by <unknown>
Li Yao squinted his eyes, examining Zheng Dongming for half a minute. Suddenly, he started laughing.
Just as Zheng Dongming was interested in Li Yao, at this moment, Li Yao also became a bit interested in Zheng Dongming.
Li Yao shrugged his shoulder. “Sure, you’re not here to stir up trouble. But what did you come here for? Do you want to team up with me? To fight hand-to-hand together on Devil Dragon Island?”
Zheng Dongming said, “That was only my first objective. The primary objective was that I wanted to chat with you. Just simply a conversation. If I were to use terms from the Ancient Cultivation World to explain, then I would say I came here to ‘Plant a Seed of Karma’. Nothing more!”
“You’re rich and powerful. I’m damned and poor. We aren’t people of the same world. What could we possible chat about?”
“Plenty man~ For example, you are quite a talented individual, fellow student Li Yao. I’ve heard you also have quite some skills in Artifact repair. Then what will it be? Have you thought over which school you want to test into? Which type of Cultivator you want to become?”
“What do you mean ‘type’ of Cultivators? There are even many different types of cultivators?” Actually, Li Yao had never heard of such things. He still believed that there was only one type of Cultivator… and that was those who soared through the skies on flying swords, going around killing. Only that type of Cultivator.
Zheng Dongming had a certain “If you don’t know, then come. Let’s sit down and listen to young master Zheng slowly explain” expression on his face. With utter pride, he glanced an eye at Li Yao. He cleared his throat and said, “In the Ancient Cultivation World of 40,000 years ago, obviously, cultivators weren’t separated into types. There was only one kind of cultivator. At most, there were those who cultivated in the path of demons, the path of fiends… but those don’t count — only the sources of their spiritual energy were different! And 40,000 years later to the Modern Cultivation Era, society has separated different types of jobs more and more finely. Cultivators have also been separated into a total of six major types.”
He extended out his chubby right hand, spreading open his fingers. He wriggled his thumb and said, “The first type is also the most common, the most ordinary, and that is the battle-type cultivator. The battle-type cultivator is the type most inline for the average person’s traditional view of what a cultivator is like. More or less, they fly on flying swords. They travel unhindered all around to fight hand-to-hand with Demon Beasts. You have to know of this type of Cultivator. I don’t need to explain more, right?”
Li Yao nodded his head. Obviously, he understood what the battle-type cultivator was. It's just that he never thought that there were actually 5 different types of cultivators outside of the battle-type cultivator.
What kind of mysteries… do these other five types of cultivators possess?
Zheng Dongming curled his index finger, continuing, “The second type is the ‘admin-type’ of Cultivators. This type of Cultivator may not possess the strongest of spiritual energy, but they possess the best computational ability. They can, in the time it takes for a flint’s spark to flash, do several million, even several tens of millions, even over 100 million of telepathic calculations. From a ginormous endless stream of information, they can discover hidden patterns and structures and even predict the direction of how things will play out. They make the most optimum decisions… I’m sure you won’t understand from the way I’m talking. Let me give you an example. The mayor of a major city with a population of ten million people. A general who commands an entire army. The chief of a large corporation. The head leader of a guild. They all need someone to make grand strategies and run administration. The admin-type Cultivator is most suited for this job.”
Electricity coursed in Li Yao’s mind. Soon, he responded by automatically nodding his head.
There are specialists in business. Someone with battle strength is different from someone who commands a large army. Being able to level a mountain with a single explosive fist is not representative of the ability to become a capable guild leader.
The admin-type cultivator really does have its own value for existence.
Zheng Dongming supplemented with more words, “At present, the person with the highest position in our Star Glory Federation is the Chairman of the Congress, Xu Haoran. He’s an admin-type Cultivator who reached the Yuanying Stage. It's said that his brain underwent enormous development. When his spiritual energy courses through to its utmost limit, he can process over 80 million thoughts telepathically every second! He can be said to be a super-crystal processor in human form! Only with this sort of calculation prowess can one lead an enormous nation such as this!”
Even Speaker Xu Haoran was an admin-type cultivator? Li Yao was forced to have a whole new level of respect for this type.
However, he understood himself unequivocally; he knew he wasn’t made for this. Soon, he returned to being himself and asked, “Then, what’s the third type?”
Zheng Dongming swayed his middle finger and said, “The third type is the research-type cultivator. Just as the name implies, this type of cultivator is similar to the admin-type cultivator, possessing extremely high computational abilities. They are capable of processing tens of thousands of telepathic thoughts in a flash. However, their abilities aren’t as extensive; they like to concentrate on a specific subject… The research-type cultivator often becomes a doctor, lawyer, university professor, and various scientific advisors in the industry. They are highly respected by the masses.”
Li Yao went “Oh.” When compared to the admin-type cultivator, the research-type cultivator seemed a bit weaker.
Zheng Dongming saw through his disappointment and said seriously, “Don’t feel that the research-type cultivator is useless… The powerful research-type cultivators can compute and run a simulation of a star. They can tell when it will explode and thereby absorb the energy of the star’s explosion for cultivation. They can also deduce the combat style of a powerful ancient demon beast from several billion years ago, just from inspecting a few shards of fossils. Those in love with medicine can fuse man with Demon Beast — to engineer a Beast Soldier with tyrannical strength! Of course, this is illegal in the Federation, but in some of the lawless areas outside of the Federation, there are research-type cultivators with this sort of true strength. They simply exist on the same level as a god!”
Zheng Dongming paused with a sorrowful laugh. In a low voice, he said, “If this is not enough of an explanation for you, think of it this way, 40,000 years ago in the past, the cultivator who did the R&D of the Demon God Virus, causing Spirit Beasts to evolve into Fiend Beasts… He could be considered a research-type cultivator. What do you think? Are you scared yet?”
Chapter 41: The Flagship, The Distant Expanse! |
Li Yao’s mind went blank; he felt an indescribable chill in the air.
There really was a cultivator who developed the Demon God Virus 40,000 years ago, leading to the rise of the Demon Beast civilization. Humanity was forced to enter into a 30,000 year long Great Dark Age.
Research-type cultivators were certainly existences on the level of devils and gods!
Composing himself, Li Yao continued with a question, “Then what’s the fourth type?”
“The fourth type is the creation-type cultivator. This type has their spiritual energy and computational ability in opposing equilibrium.They also need to have a dexterous pair of hands with bold and unconstrained imagination. In this way, they become experts in fabrication! Actually, this type of cultivator is also seen quite commonly. For instance, the most popular profession in the world of cultivators, the Master Refiner, is precisely a creation-type cultivator! Legends say that the most powerful of creation-type cultivators can craft a warship bigger than the moon, encompassing the starry skies! They can also craft the ‘Star Pulverizing Cannons’ that contain boundless power! One shell can flatten the entire continent!”
Li Yao’s e
yelids twitched. Finally, he knew what his own path would be — to be a creation-type cultivator!
Zheng Dongming spread open his five fingers and curled with his pinky, saying, “The fifth type is the culture-type cultivator. Both their spiritual energy and computational abilities may not necessarily be the most outstanding, but they possess the most profound and mysterious of mental powers. At any point in time and space, they can influence someone by their side by enveloping them into their own mental world. Honestly, the culture-type cultivator is the most mysterious type of all. No matter how much the expert researchers tried studying this type, they were all unable to break open the mysteries of this type’s mental powers. Often, the culture-type is found to be the best poet, artist, novelist, and musician!”
Li Yao nodded his head thoughtfully. “Artists? Novelists? It sounds like they don’t have any combat strength!”
Zheng Dongming laughed strangely. “That’s not necessarily true. The common culture-type cultivator may not be the greatest expert in combat, but there are a few utterly terrifying culture-types different from the norm. So much so that no one would dare provoke them rashly, as they are existences with absolute strength! For a rare example, within the cultivator-types, there is a special kind of profession called the Grand Illusionist. Normally when you look at one, you only see an ordinary author, with nothing weird about him. But once he gets angry, his mental world tears and explodes through to reality. He can pull others into a fiction marble of his own creation! Just think about it. The complete laws of nature within that domain field are all created by him. They can call the wind and summon the rain. They’re omnipotent! Even cultivators several stages higher than the Grand Illusionist, once they are caught and forced into the fiction marble, will have great difficulty escaping unharmed.”
“The world of cultivators really is filled with all sorts of fantastic marvels. So there’s this many awesome jobs!” Li Yao thought deeply for a moment and was forced to admit that a Grand Illusionist would be a completely difficult enemy to deal with.
When compared to the most mystical of cultivators, the most ordinary battle-type cultivator could simply be considered a domesticated and harmless upright citizen.
Zheng Dongming’s fingers pinched together, forming a fist. He said, “The six type is the hybrid-type. They possess the characteristics of several different types, allowing them to assume many different important roles. They are rare geniuses known as jack of all trades. Anyways, the world of cultivators is vast and boundless. The more one studies in a subject, the harder they find to master it. The hybrid-type cultivators, who are able to cross over to other realms, are actually few in number. They appear once in awhile, and when they do, the major guilds will always fight over them. And they become major stars that no one dares to approach for fear of getting burned.”
Li Yao’s heart yearned. He felt that he possessed both the potential of being a battle-type and a creation-type. He had the chance to become a hybrid-type cultivator.
However, it's still early to think of these things at the present. It’s better to concentrate on dealing with the Limit Challenge Competition for now.
When Li Yao was lost in thought, the levitating ship vibrated lightly. It’s speed slowed down gradually.
The surrounding students let out gasps of surprise.
Li Yao gazed as far as he can into the distance. The view ahead was completely different from the dead calm of sea with the golden scales of fish in the ocean.
It was unknown when the ocean’s surface turned black, but there were several dozen terrifying gigantic maelstroms up ahead. They cried with ear-splitting roars of thunder. They were like dreadful sea demons opening their dozens of mouths, revealing jagged canine teeth.
And surrounded by layers of these maelstroms was a series of twisted archipelagos, long and twisted. It looked like a flood dragon in the middle of the ocean, thrashing with all its might in the raging waves and stormy seas.
This was their destination, Devil Flood Dragon Island. Arena No. 571 of the Limit Challenge Competition!
…What caused the numerous students to gasp in surprise wasn’t the figure of Devil Flood Dragon Island, but rather the demonic maelstroms that spun around the island, and even more so, the black ocean with its raging and bellowing waves.
And floating calmly above all this... was a gigantic crystal battleship half covered by the clouds!
This was a completely old, out-dated, dilapidated, yet awe inspiring, super heavy-class crystal battleship that radiated profoundness. It’s total length was over 7,800 meters, weighed over 63 million tons, and was manned by 132,510 active duty navy personnel. And manning the critical position of handling the ship were 300 refinement stage cultivators. It was only in this way that this ship was able to operate without issues.
It looked like this crystal battleship had been dealt heavy damage from its appearance. It was riddled with scars and was full of holes. There were marks of explosions and corrosion left on its exterior. Quite a few places were mottled, fragmented, and in pieces. Of special note was the forward deck and bridge at the front of the battleship. It was smashed through even more thoroughly, exposing a terrifyingly enormous gaping hole. It gave off a feeling of a regretful giant bellowing towards the skies with a giant open mouth.
It had already lost its propulsion power, so it had been floating here for a very very long time. Enough time for the ocean wind to erode its armour, leaving the traces of a countless number of years. Even it’s original shocking gaping wound had become a part of it. It had become a fossil, a monument, a gravestone.
Only… On some different mental plane, in a spiritual world unseen by the naked eye, it was quite like an awe-inspiring ferocious tiger, a giant dragon soaring over the highest of heavens. It gave of a unapproachable radiance of coldness!
“It’s the Federal Army’s eternal flagship — the Distant Expanse!” Even Li Yao was stunned by the majestic aura of this crystal battleship. His breath was stifled involuntarily.
The Distant Expanse was born 500 years ago in the Federation. The Federation mobilized practically their entire Cultivator work force to craft this master battleship!
500 years ago during the Great Blood Ocean War, the Distant Expanse acted as the flagship for the Federal Army. It fought in the fierce battle against millions of Demon forces of the Far East Demon Kingdom at the Far East Ocean.
The fate of the Federation depended on the outcome of the Great Blood Ocean War. Because they were able to secure victory in this war… Because they were able to annihilate the Far East Demon Kingdom… The Star Glory Federation was able to obtain ultimate-supremacy in the Heaven’s Origin Sector. The fate of the nation grew more prosperous with each passing day!
However, even though the Distant Expanse was able to sink the enemy Heaven’s Field, it also suffered critical damage and fell into the ocean. It was only 80 years ago that the Federation was able to salvage it to the surface; however, it unable to be used as a battleship.
The Federation took this crystal battleship and renovated it into a war museum and a patriotic education base. It would float forever atop the battlefield in which it fought.
However, popular legends say that although the Far East Demon Kingdom was annihilated, the Demon Emperor did not actually perish. He hides still, deep in the depths of the endless ocean. He continues to gather the souls of his Demon Soldiers that perished on the battlefield as a futile attempt to one day launch a counteroffensive, to come back even stronger.
And so, this was the reason why this area of the ocean has turned into a place where evil winds blow with fury. A place covered with maelstroms. A ghastly and terrifying sheet of deathly darkness… This was all caused by the Demon Emperor on the ocean floor wanting to create havoc.
So, the Federation took the Distant Expanse and had it hover in the air where it had fought back in the day. Year round, tour groups of hot-blooded youngster came and toured around, stimulated with vigorous thoughts of war and val
or. These thoughts condensed into an Immortal National Spirit of Star Glory Federation, which would suppress the Demon Emperor for eternity and extinguish the millions of Demon Souls completely.
“Everyone, quickly look! There’s something in the air!” a student cried in astonishment.
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Author’s words:
Under everyone’s directions, I saw many friends in the comment section suggest that I add a some postscript to the end, to interact with everyone more.
Teacher Cow did think of this before, but after some deliberation I felt that this method of chasing more readers every day, would probably not make a difference. From the perspective of the general reader, if I were reading and am engrossed in the chapter, then suddenly the author jumps out with some gibberish and nonsense... I think this would have some influence on the reading experience. So Teacher Cow will still continue to keep comments/statements in this work to a minimum.
Everyone, if there’s any comments, just leaving them in the review section is fine. Teacher Cow has seen them. When I have time I will exchange words with everyone for sure.
Today I mainly want to give everyone an update. At the present, my current release schedule is not very fast. Actually, Teacher Cow’s speed can be considered so-so. I can write 8000-1000 and even 12,300 words in a day when I’m inspired.
However, my current energy has been allocated to the overarching story behind the scenes, delicate outlines, and also supporting framework, in preparation to bring together into a rough draft. So, when I don’t have any suggestions, I have no choice but to control my writing speed. This is also for the sake of the overarching framework, so that it can explode forth often. I hope everyone can understand.
Teacher Cow is a newcomer. This book may not be as dazzling and flashy as the top most popular books on the ranking list, but our comment section here is quite lively. There are quite a few friends who have offered valuable suggestions. Teacher Cow is deeply moved. I will earnestly write a good book for sure. Of course if you can everyone, hit the recommend button and etc. But, what’s still important is to make reviews in the review section often. Teacher Cow will look at every comment. Everyone communicate with Teacher Cow, and Teacher Cow will be very satisfied as well. This time I thank everyone for the support. Teacher Cow also wishes for the day when the over-arching framework is completed, and open an all-fire bombardment!
