Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 935
"Sun Jiuling, Leader Sun!" Qi Zhongdao was so furious that he was calling his junior nephew by his name. "All thirty ships of assets, and you failed to keep any of them. Excellent. Excellent. You are really my excellent junior nephew and an excellent leader of the Grand Mystery Sect!"
Boom!
The flames of spiritual energy suddenly burst out of Qi Zhongdao's body and soared into a raging fiend in his back!
Boosted by the spiritual energy, the entire flying boat was creaking. Many parts that were already full of damages were now blowing out bits of wood again!
"The failure of the battle and the heavy losses are all due to my inappropriate commands. Please punish me as you see fit, Senior Uncle!"
Vomiting blood, Master Dawn Moon shoved the disciples in front of him and fell on one knee in front of Qi Zhongdao before he craned his neck and gazed at Qi Zhongdao.
"You—you think that I do not dare punish you?" Qi Zhongdao was so exasperated that the flames of spiritual energy above his head were even more fierce!
"Grand leader!"
A few elders of the Grand Mystery Sect who had been eyeing coldly nearby stood up and said unhurriedly, "The leader is indeed partly to blame for the loss of the relief assets after the assault of the Heaven Battering Army.
"However, nobody could've foreseen that Qi Changsheng could return so quickly!
"Qi Changsheng has savaged the northwest for decades. As one of the notorious Four Rapscallions, he is qualified as one of the top ten experts in the world. His indestructible body is also too sturdy for Master Dawn Moon to resist himself. It is understandable. Before, a lot of Cultivators were deployed to hunt Qi Changsheng. One time, more than twenty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators went to chase after Qi Changsheng, but did they not fail to block the guy and let him run away?
"Since the leader has fought bloody battles and is now exhausted and heavily wounded, we'd better let him treat his wounds right now and punish him when the wounds are healed!"
The elders mostly possessed high positions. Some of them were even a generation older than the leader and were senior brothers or junior brothers to Qi Zhongdao. They were basically on par with each other and did not need to listen to Qi Zhongdao's curses.
"You—"
Qi Zhongdao gnashed his teeth so hard that the teeth were almost ground to dust.
"Do you have any other orders, grand leader?"
The few elders of the Grand Mystery Sect stood between Qi Zhongdao and Master Dawn Moon without saying anything. There was no telling if it was intentional, but they stressed 'grand' when they addressed him.
The grand leader of the Grand Mystery Sect and the current leader of the Grand Mystery Sect as well as the elders had a silent and yet extremely dangerous competition.
The flames of spiritual energy behind Qi Zhongdao were slowly retreated back into his body, but on his dark skin, red veins and nerves were bulging out!
Even Li Yao had sensed Qi Zhongdao's intimidating aura that was ten times more powerful than during his match with Yan Liren during the Dragon Spring Meeting. It felt like an iron wall a hundred meters tall was about to fall upon everyone!
The air almost froze.
There was nothing but dead silence on the spot. Even the noise of a needle hitting the deck would have been as shocking as thunder.
Right when the two parties were about to have an open fight, Dan Fengzi, leader of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, suddenly walked out and bowed to Qi Zhongdao. "Master Righteous One, by common sense, this is an internal affair of the Grand Mystery Sect, and it is inappropriate for outsiders such as us to comment.
"However, in the fleet escorted by Master Dawn Moon, quite a few were contributed by the Purple Pole Sword Sect. Master Dawn Moon was wounded not for his personal interests but for the common interests of all the sects here and for the happiness of the people. So, on behalf of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, I fear that I must say something.
"First of all, the natural disasters are not over yet, and the great enemy is still ahead of us. Our primary target is the White Lotus ghoul army that is attacking East Peace County. Right now, the most important things for us is stability and unification. We can deal with other issues, however severe they are, after the White Lotus ghoul army is suppressed!
"Secondly, although it was quite a heavy loss for the thirty carriers to all be looted, we have fortunately conquered Roaring Tiger City. The assets in the few warehouses in Roaring Tiger City should be enough for the million disaster victims to survive the most difficult period. So, the consequences of the brutal failure might not be as dire as we imagine!
"If the assets in the whole of Roaring Tiger City still do not suffice, it doesn't matter. As long as we inform the nearby sects of the appearance of Roaring Tiger City right now, hehe, I think that they will deliver a lot of relief assets very soon, and the disaster victims will survive the calamity!"
"Dan Fengzi, even you…" Qi Zhongdao stared at Dan Fengzi as ferociously as a tiger, as if he were trying to poke two holes on his face.
Dan Fengzi looked back casually and confidently. His eyes were as clear as water, and he seemed to be unaware of what Qi Zhongdao meant.
Other than Li Yao and Yan Liren, the other few elders of the Purple Pole Sword Sect all stood behind Dan Fengzi, holding their swords hilts. Vague sword auras were spreading out.
"Dan Fengzi is quite right. Four ships from the Gold Armor Clan have been pillaged, too. We went through a lot of trouble to gather those resources. Of course, we feel painful to lose them. However, the brutality of 'Heaven Battering King' Qi Changsheng is well-known. Is there anybody here who hasn't suffered losses because of him? It was quite unfortunate that the fleet ran into him, but it was certainly not entirely Master Dawn Moon's fault. Honestly speaking, even if we were defending the carriers, could we have stopped Qi Changsheng for sure?"
Including Bu Tiantong, a few elders of the Gold Armor Clan stood up, too.
"Thunderstorm Valley thinks the same. Right now, a great enemy is still in front of us. Let's talk about the less important issues after we have suppressed the White Lotus Cult!"
A few elders of Thunderstorm Valley stepped forward and stood next to Master Dawn Moon, Dan Fengzi, the elders of the Grand Mystery Sect, and the elders of the Gold Armor Clan.
"After all, there are enough assets for the disaster victims. If we are still short of something, we can always ask the sects nearby to provide them. I don't think they'll dare to refuse!"
The Cultivators from Flying Spirit Island stood on Master Dawn Moon and Dan Fengzi's side, too.
On this side, it was dozens of elders, leaders, and Cultivators from all the main sects.
On that side, it was just 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao alone.
Looking at the many 'fellow Cultivators' in a daze, Qi Zhongdao seemed to grow twenty years older in just a moment. He suddenly lost all his strength. His veins and nerves, which had been bulging like snakes previously, withered, too. His lips trembled for a long time, but he did not know what to say in the end. His body was shaking slightly, and he seemed almost unable to stand on his feet.
"Senior brother," an elder of the Grand Mystery Sect said respectfully, "like you used to say, we must consider the big picture!"
"The big picture?" Qi Zhongdao smiled bitterly. "The big picture!"
His throat rolled for a long time, only to come up with nothing. Finally, after a long sigh, he shook his sleeve and turned into a streak of grayness, flying into the clouds to get all the annoyances out of his sight.
The only things left behind were a dilapidated Roaring Tiger City and the folks who were gobbling in gratitude and innocence outside of the city.
The miserable screams of Duan Xingyi, the leader of the Black Devil Cult, seemed to be still echoing in the night sky.
"You did not intend to offer food at all. You did not plan to offer a single grain of food!"
Chapter 1437: The Wine Cup Is Never Empty! |
Night fell. The dashing stars weaved into a net and soon covered the entire world.
Below Roaring Tiger City, the torches as thick as children's arms were paved. Together with the enhancement of the Cultivators' techniques, their brilliance integrated and illuminated the place as if it were daylight.
After a whole day of hard work, the flood nearby had been drained. Also, the bricks and rocks dismantled from the debris of Roaring Tiger City were piled into simple dams, which expanded the lone islands in the flood and gradually connected them together. They looked like an undersea continent that was rising up.
On the spacious ground, centered around the porridge pots, independent zones had been divided according to the banners of different sects. A lot of traps, trenches, and walls had been dug out, too. There were also weights, hammers, and other facilities for working out on the ground. Swords, sabers, and spears could be found, too.
Also, fully-enclosed tents had been established, in which the confidential test magical equipment of the sects was set up to examine the aptitude and talents of the applicants.
"Ho! Ho!"
The disaster victims, who were mostly as thin as a skeleton, were already scrambling on the traps and walls when they had not entirely recovered from the horror of the savaging flood yet. They were also crushing themselves with the weights and hammers, unwilling to give up even when they were bleeding. Some of the peasants who had learned a thing or two about martial arts before were waving the spears or sabers so crazily that even water would not pass.
It was because the main sects had established offices below Roaring Tiger City to recruit new disciples.
Although resources were scarce, people were certainly not. However, most folks had barely any clothes and had been starving for a long time. They were even falling off at the first morning breeze. Therefore, they were only a waste of food and absolutely useless for the Cultivation sects.
The natural disasters treated everybody equally. Not just the common folks were running for survival, even the richer households who had the wealth for wine, meat, and body buildup before had to escape, too.
After such a long period of suffering, the applicants who had strength to complete the tests that the Cultivation sects arranged certainly had desirable aptitude and talent. Even if they were not qualified to be core disciples, they were more than enough to serve as external disciples or a servant or tenant of the vassal families of the Cultivation sects.
What was even better was that, unlike the locals that the Cultivation recruited within their own territory, the disaster victims were unhesitant to sign the lifelong indenture.
According to their indenture, there would be no compensation if any accident happened to them during their training, and even if they accomplished something, they would still have to serve their master and sect for the rest of their life. If they had other intentions, they would be struck by the wrath of the heavens!
The disaster victims who were healthy, strong, and far away from home and signed an indenture were the best cannon fodder for the Cultivation sects.
When two Cultivators were fighting, dozens of disciples of the hostile sect might get killed by accident in every round. Most of the dead disciples were those people.
When it was required to explore highly dangerous relics and mysterious demon caves, or to fight tough enemies such as the White Lotus Cult, the Heaven Battering Army, and the Ghost Qin cavalry, those people would be sent out first, too.
Dan Fengzi was the one who told Li Yao that inside information.
Inside Roaring Tiger City, an argument that was even more fierce was breaking out. The six major sects—including the Grand Mystery Sect and the Purple Pole Sword Sect—as well as sects from the central plateaus that had come for disaster relief together were all involved in a debate as to the distribution of the tremendous resources left by Roaring Tiger Hall, including crystals, magical equipment, and the low-level disciples.
It was then that Li Yao realized that the low-level Cultivators of Roaring Tiger Hall would not certainly be punished with death even if they possibility participated in the Black Devil Cult's operations in the past. On the contrary, for the sake of benevolence, they would be sent to the main sects for 'rectification' so that they would have a chance to atone for their mistakes.
Seeing that the elegant-looking high-level Cultivators lunged at Roaring Tiger Hall's enormous body like ravenous hyenas and were tearing off the bloody, stinky meat piece after piece greedily, Li Yao could not have been more disappointed by the 'noble sects' in the world of ancient Cultivators!
He finally understood that the 'noble sects', just as the leaders of Roaring Tiger Hall and the Black Devil Cult said, were there for personal gains blatantly under the disguise of disaster relief.
It did make sense on second thought. If most of the ancient Cultivators were not as despicable as such, how could a super civil war that swept across the three thousand Sectors have broken out and eventually destroyed the entire ancient Cultivation civilization?
The experiences of 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi alone were indicative enough of the faces of most of the ancient Cultivators!
Li Yao was more and more reluctant to stay any longer in such a corrupt world. He could not wait to return to the modern Cultivation civilization.
Even after dealing with the ruthless Imperium of True Human Beings or the emotionless, mechanical Alliance of the Holy Covenant seemed to be better than hanging around with the pretentious guys and listening to their bullsh*t about 'slaying evil and serving justice'!
Li Yao made a decision.
After the issue with the White Lotus Cult was over, he would find an excuse to travel on his own for a while. Then, he would go to the second satellite of the Ancient Sages Sector and establish the star beacon first!
He walked randomly on that dark night, moving farther and farther away from Roaring Tiger City.
Behind him was an obstreperous city full of lights, and in front of him was a stinky, muddy land savaged by the flood.
However, he found it hard to tell which side was hell and which side was the world of human beings!
Suddenly, Li Yao smelt a certain stimulating fragrance, which was the scent of some kind of thick, intense wine mixed with almost ten kinds of meat.
Then, he heard contented laughter far away ahead of him.
Greatly curious, Li Yao sniffed and walked toward where the fragrant came from.
After walking for a long time, he finally discovered that a ragged plank was docked in a small water pool that had been filled with mud below a crooked tree that had already been destroyed by lightning.
A giant pot had been set up nearby. There was no telling what was being boiled inside, but the cap of the pot was jumping because of the soaring air below, which was almost leaking out in milky smoke.
There were also dozens of tankards of wine paved in a row. The tankards were all shining greasily in dark golden colors. The marks on the tankards were the patterns of an awesome tiger, indicating that they were the fine wine treasured by Roaring Tiger Hall!
On the small plank, two people were sitting, one in the front and the other at the rear. They were the handsome monk Master Bitter Cicada, who did not mind eating rotten meat, and Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar, who was wearing ragged clothes and could not have been stinkier!
Master Bitter Cicada and Ba Xiaoyu seemed to be old friends. They were not restrained at all in front of each other.
Ba Xiaoyu picked up a tankard of old wine with his spiritual energy and broke the seal before he poured the wine, which was as gold as honey, into two bailers. He clapped his hands and laughed. "The b*stards of Roaring Tiger Hall committed all kinds of crimes. Even a stray dog on the street is cleaner than them! However, the wine that they brewed is indeed among the best in the world! When this beggar saw the Duans drinking the wine for the first time, I was so thirsty that I almost jumped down and knocked down both of them in order to drink up all their wine!
"After a year of waiting, I have finally fulfilled my wish today. This couldn't be better! Hey, monk. Of the three tankards of wine here, one is yours, and the other is mine. If you haven't had enough, fill your stomach with the meat!"
After saying that, Ba Xiaoyu raised the bailer with both hands and opened his mouth. Leaving aside the demons of the Blood Demon Sector, Li Yao had never seen any creature who could open their mouth to such an extent. After only one moment, an entire bailer of wine had nothing left!
With a world-shaking burp, Ba Xiaoyu burst into laughter. "There's always wine in my cup, and there are always heads of the scoundrels waiting to be cut off. Satisfying. This is very satisfying!"
He was not in a hurry to pour the second bailer of wine. Instead, he opened his fingers and snatched another two tankards of wine with his spiritual energy. Shaking his arms, he tossed the two tankards of wine into the sky and smashed them into each other.
"The Thunderous Sound Hall, Green Glow City, Void Appearance Sect… All the victims killed by the Black Devil Cult, all the Cultivators and ordinary people, you may rest in peace now!"
The delicious wine sprayed on the dark land like broken stars.
Master Bitter Cicada sighed. The pearls that he held in his hand slowly drifted into midair. Accompanied by the soothing recitals of sutras, they revolved slowly and released the gentlest brilliance.
Ba Xiaoyu suddenly widened his eyes and spat, "Which scumbag is eavesdropping over there? Are you planning to steal my wine?"
Li Yao secretly frowned. He did not hide his presence but walked close openly. Although it was pure darkness around, it was impossible for Ba Xiaoyu not to have noticed him with his Cultivation under the illumination of the stars.
What was the guy's attitude all about when he knew exactly who Li Yao was?
Li Yao could tell that Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar was quite hostile toward him.
It was quite perplexing. Li Yao was pretty sure that Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar must not have met Master Spiritual Vulture before. There should not have been any grudges between them.
