by <unknown>
The lords, ministers, and Cultivators in the capital all looked at the sky in devastation while dozens of starships flew toward the capital slowly. The decks on the two sides of the starships opened, sending out hundreds of crystal suits in glamorous brilliance that thudded on the stone roads that had not been changed for ten thousand years like shooting stars.
Nine days after the Battle of Angry Fire…
On the vast, boundless Dark Cloud Prairies, a large horde of cows and sheep were eating grass in silence, but deafening explosions echoed in the sky.
Hundreds of white lights penetrated through the sky and did not disperse until a long time later like ice pillars.
They were hundreds of all-weather, stealthy armed shuttles.
"Moo…"
"Moo…"
The cattle fled in panic. The shepherd could not stop them however hard he whistled. Very soon, weird noises echoed from the grass that almost reached the height of a human's shoulder when the grass was pressed down.
Beast puppets in the shape of spiders crawled out of the grass in cold light and congregated into an ocean of steel, as they marched toward the depths of the Dark Cloud Prairies in the most fluent and unstoppable way.
Fifteen days after the Battle of Angry Fire…
Thanks to the highly-efficient organizational system of the Star Glory Federation, the thunderous approaches that Li Yao demonstrated in the Battle of Angry Fire, and the 'kind persuasion' of the military tech, the entire Ancient Sages Sector had learned of the 'Star Glory Federation' and Vulture Li Yao's dominance. Not a single sect, force, or unaffiliated Cultivator had the courage to challenge the federation anymore.
The federation had gained preliminary control over the entire Ancient Sages Sector and was finally able to leak its strength into the capillary vessels of the decaying world—the villages and farmlands—in order to save the common folk there.
Every starship had become a temporary hospital and sanctuary as they tried their best to save the common folk who had been tortured by war and famine.
Before they took off, the leadership of the federation had already made operation plans. They knew that it was not difficult to handle the Ancient Sages Sector with the modern military forces of the federation that far exceeded the era. What would be tricky was rescuing the underprivileged people who were struggling to survive. If they could not achieve that, would they be any essentially different from the Black Wind Fleet when it invaded the Star Glory Federation?
Therefore, in the enormous space fleet, most of the starships were carriers and comprehensive supply starships. They had also been through special modifications to be installed with massive synthesized food and full facilities to produce such food.
The so-called synthesized food was made by battering straw, grass, wood, thorns, bones, and other materials that were not readily edible for human beings into powder before adding the minerals and microelements that were necessary for health and mixing high-energy oil. In the end, such food was transformed into the solid form like bricks after high compression.
The synthesized food tasted extremely bad. It would not be exaggerating to say that the food was as dry and awful as wax when it was eaten. However, it boasted abundant nutrition and calories. One section only the size of a finger was enough for a middle-aged man to be engaged in heavy labor for an entire day. The food could also be dissolved in water and turned into liquids like porridge. In that case, women, children, and patients whose stomachs were not functioning well could also digest the food easily.
Therefore, for the billions of hungry people in the Ancient Sages Sector, the food that was a horror to the travelers in space became a life-saving elixir. A lot of people actually worshipped the starships when they landed from the sky and regarded the federal army in 'weird costumes' as guests from the deities' realm.
In the long term, it was necessary to enlighten people with the truth. The federation did not intend to keep anything from them.
However, to suppress the chaos in the Ancient Sages Sector for now so that all the people could receive assistance in an orderly fashion, rumors that deities were walking on the earth and coming to everyone's salvation were more useful than any rule or regulation. At the very least, in front of the 'almighty, omniscient' deities, the cunning scoundrels had no choice except to follow the rules and learn to wait in line as everybody else did.
Despite the awful taste of the synthesized food, it could keep their bellies full. The sense of satiety that gradually spread out of their stomachs was a first for many people of the Ancient Sages Sector. Some even learned for the first time what a 'burp' was and wept.
Although the 'deities' were driving enormous divine boats and wearing weird armor, they turned out to be rather gentle and much more approachable than the lords and experts the common folk had met in the past.
It was needless to mention the patients of various diseases, who were taken to the divine boats by the 'deities' and soaked in some bizarre tanks. At first, they were panicked and thought that they were about to be boiled by the deities to make pills. But after only one sleep, all their diseases were gone, and their past ulcers and scars became new, pinky flesh!
"Deities are walking on the earth to save us. How graceful they are!"
"They are the real deities. They have infinite arts and techniques, but they are so gentle that they even smile at us! Did the masters and lords in the past show any manners to us at all when they met us before?"
"Is this a shift of dynasties? Now, it is not the Great Qian Dynasty that is in charge. None of the other sects are issuing commands, either. The world is now this… so-called federation's!"
The Ancient Sages Sector was at the last years of a dynasty in the first place. The people did not have the slightest loyalty to the Great Qian Dynasty. Although some of the poor folks survived by attaching themselves to the big sects and had the deepest reverence and loyalty to those sects, the leaders of those sects were actually the first to worship the 'enormous divine boats'. Also, there were even rumors that Qi Zhongdao, known as 'leader of all Cultivators', had joined the Star Glory Federation and was even named the deputy chairman of the Ancient Sages District Administration Committee of the Star Glory Federation. Then, what was left to say? They might as well be the residents of the 'Ancient Sages Special District of the Star Glory Federation' in the future!
Food was everything for the people. The common folk were all very simple. Whoever fed them would be their family, and whoever made them homeless and starved would be their greatest foe!
For a moment, all the ordinary people in the entire Ancient Sages Sector began to rub their fists with their faces glowing and picture the beautiful future that the 'deities' described for them after they enjoyed their food.
While some people were dwelling in happiness, others were mired in sorrow. It was certainly not costless to change the future of the underprivileged people who took up more than ninety percent of the population. The enormous cost, doubtlessly, had to be partly shouldered by the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector who used to bully and exploit the poor people, especially those who violated the Divine Wrath Order.
While most of the villages in the Ancient Sages Sector were in the delightful atmosphere to celebrate the change of dynasties, Angry Fire Mountain was still enshrouded in gloomy clouds.
The more than hundred thousand Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector who had gone to the 'Rising Sun Ceremony' a month ago to cheer for Elder Scorching Sun still lingered in the place to receive the most rigorous scrutiny and vetting.
However, in the eyes of those Cultivators, the scrutiny and vetting were all just a disguise; the real purpose of the foreign intruders was to swallow their sects and deprive them of their land, mines, and interests in various trades!
This was because barely anybody survived the investigation. Even the most dutiful and obedient fellows who had done absolutely nothing wrong before had to suffer a heavy loss. They had themselves to blame for being ignora
nt enough to take Elder Scorching Sun's side after all.
Chapter 1896: Is There Law? |
'Green Willow' Fang Chengzhi was a typical example of the lingering Cultivators who were panicking.
For him, he could never have imagined the nightmarish days in the past month.
He seemed to have fallen from the high clouds into a bizarre, ridiculous new world, where every rule was exactly the opposite of his prior knowledge.
In this place, the sun was square, the fish flew in the sky, the low-level Cultivators in the Refinement Stage could shout and order the higher-level Cultivators in the Building Foundation Stage, and even the bumpkins whose spiritual roots were not activated could sh*t above the head of the noble Cultivators!
There was even one time when he saw a young man with hair as messy as a nest and a weirdly-designed red vest arguing with a crying family member of a soldier of the 'Angry Fire Army'. The guy was surrounded by vague spiritual energy, implying that he must be a Cultivator, but he was simply snatched by the rude woman who had not even washed her feet, unable to free himself. Two dirty children even smeared their tears and snot on him, but he was not infuriated at all and simply apologized in embarrassment.
But later, Fang Chengzhi was informed that the young man wearing the red vest and squatting on the ground casually, allowing the young children to crawl on him and pluck his eye, was actually Vulture Li Yao, a super expert from the Star Glory Federation who had beaten Elder Scorching Sun into a pulp with the black Cloud Qin Gold Statue and dismantled the one-armed Gold Statue into pieces!
Fang Chengzhi was so shocked that his eyeballs almost hit the ground.
Was there any law or reason in this place? What kind of world was this?
Fang Chengzhi had been born into a wealthy family and had always enjoyed the respect of other people. For him, the previous month had indeed been tough.
All the sects of unaffiliated Cultivators who attended the Rising Sun Ceremony were suspected of violating the 'Divine Wrath Order' and joining Elder Scorching Sun. In short, they were rebels.
The crime of disobedience could be severe or petty. Some people would be punished more harshly than others. The common middle and small sects might pass, but the Green Cloud Sword Sect, as an offshoot of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, had come to pay respect to Elder Scorching Sun. It was certainly a more severe betrayal!
Therefore, after a large batch of starships arrived with the Exos of the federation and temporary prisons and interrogation rooms were established, and when the large-scale scrutiny and vetting began, Fang Chengzhi, his father, and the members who belonged to the offshoots of the six major sects all received the strictest investigation.
Fang Chengzhi was escorted by two Cultivators of the federation in weird armor into a very tiny cell that was temporarily set up. It was almost a flawless iron coffin that did not have the slightest gap after the door was closed. Fang Chengzhi was so scared that he thought he was going to be buried alive.
After living in unease if not tears for three days, somebody finally came to interrogate him, but being interrogated was no less insufferable than being caged in the iron coffin.
He remembered a ferocious-looking man who played the bad cop and a seemingly gentle woman who played the good cop. Despite all their rhetoric, their sole purpose was for him to confess the ways that the Green Cloud Sword Sect earned its revenue to cover the maintenance of the enormous sect, including the daily consumptions of the Cultivators in their training.
They were demanding the tiniest details. He was asked to confess if his sect had exploited the people, sold or bought goods through violent methods, acted as loan sharks, or even trained with living people or their souls.
Of course, if he 'could not remember much about his own sect', he could also confess the similar clandestine businesses of the sects that bordered the Green Cloud Sword Sect. It did not matter if what he knew was just a groundless rumor; the Cultivators of the federation would check the facts later. As long as any of the information he confessed was verified, he would be considered a contributor, and he would even receive 'points'.
Despite his horror, Fang Chengzhi was not out of his mind. After experiencing two sessions, he realized that the issue at hand was not insurgency at all, and the enemy was obviously trying to destroy the roots of the Green Cloud Sword Sect!
After figuring that out, Fang Chengzhi immediately made up his mind not to give in at all. He was going to teach the wretched Cultivators of the federation a good lesson about the resolution of the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector.
However, his interrogators were not infuriated by his reluctance at all but simply sent him back to his prison. Then, they asked him to think about it more carefully. "Right now, we have not decided the nature of the Green Cloud Sword Sect. This is not an interrogation but an interview to learn more information from you. If you are not willing to talk, we will not force you to.
"However, you are not the only person who knows the situation of the Green Cloud Sword Sect. Some fellow Cultivators from other sects do know a thing or two about it. For example, the fellow Cultivators from Red Tiger Hall told us a lot of stories about you.
"Of course, we do not want to be prejudiced, but if everybody in your sect is as 'determined' as you are, I'm afraid that we will have to adopt Red Tiger Hall's side of the story and decide your nature with their testimony."
Fang Chengzhi grew anxious the moment he heard that.
Red Tiger Hall was a neighbor to the Green Cloud Sword Sect. It had its own origins and backgrounds and had recently expanded its territory into the Running River State. Naturally, there had been conflicts between the two sects.
The two parties had a lot of fights regarding the ownership of farmland and mines. Although it would be exaggerating to say that they were mortal enemies, a lot of people on both sides had been killed in the past decade.
Fang Chengzhi had no doubt that Red Tiger Hall would show no mercy at all when there was an opportunity to hit them when they were down. There was no telling how they would frame the Green Cloud Sword Sect. How could their testimony be trusted?
Fang Chengzhi craned his neck and was about to shout, but the investigator of the federation simply slammed the door impolitely and sealed it again, not opening it anymore however he slapped it from inside.
Fang Chengzhi felt like crying and could not help being more regretful in the next few days. While cursing the cruelty of the investigators, he was even more angry about the viciousness of Red Tiger Hall. The grudges, both old and new, all surfaced in his heart, and he membered all the nasty things that Red Tiger Hall had done in the past.
When the prison cell was opened again, two bizarre-looking spiders came to bring him for interrogation. He forgot all about his unwavering position and confessed everything that he knew as quickly and promptly as possible.
Getting to the bottom of it, Fang Chengzhi truly felt that he had been wronged.
The Green Cloud Sword Sect, with the Purple Pole Sword Sect backing it, had endured for almost a hundred years and was a deeply-rooted sect in the Running River State. It wanted anything but trouble in its own territory, and it was quite merciful to the peasants and folks in its territory. There was no need for it to resort to the illegal activities at all.
That was what the small, unsupported sects had to do at the primitive accumulation phase when they intended to become rich quickly!
As for 'Green Willow' Fang Chengzhi himself, although he had never really cared about the ignorant common folk, no young Cultivator could reject the cheers of the ordinary people after they resolved the trouble of the people. He had gone through much trouble to earn his reputation in the Running River State. It would be a great disgrace for him to bully the common folk. He would not do it even if somebody asked him to with a dagger held to his neck.
Under the 'guidance' of the two investigators, Fang Chengzhi confessed everything he knew obediently. Naturally, he did not forget to put himself and the Green Cl
oud Sword Sect in a better light, claiming that his family had always been fair, just, and merciful in maintaining order. At the very least, it was not an entirely false statement when the sect was compared to the few forces that had risen more recently.
"The Green Cloud Sword Sect is a righteous sect with a long history that has always considered it our responsibility to dispel evil and protect the local area," Fang Chengzhi declared matter-of-factly. "We have committed none of the atrocities that you mentioned!
"However, when it comes to Red Tiger Hall, the Rowing Mountain Guild, the Black Leaf Gang, and the other mediocre sects, they have monopolized many trades, sold or purchased goods through violence, practiced usury, and done so many other heinous things that I cannot finish describing in three days!"
Red Tiger Hall, the Rowing Mountain Guild, and the Black Leaf Gang were all neighboring forces to the Green Cloud Sword Sect. They had a lot of friction among themselves, but this time, they had put aside their contradictions and gone to join the meeting in Angry Fire Mountain at the same time, only to be caught by the Star Glory Federation together.
Fang Chengzhi imagined that those son of b*tches would not say anything good about the Green Cloud Sword Sect. As the saying went, better to attack than to be attacked. It was better to bite them first.
At the very least, compared to the sects that had risen recently with blood on their hands, the Green Cloud Sword Sect truly deserved to be called a 'righteous' sect.
"We appreciate your attitude very much, Fellow Cultivator Fang." The two investigators looked quite happy. "We have recorded all of the intelligence that you offered. As long as any entry is verified, you will be given one point, which will do good to yourself, your father, and your sect!"
In his ignorance, Fang Chengzhi did not understand exactly what 'given one point' meant, but a huge event that took place another day gave him yet another great shock. He was petrified again.
