by <unknown>
As refiners, they did not think too highly of the improvement of combat ability that the superlative height of the Building Foundation Stage brought.
What the Core Formation Stage could offer was not only enhancement of combat ability, but also a totally different understanding of spiritual energy.
Many kinds of planetary-level magical equipment could only be utilized by those above the Core Formation Stage. Li Yao wouldn't be able to make use of them even if he was in the 10,000th level of the Building Foundation Stage.
"The path to the Core Formation Stage is always full of perils," said Mo Xuan. "Thankfully, we still have plenty of time. It's been only less than one year since we arrived in the Flying Star Sector, and you have already entered the unprecedented superlative height of the Building Foundation Stage. Maybe in the next ten years, you will really find an opportunity to become an ultimate Core Formation Stage Cultivator! If there are no other ways, we can always try to facilitate the process with magical equipment! But let's settle the details later. We've been drilling below the underground for too long. Two crystal reactors exploded in the morning, and we are still working on them."
"Alright. Let's talk soon."
Li Yao nodded his head. He was going to shut off the communication, when he suddenly bulged his eyes and shouted, "Wait!"
Mo Xuan was caught unprepared. He asked, "What's the problem?"
Li Yao narrowed his eyes deep in thought while he mumbled, "Facilitating the process with magical equipment…
"Professor Mo Xuan, look, one of the biggest problems for me right now is that my abdomen is too huge and my veins too thick, resulting in a huge consumption of spiritual energy during my training. The other problem is that my abdomen is riddled with holes that seem fine in everyday life but leak spiritual energy in extreme moments.
"Let's say that we can craft a piece of magical equipment whose form and mechanism are similar to those of crystal reactors. It will be a pressure cooker three to four meters in diameter!
"Then, I will sit inside the pressure cooker and form the core there.
"Since it is a fully-sealed pressure cooker, the spiritual energy inside my body will have nowhere to escape to even if it wants to run away. Instead, it will only be pressed by the overwhelming pressure from all directions until it is all compressed to the same spot. Won't that be the ultimate core that I talked about?"
Mo Xuan was silent for a long time, before he replied, "That's an interesting thought, young man. Let's talk about it later!"
Mo Xuan cut off the communication.
What does he mean? Isn't it a great idea?
Li Yao rubbed his hands. Hooked by his bold hypothesis, he started making designs on a blank light beam.
Chapter 635: Father Xiong's Father |
When Li Yao walked out of his ward, the first thing he saw was the Great Horn Exo Society's crystal warship, which was floating in the bright blue sky.
Up in space, countless small carriers had been transporting assets to the crystal warship like ants, and then the Great Horn Exo Society had brought the assets to the six tribes of Iron Plateau.
Every cloud had a silver lining. After the scheme of the Temple of Immortals was revealed, Xiong Wuji's dream of Iron Plateau natives and space residents cooperating was coming true faster than expected.
For the Iron Plateau natives, a lot of their elite warriors had been killed in the consecutive fierce battles. Besides, all six tribes had more or less been infiltrated by the Temple of Immortals. There was no telling whether or not remaining spies of the Temple of Immortals were still instigating trouble in the Dark Continent, either. Therefore, they were in dire need of all kinds of aid.
In the world of Cultivators, the last couple of months had been quite rough, too. Social order was in chaos, and the financial market suffered heavy losses. Ordinary people and Cultivators were gradually losing their faith.
If a large-scale ground war were to break out at this moment, a lot of resources and lives would be wasted.
Nobody wanted to fight a war unless necessary.
Right now, it was very likely that the Iron Plateau natives would form an alliance with the space residents. The future might be uncertain, but the two parties could at least join their hands against the Temple of Immortals for now.
It was great news for the market and a cardiotonic for the chaotic situation.
The twenty college students from the two best universities of the Flying Star Sector had been rescued by Iron Plateau natives. With that event as a trigger, the ice-breaking process was officially begun.
However, despite the strong will of communication from both parties, the fleet of the six sects of Heavenly Saints City did not land on Iron Plateau directly.
Instead, after they picked up the twenty hostages and expressed their gratitude to the Iron Plateau natives, they quickly retreated to the edge of the Iron Plateau Space Zone, a signal that they were not malicious or aggressive.
After all, the relationship between the two parties was too sensitive. Theoretically speaking, both of them considered themselves to be the rightful successor of the six major sects of five thousand years ago.
The chief of the Furious Bears Tribe was essentially the leader of the Furious Bears Union. Just as two suns could not be in the sky at the same time, the Furious Bears Union naturally could not have two leaders.
Every step had to be made cautiously to avoid the potential disputes.
Therefore, the Great Horn Exo Society, which had zero affiliation with the six sects of Heavenly Saints City, became the best intermediary and a bridge of communication between the two parties.
The six sects of Heavenly Saints City sent a lot of assets that the fleet carried to the six tribes of Iron Plateau through the Great Horn Exo Society, meeting the Iron Plateau natives' urgent need and showing their sincere gratitude for rescuing the hostages.
Li Yao's and Xiong Wuji's wards were separated by a yard. Xiong Wuji's situation was worse than Li Yao's. He could barely sit straight to this day.
All suspicions about him were gone. He had also advanced into the unrecorded 100th level of the Refinement Stage in front of everyone. Although it had only lasted a moment, he had nearly blown Yan Xibei into pieces. Such valiant and ruthless actions made everybody in the six tribes worship him.
The Furious Bears Tribe agreed unanimously that he should continue working as the chief, although he rejected the offer multiple times, claiming that his blood was from space and his capability had hit rock bottom.
Therefore, his ward had turned into his office.
The ward, which was always teeming with people, was unusually quiet right now. Sha Yulan and Wu Mayan were the only two accompanying him.
Despite the white hair and the slender figure, Xiong Wuji was in a quite good mood, if not somewhat excited.
Li Yao smiled. "What kind of good news did Chief Xiong receive?"
Xiong Wuji grinned and was somewhat nervous, making Li Yao doubt whether or not he was the tough guy that he had known.
Sha Yulan smiled and explained, "Just now, Captain Lei brought a document. It was the name list of all the passengers and crew members of the starships that had accidents near the Iron Plateau Space Zone five decades ago. The document, including the names, the profiles, and the photos of the victims, is inside the crystal processor."
Li Yao immediately realized that, if Xiong Wuji was indeed from the space, his family must be in the list.
No wonder even such a tough man was uneasy.
Sha Yulan looked at Xiong Wuji and smiled. "Big Xiong is nervous. Let's help him look into it!"
"Yes. Let's help Father Xiong find out what his parents look like!"
"They must be great heroes just like Father Xiong!" said Wu Mayan cheerily.
Li Yao also smiled. He agreed unhesitatingly, "Alright. Let's help Chief Xiong together!"
Sha Yulan activated the crystal processor and projected a light beam where she displayed the 3D pictures of the victim
s of the accidents after sorting out the information. She said, "I glanced roughly just now. Over the few years, one passenger starship and two carriers were lost near the Iron Plateau Space Zone. There is no telling whether they experienced cosmic storms or were plundered by space pirates, but not even a screw was found in the end.
"On the missing starships, there were 234 passengers with kids, and thirteen of them were carrying twins. Three were Cultivators.
"Here. This is Fei Kuo from the Fire Cloud Sect. He was a Cultivator in the peak of the Building Foundation Stage. It is said that he was quite a celebrity in the Great Bravery Space Zone. A man of chivalry!"
A muscular man with a square face and a long beard appeared on the light beam. He looked strong and magnificent.
Wu Mayan blinked and mumbled, "He looked a bit similar to Father Xiong. Turns out Father Xiong's father was truly a great man. No wonder Father Xiong is so awesome!"
Xiong Wuji finally couldn't hold it any longer and turned around. He held his breath and observed carefully. After staring for a while, he remarked hesitatingly, "He might be, but let's check others first."
"Alright."
Sha Yulan was very patient and displayed all the passengers that brought twins with them on the light beam.
Cultivators first and then ordinary people.
Xiong Wuji narrowed his eyes in silence.
When the photo of the ninth passenger leapt out of the light beam, Sha Yulan, Wu Mayan, and Li Yao all exclaimed.
Too similar!
The passenger's appearance was too similar to Xiong Wuji today!
Although he was not very tall and strong, he stood with a straight back, and his eyes were narrow, long and extremely clean!
Looking at the photo and at Xiong Wuji in person, one would inevitably conclude that they were related.
Xiong Wuji's eyes instantly turned red. He said coarsely, "He—he is probably my father. What's his name? What kind of person was he?"
Sha Yulan glanced at the man's profile and replied, "His name is Xiong Xiangrong. He was a teacher and an ordinary person."
"I didn't see this coming."
Wu Mayan's eyes bulged, and he mumbled in a low voice, "Father Xiong's father is an ordinary person…"
"Hahahaha…"
Xiong Wuji finally burst into laughter in great satisfaction. He laughed so hard that tears were flowing out. "I didn't know that my family name was truly Xiong. Fantastic. Really fantastic…"
Looking at him crying in joy, Li Yao thought of his own origins with complicated feelings. He snapped Wu Mayan's forehead softly and said, "What's wrong with an ordinary person? Iron Plateau natives and space residents. Ordinary people and Cultivators. Aren't they all human beings?"
Wu Mayan held his head after an ouch. He suddenly rolled his eyes and said, "Uncle Sand Scorpion, Father Xiong has found his father. Let's leave him and my mom alone for now. There's something that I want to ask you!"
"Oh?"
Li Yao smiled. He somewhat knew what was on the young man's mind and simply said to Sha Yulan, "Sister Sha, Chief Xiong has found his birth father. You can study his profile in detail now. Ah Yan and I will wander around for a while!"
They left the ward and walked to a pond in the center of the yard.
"Uncle Sand Scorpion, do you remember you promise?" Wu Mayan's eyes were shining, as he declared, "You said that you would recruit me as a disciple if we were both alive after the battle of the apocalypse. Right now, I've passed two of them. You won't go back on your words, will you?"
"I always keep my promise. However, I also said that I would only recruit you as my disciple if you could endure the biting of a few ants," Li Yao replied.
"That's not a problem." His hands on his hips, Wu Mayan gnashed his teeth. "As long as you are willing to recruit me as your disciple, I can let a tiger bite me however many times it wants, not to mention some ants. Bring them on!"
Li Yao squatted and said, "Give me one of your fingers."
Gritting his teeth fearlessly, Wu Mayan extended his right index finger with his eyes closed.
Soon, he felt that his finger was itching. He opened his eyes, only to discover that Li Yao had snatched several ordinary ants and placed them on his fingertip.
Wu Mayan was dazed. "What's the meaning of this?"
Li Yao smiled and replied, "Nothing. I was planning to make things difficult for you with a certain test, but you proved yourself in the battle against Yan Xibei. When you charged at Yan Xibei without hesitation, I made up my mind that I would recruit you as my disciple if you are willing to!"
Li Yao's maximum combat ability right now was close to the middle and high level of the Core Formation Stage. He was even qualified to establish his own sect. It was only natural that he had a disciple.
Wu Mayan was not fourteen years old yet, and he had already advanced into the 15th level of the Refinement Stage. Such a genius was definitely a treasure that countless sects would fight for.
After getting to know each other for a few months, Li Yao felt that his integrity was unquestionable. Now that the young man was willing to learn after him, naturally, he wouldn't say no.
Hearing that Li Yao had agreed, Wu Mayan was so excited that he made three back flips in the air. He then kneeled down beside the pebbles near the pond and said respectfully, "Master!"
Li Yao scratched his hair. In the dreams of Ou Yezi's life, he had tasted the feeling of being the leader of a major sect. At that time, he had thousands of disciples under his command. Naturally, being called 'master' was not new to him.
However, now that Wu Mayan had kneeled down before him and addressed him as master, he would have to be responsible for him.
Li Yao thought over all the expertise he knew about and tried to select some techniques that were suitable for Wu Mayan.
Yet, Wu Mayan had already proposed a question dutifully. "Master, I've been thinking about a question lately and failed to solve it. I think I've run into a dead end! I wanted to ask my mom and Father Xiong, but I felt that they might not be able to understand the question. I wonder, can you help you with it, Master?"
"Oh?" Li Yao raised his eyebrow. Pretending to a serious teacher, he pointed at a grey rock beside the pond and said, "Sit down and let's talk."
Chapter 636: Will You Practice the Technique? |
Like a monkey that was sitting on thorns, Wu Mayan was moving uneasily. His eyes flickered about for quite a long time; he was hesitating. "Master, I've been reflecting on Yan Xibei's theory about the survival and development of the human civilization. The more I think about it, the more reasonable it appears to me!
"Do you think there's any chance that he was not possessed by the Blood Demon and he meant what he said and his prediction was true?"
Li Yao was dazed. "Is this happening? You were gritting your teeth and waving your saber crazily that day. I thought that you would be quite unwavering."
Wu Mayan lowered his head, somewhat embarrassed. He kicked a pebble into the pond, which raised dull noises, before he said, "I also found the transformation of my attitude very weird. After prolonged consideration, I finally discovered that the critical factor was that—
"He was too ugly."
Li Yao was rendered speechless.
Wu Mayan explained carefully, "My blood was boiling, and my head was seething with fury. Nobody had the time to think about what Yan Xibei was saying. I only saw that he was half a human and half an insect with countless vine-like veins fluctuating on his body. He was exactly what a monster should look like! Of course, I slashed him mercilessly!
"But in my spare time over the last couple of days, I've thought about his words, and they began making more and more sense to me.
"Isn't survival everything for a civilization? All things can happen only if the civilization exists. Once it perishes, hopes and ethics will be no more!
"If some sacrifices and changes must be made for the continuity of the civilization, they seem worthwhile to me.
"If th
e universe above our heads is truly a ruthless, dark forest, we have no options except to alter ourselves according to the rules of the forest, however cruel they are.
"I cannot find loopholes in Yan Xibei's theory. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced.
"In my opinion, if Yan Xibei had not looked so disgusting but had looked like a deity wearing a glittering silver robe, many people might have been persuaded by him!
"This is the question that has baffled me for days. Please enlighten me, Master."
Li Yao blinked and stared at Wu Mayan in silence.
Holding his breath, Wu Mayan looked at him, full of hope.
Li Yao suddenly sighed. He patted Wu Mayan's shoulder and said solemnly, "Ah Yan…"
"I'm all ears, Master!" Wu Mayan replied respectfully.
"Look, I'm new to the job of teaching, too. Can we start our discussion from the relatively rudimentary topics?
"You are asking me about the future of humanity in your first class. Isn't that question too sophisticated? I was not prepared at all. In fact, I haven't had my lunch yet!
"How about this. I'll teach you four solutions to the 'Black Tiger Snatching the Heart' technique. As for the future of human civilization, let's talk about it later, shall we?"
Wu Mayan was not entirely satisfied. "Okay…"
Li Yao cleared his throat. Staring at the ripples in the pond, which were calming down, in a daze, he suddenly changed his mind and said, "Alright, but I don't know much about the dark forest and the human civilization.
"Let's talk about a single person. For example, you.
"Is survival the most important thing to you? Are you willing to endure all kinds of sufferings to the extent that you end up completely different just in order to be stronger and survive?"
Wu Mayan was dazed for a moment. Deep in thought, he nodded his head unconfidently a while later. "It probably is. One only has opportunities when they are alive. Everything will be gone after they are dead."
