Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 744
Because of their unique battlefield, the actions of the Secret Sword Bureau did not require permissions under most circumstances. They were even allowed to bring the disciples of a sect in for investigation without contacting the leader of the sect, provided that they submitted evidence later.
But it did not mean that the Secret Sword Bureau was free to open fire on ordinary people.
Even if the first attack from Hidden Star was an honest mistake, the second one was definitely intentional.
The incident was in violation of the boundary of the federation and the Cultivators.
Right now, Lu Zui had officially been arrested and was now giving up other accomplices of the Patriots Partnership. The 'expedition motion' had been aborted in the emergency, too.
The message had been sent to the Grand Desolate Plateau at the highest speed. The troops that were stationed in the south of the Grand Desolate Plateau, planning to march into the Dark Desolate Domain, had all been ordered to retreat to their respective defense area. Those having drills in the Dark Desolate Domain would change the arrangement of the drills and finish them as quickly as possible so that they could return to their bases and stand by.
Also, in response to the instrument of surrender of the Pantheon of Demons brought back by Li Yao, the parliament decided to send a delegation to the Blood Demon Sector to investigate the situation of the world and to reach out to the Pantheon of Demons.
More importantly, they were going to pick up the remaining soldiers of a troop—the survivors of the Flying Tigers Legion led by Han Tuhu.
The soldiers of the Heaven's Origin Sector had to be brought back home!
"I'm planning to join the delegation and go to the Blood Demon Sector!" Ding Lingdang rubbed her fists and said, "I discussed looking for you in the Blood Demon Sector with Wu Mayan before. But now, you've returned by yourself! Still, I want to see what the Blood Demon Sector looks like with my own eyes. Also… your third disciple Jin Xinyue seems to be an interesting girl. I should bond with her, shouldn't I?"
Li Yao was sweating hard. "What—what do you want?"
Ding Lingdang smiled but said nothing. Behind her, Wu Mayan put on a miserable expression. It was clearly not a delightful experience to 'bond' with Ding Lingdang.
Professor Mo Xuan smiled. "Alright, alright. Save your private talk for at home. I have the third great piece of news."
The third piece of news was a pleasant surprise.
Jiang Hailiu, the Speaker of the parliament, had woken up!
He was an admin-type Cultivator and did not boast much combat ability. He had nearly been broken apart by the crystal bomb that Lu Zui had carefully prepared. His brain had been in a deep coma because of the severe blast.
Before, Speaker Jiang was having a conservative treatment in a secret hospital not far away from the parliament building. Even the most brilliant Meditation Healers did not have good solutions to wake up his dormant soul.
However, in the afternoon yesterday, when everybody was shouting and singing the national anthem of the federation on every street and alley near the parliament building, Speaker Jiang's brain had miraculously reacted!
Perhaps, when Li Yao's soul collided with the souls of tens of thousands of citizens, the overwhelming resonation touched Speaker Jiang's soul, which was struggling in oblivion. He had been reminded of his identity, his responsibility, and his destiny!
"Speaker Jiang woke up when you were 'executing the Blood Stripe Virus' in parliament," Professor Mo Xuan said. "He dedicated himself to work the moment he woke up. The settlement of the 'Blood Stripe Virus incident' and the pause of the 'expedition motion' couldn't have been passed quickly without his insistence."
"Excellent!" Li Yao was overjoyed.
Jiang Hailiu was a leader with a calm, clear head, who would not be affected by the public fervor and his own emotions. He would certainly be able to make sure that the federation made the right choice.
"Speaker Jiang just woke up after all. His soul is still very weak. After working for six hours, he went back into the deep sleep state to treat himself again," Professor Mo Xuan said. "However, before he went to sleep, he met me and asked me to bring a few words to you, which were exactly I meant to say to you—welcome home!"
"Welcome home, Master!" Wu Mayan shouted, too.
"Welcome home, my hero!" Ding Lingdang hugged Li Yao again and nibbled on his face.
Li Yao finally could not stop his tears from flowing out of his eyes anymore.
He was finally home. At that moment, he was truly back home with his family and friends!
Homecoming was ten times more exhilarating than condensing the Nascent Soul. Li Yao's spiritual energy and soul were surging out beyond his control, and his brain was illuminated by the most dazzling brilliance!
"You are so strong right now!" Ding Lingdang sensed Li Yao's changes immediately. She jabbed his chest and exclaimed, "What level are you in right now? You haven't advanced into the Nascent Soul Stage yet, have you?"
The question made Wu Mayan and Professor Mo Xuan prick their ears, too.
A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator less than forty years old?
That would be a monster in either the Heaven's Origin Sector or the Flying Star Sector and even in the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago!
"I don't know how I should put it." Li Yao scratched his bottom and perceived the bump at the bottom of his spine. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "The Nascent Soul seems to have been condensed, but I'm still some distance away from the real 'Nascent Soul Stage'. I feel like—
"Metaphorically speaking, my body is a pregnant woman right now. The 'baby' in my body has grown mature, but it is still in the womb and hasn't been born yet."
Ding Lingdang was confused. She thought for a long time and said, "Is it possible? I've never heard of such experiences from other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators."
Li Yao rubbed his stomach and observed, "This is what I thought. For most of the Cultivators who are about to enter the Nascent Soul Stage from the peak of the Core Formation Stage, they are at least a hundred years old. Their life experience, outlook, and worldview are all very stable. It's like a grown-up woman giving birth to a baby. Everything will be very smooth when the time comes.
"But my situation is vastly different. I am too young after all. My strength may be enough, but I'm too short of life experience. My worldview is not mature and steady enough, either, considering how I often overrule my past opinions.
"It's still too early for me to condense the Nascent Soul right now, like a teenage girl who conceived by accident. Her body is not prepared yet. When the critical moment comes, she—she might go through dystocia!"
The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment. Although Li Yao's theory was rather unorthodox, it did make some sense on second thought.
"What do we do now?" Ding Lingdang asked anxiously. "Is it dangerous if the 'baby' cannot be born after a long time? I know a lot of experts whose capability plunged after they failed to advance into the Nascent Soul Stage. It was not a Nascent Soul that they formed but an Aggressive Soul, Broken Soul, or Fiendish Soul, which would plague them for the rest of their lives!"
Li Yao scratched his bottom again. Hearing Ding Lingdang's words, he felt that his spine was swelling in pain and that the Nascent Soul that he had condensed was not peaceful as it appeared to be.
Thinking hard for a long time, Li Yao suddenly beamed with joy and said, "I reflected on the situations before, and I wonder if this is this key point.
"I have dual talents in fighting and refining, but I'm more focused on fighting. Before, I made all the improvements of the major levels during fierce battles. Sometimes, I never had a breakthrough unless I was beaten until I was heavy wounded, catching my last breath!
"For example, on Iron Plateau, I didn't perceive the mysterious 'superlative height of the Building Foundation Stage' until Yan Xibei almost killed me!
"But this time, my opponent was Lu Zui. He is sordid and shameless, but he is not a warrior! In the end, I only just condensed my Nascent Soul with the resonation of souls of the public, when he raised hands and surrendered! I didn't even move my fingers. How could I advance into the real Nascent Soul Stage?"
Ding Lingdang was enlightened. "I got it now. You are saying that, to advance into the Nascent Soul Stage, you need a great fighter to beat you up brutally to the point that you cannot feed yourself!"
Li Yao nodded. "That is not how I would put it, but that's the idea."
"That's so easy. Come on. Shall we do it here or outside?" Ding Lingdang rolled up her sleeves and spat into her palms, eager to try. "I'm best at beating up other people, and I like beating you best. Come on. Let me savage you brutally!"
Wu Mayan clenched his fists and waved them, declaring solemnly, "Although my limbs are thin, if you think that I can be of any help, Master, I definitely will not hesitate to beat you up!"
How exciting it would be to beat his master up!
Li Yao coughed and shook his head. "It's not simple as that. Not just you, even other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators won't be helpful, either.
"It's not about your strength but because I know that you do not really mean to kill me! How can the full potential of the Nascent Soul Stage be triggered without a real life-and-death battle?
"The only result will be that I am beaten up by you while gaining nothing. It will not be helpful for the improvement of my level at all."
Ding Lingdang and Wu Mayan looked at each other in bewilderment and realized that it did make sense. It was like the battles in the Grand Illusionary Land and those in the real world; they were completely different.
No real warriors could ever be trained in a virtual reality system.
"Then what do we do?" Ding Lingdang frowned. It would be a time bomb if the issue was not addressed.
"We do nothing." Li Yao scratched his head. Everybody's path and opportunity to enter the Nascent Soul Stage was different. Other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator would not be able to offer much guidance to him. It all counted on himself.
Right now, he did not have good solutions, but he knew that he must not rush into anything.
The 'Nascent Soul' was the purest crystallization of a Cultivator's will, experience, and strength. If irrelevant thoughts were mixed into it, his future training would be seriously affected.
Who knew whether or not Lu Zui had walked on the wrong path to this day because he had some extreme thoughts when he condensed the Nascent Soul?
Thinking about Lu Zui, Li Yao was suddenly ill at ease for some reason.
After the improvement of his level, his senses were even sharper than before. He could vaguely foresee something before it happened.
"Where is Lu Zui right now? I'd like to meet him."
A lot of questions about the whole scheme remained unanswered. Li Yao was quite interested in talking to the leader of the Patriots Partnership.
Chapter 1133: Mutual Appreciation! |
"Lu Zui is now temporarily locked in the underground fortress in parliament," Professor Mo Xuan said. "Due to the recent events, the Secret Sword Bureau is now a mess. Parliament has passed Speaker Jiang's proposal that Supervisor Guo of the first division of the Secret Sword Bureau be the acting director of the Secret Sword Bureau. Also, he was asked to establish a special investigation group to interrogate Lu Zui and find out the scheme of the Patriots Partnership.
Li Yao beamed with joy and almost exclaimed, "Supervisor Guo is still alive?"
Li Yao was very clear that, although it was himself and the veterans who had caused great trouble and revealed Lu Zui's real face in the end, the key to his endeavor had always been Guo Chunfeng.
If Guo Chunfeng had not taken action in advance and protected Professor Mo Xuan and Ding Lingdang under the name of the arrest, they would have been taken away by the Patriots Partnership.
Later, it was also Guo Chunfeng who had reached out to him. The two of them had been able to exchange tremendous information and set up their trap that even fooled the cunning Lu Zui!
It was still Guo Chunfeng who had informed him of the basic structure and defense system of the headquarters of the Secret Sword Bureau and guided him to sneak in.
Otherwise, how could Li Yao have broken through the defense network of the largest intelligence agency of the federation in only a few hours, considering that he was a human being after all?
Without Guo Chunfeng, it would not have been impossible for him to communication with Professor Mo Xuan and retrieve the evidence of paramount importance from the Jade Crystal Disc!
At the last moment, Guo Chunfeng even sacrificed himself resolutely and boarded 'Hidden Star', where he stalled his boss, Lu Zui, earning the previous half hour for them!
Without the half hour, they definitely would not have been able to reach the central district, where the parliament building was located. The Patriots Partnership would have stopped them halfway.
At that time, Li Yao had still been under the adverse effects of the Five Disintegrations of Heavens and Human. His capability had plunged, and he was certainly no match for the assassins of the Patriots Partnership!
Therefore, even though everybody considered him a great hero who saved the day at the most critical moment, Li Yao believed that Guo Chunfeng was the most important person for the war.
Guo Chunfeng was definitely the well-deserved greatest contributor!
"Where is Supervisor Guo?" Li Yao asked excitedly. "I would like to meet him!"
Professor Mo Xuan's crystal cameras glittered. He smiled. "As it happens, Supervisor Guo wants to meet you, too. He also asked whether or not you are willing to join the investigation group to look into the Patriots Partnership. He seems to have run into some trouble and would like to study it with you."
Li Yao nodded quickly. "Of course!"
…
Below the parliament building was an underground fortress designed to resist the beast tide outbreak.
The entire fortress consumed more than five million tons of super alloys. There was a sentry post every few steps. The attack and defense rune arrays were all of the highest level.
Deep inside the underground fortress, Li Yao and Guo Chunfeng hugged each other warmly.
"Fellow Cultivator Guo!"
"Fellow Cultivator Li!"
'Fellow Cultivator' could mean a lot or nothing. When two Cultivators who had not seen each other before met, they could address each other by 'fellow Cultivator' for politeness.
However, for Li Yao and Guo Chunfeng, the meaning of 'fellow Cultivator' was much deeper, intense and unchangeable.
Even when there was still a misunderstanding between them and Li Yao regarded Guo Chunfeng as Abyss, he had admired the keenness and resolution of the 'demon hunter'.
Many times, the traps and the false identities that Li Yao had made after all the trouble were seen through by Guo Chunfeng immediately. He had nearly been caught quite a number of times.
Such a worthy opponent truly deserved his appreciation.
Guo Chunfeng was a friend, not a foe. It was really the biggest surprise in the war.
"Brother Guo, how did you escape from Lu Zui?"
Li Yao used a more intimate form of address. He eyed Guo Chunfeng up and down and discovered, although the guy appeared feeble, there was nothing serious about him. He took a long breath in relief but was caught in confusion.
At that time, Guo Chunfeng had gone to buy more time for him at the cost of his own life. He had been determined to sacrifice himself.
How did Lu Zui allow him to survive?
Guo Chunfeng smiled and replied casually, "It's simple. After I delayed Lu Zui for half an hour according to our deal, Lu Zui indeed realized what was going on and burst into fury!
"At that time, I was surrounded by Lu Zui and four tough warriors, who were all infuriated and had made up their minds to kill me. When I was about to die, at the critical moment—"
"What did you do?" Li Yao held his breath, sweating.
"I cried and kneeled on the ground," Guo Chunfeng said solemnly. "I begged Lu Zui to be lenient and spare my worthless life."
Li Yao was dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"I kneeled on the ground and crawled over like a dog. Clinging to Lu Zui's thigh, I cried to Lu Zui. I told him that, for his information, everything that had happened had happened. I'd already delayed him long enough. Killing me wouldn't help him, right?
"Moreover, although I was heavily wounded, I still had a bit of strength to counterattack. When a rabbit is angry, it can bite, too! If they were determined to kill me, it would cost them another several minutes as well as the physical strength and ammunition of the great heroes of the Patriots Partnership, which would certainly not be very good, right?"
"Brother Guo, you—you must be kidding, right?" Li Yao stammered.
"I am not. It was exactly what happened." Guo Chunfeng opened his hands and said casually, "I kneeled, I begged, and I cried. Touching my chest, I told Lu Zui that I knew I was wrong and that I was willing to correct my wrongdoing and join the Patriots Partnership! I still had a lot of secret resources at my disposal, and I could contribute all of them to his organization and help him to complete his patriotic plan. As long as he could give us another opportunity and spare my worthless life, I was willing to do anything."
Li Yao was astounded. "And Lu Zui believed it?"
Guo Chunfeng shook his head. "Of course he didn't, but I said something else.
"Director, you claim that you are not swallowed by hatred and that everything you did was out of rationality for the future of the federation. That is the belief of the 'patriots'.
"Then, it will be wrong for you to kill me.
"I am already kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. Killing me at such a moment is utterly meaningless. It's just a way to vent your anger.
