happy to fight side by side with Boss Bai again!"
Greatly moved, Li Yao couldn't help but propose, "Why don't we go to the Seven Seas Grand Market together tomorrow? After all, the Fist King, Xiaoming, and Wenwen are already capable of simulating the basic fleet tactics. There shouldn't be a problem as long as the battle is not too erratic. There will be a better chance to convince Jin Yuyan if you come with me, Boss Bai!"
Boss Bai was also rather moved. "No can do!"
Li Yao: "…"
Boss Bai patted Li Yao's shoulder and said solemnly, "Li Yao, your stealth skills and your silver tongue are famous all over the universe. The victory will certainly be ours even if you go there by yourself, not to mention that you have tricked—no, persuaded Li Jialing to go with you, right? If I go with you, wouldn't it be an insulting gesture that implies I don't trust you at all?"
Li Yao was rather suspicious. "Is that so?"
"Of course. Alright, enough talking. We have a guest waiting outside of the training room!"
Boss Bai stopped talking and waved his hands, turning off the defensive shield and the sound-blocking system around the training room. His eyes suddenly grew sharp as he stared at the "guest" waiting outside before he said coldly, "Marquess Yongchun, you are truly a trustworthy man, and you have indeed returned to report again. You must've been troubled!"
The person observing Li Yao and Boss Bai's exercise from the outside was exactly Li Wuji, Marquess Yongchun, who was previously loyal to the four families.
Li Yao did not hide himself before Li Wuji.
It was because he chopped off the head of the flagship of the Flying Rainbow Fleet under the watch of everyone, which was impossible to be kept a secret.
As long as they were not going to kill Li Wuji, the guy would learn the matter sooner or later. So, it might be a better option to show himself in public and further intimidate Li Wuji!
Li Yao's deterrence had proved to be rather effective because it was not the first time that Li Wuji had heard the name of "Vulture Li Yao".
Back when the reformists rose unstoppably and barged into the capital, the name of "Vulture Li Yao" had already soared. Everybody in the four families knew that "Vulture Li Yao", driving the Colossus "Gold Vulture", was one of the best warriors of the reformists.
Of course, Li Wuji, who was better informed, also knew that the remarkable warrior of the reformists and the super expert who miraculously rose from nobody knew where had already become the most wanted criminal of the reformists.
The reason why the reformists wanted Li Yao was rather hilarious. It was said that he had betrayed them and went to the four Kurfürst families' side.
That was rather perplexing for Li Wuji, who found it impossible to figure out the stance of Li Yao, Boss Bai, and the rest of them, or the current situation.
While the four families were in cooperation, they were still different interest groups. It was possible that some other family talked this "Vulture Li Yao" into defection without informing the Li family because of their own plan.
All in all, for Li Wuji who had run to a dead end, it was not a bad thing that Li Yao, a "traitor" of the reformists, had appeared. At the very least, it suggested that Boss Bai was not lying, and they were truly not on the reformists' side. So, there was still a great room for cooperation.
Stubbornness was the most untreatable disease. Once one could think it through, there would be nothing they wouldn't do.
When Li Wuji contemplated above the septic tank, he had already thought everything through. He had lost all his troops and run into such a brutal man like "Vulture Li Yao". He could not defeat the man, and he did not want to die. What choice did he have except to cooperate with the guy?
Getting to the bottom of it, this was just a civil war of the Imperium. Whoever won in the end, the stew would still be in the pot. As long as it was guaranteed that he could have a bowl of it and an intact head to eat it in the end, nothing else seemed to matter.
All in all, after negotiating with Boss Bai and Li Yao for a whole night and settling all the terms, Li Wuji returned to the territory of the four families with the "bodyguards" that Boss Bai selected for him. He actively spoke for the "National Protection Army" and helped them collect the latest intelligence. He had even come back to the Blue Sky Market to report in person a month later.
