by <unknown>
The dim redness inside Li Yao's indicators flashed as he scanned the vague Heavenly Rails in the clouds of lead gray in the sky. He said casually, "The Heavenly Rails that you describe do not seem very high. They are not far away from the atmosphere. It is possible for the experts above average to fly to those places with flying swords or modified shuttles, isn't it?"
Han Te's and Liu Li's faces immediately turned pale. Both of them shook their hands quickly. "Please don't. You may not know this, Grandpa Yao, but us 'sinners' are not qualified to fly in the atmosphere, much less approach the Heavenly Rails. The sky is a forbidden area. Whoever is bold enough to fly beyond the atmosphere will be shot down mercilessly. Even the most awesome expert will be burnt to a crisp while they're still in midair!
"We know that you must've been a very famous expert in the old days, Grandpa Yao, but however awesome you are, you are on your own after all, and it is impossible for you to defeat Manjusaka, the City in the Sky. The defense array of the Heavenly Rails is unbelievably powerful. Nobody has ever escaped from the Land of Sins in the past hundreds of years!"
"Therefore," Li Yao said coldly, "if someone wants to leave the 'Land of Sins', Manjusaka is their only route, right?"
"Yes!" The two little fellows nodded at the same time.
Li Yao sneered hard and said, "Tell me more about 'old grandpas'. From what I've heard, old grandpas are of different types and levels. Some of them are stronger than others, and they can even be traded on the black market. Also, your master, the leader of the Village of Peace, is an 'old grandpa'. What is the meaning of that?"
Han Te did not know that his remark about selling 'Grandpa Yao' on the black market at the beginning had been caught. He was so embarrassed that he hurried to explain, "Grandpa Yao, in case you misunderstand, I did not know that you are a 'remaining-soul old grandpa' back then. If we had picked a lifeless crystal-processor old grandpa, it wouldn't be wrong at all to sell it because we are in desperate need of money, right?"
Li Yao's soul emitted waves of confusion. "Remaining-soul grandpa? Crystal-processor grandpa? What are those things?"
"Let me explain it for you," Liu Li said hurriedly. "The so-called 'old grandpa' is just a collective name. In fact, there are a lot of subcategories, and not all of them are the same thing. Even classified according to the most inaccurate standards, there are still 'real-life old grandpas', 'remaining-soul old grandpas', 'crystal-processor old grandpas', 'spiritual-beast old grandpas', and so on. There will be more types if you divide them more carefully!
"The so-called 'real-life old grandpas' are real human beings with flesh and blood. They have fallen from the sky and lost all their memories of the past, but they grasp the most marvelous techniques and the most daunting capabilities. My dad is one of them.
"Such old grandpas are all the treasures of the Land of Sins. If any village can get one, the strength of the village will be greatly enhanced! Therefore, after my dad was taken in by the Village of Peace at that time and then settled there with my mother, it is only natural that he slowly rose to become the leader of the Village of Peace.
"The second type is 'remaining-soul old grandpas', which is also the most common type. As their name suggests, they are also living human beings, except that they have lost their physical bodies for reasons we do not know, and they are forced to reside in all kinds of objects.
"It is most usual for them to reside in rings. Some of the old grandpas live inside swords, sabers, spears, or other magical equipment. Some live inside spiritual puppets. Some even reside inside a human's body!
"The remaining-soul old grandpas normally do not have a high combat ability due to the loss of their physical body. They are prone to the interference of radiation and magnetic fields, too. However, with their abundant battle experience and their sophisticated techniques, they are still the best mentors. They are very popular in the Land of Sins!"
"Right. Grandpa, you must be a 'remaining-soul old grandpa', too, except that your case is slightly special," Han Te said. "Most of the old grandpas fall from the sky, but you were actually dug out of the soil by us, Grandpa Yao. How strange was that?"
"What's strange?" Liu Li replied. "Didn't we come up with an explanation just now? There's a second explanation. Grandpa Yao fell from the sky hundreds of years ago, but he was never picked up and slowly buried."
"How is it possible?" Han Te argued. "The structure of the underground ruins was obviously very stable. There are not many holes on the ground, either. How could anyone have fallen so deep into the ground?"
Puffing her cheeks, Liu Li thought for a long time. "He must've been dragged into the underground ruins by a cat, a dog, or a mutated beast, you silly!"
"I don't think…" Han Te scratched his head for a long time. He held his chest high and was about to argue, but seeing that his junior sister was glaring at him, he decided to let it go. "Fair enough. You do have a point, Liu Li. Grandpa Yao must've been dragged underground by a cat or a dog."
Chapter 1957: Train Even If It Means Death! |
"Of course I have a point, because that is the truth."
Liu Li smiled brilliantly. There was no telling whether she had temporarily forgotten the pain inside her head or was merely arguing with her senior brother to stop him from worrying about her.
Clearing her throat, she continued the introduction. "The third type are 'crystal-processor old grandpas'. In fact, it is rather difficult to distinguish them from the 'remaining-soul old grandpas' because they live inside swords, sabers, spears… all kinds of magical equipment and even spiritual puppets.
"The only difference is that the remaining-soul old grandpas are living human beings whose memories are lost while the crystal-processor old grandpas are not human beings but some sort of artificial intelligence. Even if they can activate vivid human-shaped illusions, they are still false. All their reactions are simulated.
"Although they are not humans, the enormous databases of the crystal-processor old grandpas can also store many unparalleled techniques. They can even provide great help in a battle. As excellent mentors and partners, they are very popular!"
"When I first saw you, Grandpa Yao, I mistook you for a 'crystal-processor old grandpa'. That's why I said that I would sell you on the black market." Blushing, Han Te was still arguing for himself. "The crystal-processor old grandpas that have stored a couple of techniques can be sold at a high price on the black market. In that case, we may be able to find a cure for my master's disease. That was what I thought at the beginning."
Li Yao's indicators were blinking. "I'm starting to understand it. However, what are 'spiritual-beast old grandpas'?"
"They are spiritual beasts, of course," Liu Li said matter-of-factly.
Li Yao was slightly dazed. "Can animals become 'old grandpas', too?"
"Of course they can," Liu Li said. "Since they have been projected by the 'angels' from the Heavenly Rails, the spiritual beasts are part of the 'aid' that has been donated to us. Such creatures have been enlightened by the 'angels' with wisdom.
"Even after they fall into a strange environment, those spiritual beasts will not attack human beings but will choose a young person from the crowd with whom they will sign a pact of blood. After that, their mind will be connected to the young person's, and they will fight by each other's side. Also, they will teach the young person some mysterious techniques without them knowing it.
"Naturally, the spiritual-beast old grandpas aren't excellent teachers, but their combat ability is often particularly high. Therefore, they have their own advantages compared to other old grandpas."
Li Yao simulated a voice of relief with the broadcast rune arrays and said, "That explains a lot. What a bizarre new world it is today. To think that there are so many types of old grandpas, and they can even be traded on the market! This is truly unbelievable!
"Then, all the training techniques you have are brought by the old grandpas?"
"Basically, yes." Liu Li sighed and managed a smile. "
Almost everything in the Land of Sins came from the sky as 'charity' from the angels. Dehydrated food, high-energy nutrition drugs, standard crystals, water-purging cartridges, old grandpas who carry tremendous techniques, as well as ordinary people…"
"Wait!" Li Yao hurried to interrupt her. "Ordinary people? You mean, a lot of ordinary persons are projected from the Heavenly Rails, too?"
"Yes. A lot of ordinary people are sent together with the assets every time," Liu Li said. "They are of different genders and ages, but they have lost all their memories and have to begin a new life in the Land of Sins.
"According to the seniors in the village, those people have all committed crimes in Manjusaka, and their qualifications as 'angels' have been stripped, turning them into 'sinners'. But I'm rather confused. If the adults are really criminals, what kind of unpardonable things could the kids and even the toddlers have done?
"The seniors say that they are the families of the sinners. It is heartbreaking to think that they are banished to the Land of Sins for someone else's fault."
Pondering for a moment, Li Yao said, "Resources are insufficient in the Land of Sins. One more mouth means greater consumption of food and water. Will you accept the ordinary people from the sky?"
"It depends. Different villages, forces, and gangs have different styles. Some of them will; some won't," Han Te said. "The Village of Peace tries to accept as many ordinary people as we can afford. This is my master's principle."
"The more hands, the greater our strength," Liu Li said solemnly. "Ordinary people are not entirely useless. To struggle to survive in the Land of Sins, we must unite everyone that can be united and activate all their potential. My dad always says that.
"We all believe that he does have a point. Life is very difficult in the Land of Sins. Many villages are now suffering from serious gender imbalance, and some even only have old people and few children. Such villages will perish in the dust of radiation before long.
"Also, my dad often says that we have spent too long in the Land of Sins, and our bodies have shouldered all kinds of strange radiation. It might not influence us very much, but our children will show many sorts of abnormalities.
"As time goes by, after the abnormal bloodlines integrate with each other, humans will gradually be turned into monsters.
"The 'new sinners' from the sky have not received excessive radiation. They can bring fresh blood, give birth to healthy children, and ensure the continuity of the village!"
"Besides, ordinary people can grasp many kinds of useful skills, too!" Han Te said with a smile. "Although most of the 'new sinners' have lost their memories, they still remember the skills that they make their living on, like maintenance, treatment, hunting, and so on. During difficult times, we just grit our teeth and support each other!
"Those guys who mock my master for being too merciful in famines are all dumbfounded to see the population in the Village of Peace after the environment is slightly more favorable. Haha!"
Covering her face with her quivering hands, Liu Li said gloomily through the gaps of her fingers, "However, we have been told that in many places, and especially in the gangs in the Bloody Worlds, the ordinary people from the sky get exploited brutally.
"They're lucky if they're sold as slaves. Sometimes, they are… eaten alive."
Li Yao's soul showed no response, not because he was not infuriated, but because his wrath had surpassed the limits.
As thousands of thoughts flowed slowly inside his soul, Li Yao confirmed one last time. "All the Cultivation arts that you have been practicing are brought by the 'old grandpas' from the sky. After practicing those arts, did a lot of people have accidents and become… disrupted geniuses, as you said just now?"
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other and nodded helplessly.
"Yes," the young man said, "there are a lot of young people in our place who were mentally deranged during training. The Village of Peace alone has witnessed a couple of 'disrupted geniuses'. Their capability soared quickly, and they were about to be qualified to travel in the Bloody Worlds, but they simply plummeted overnight and became useless people.
"In the villages several square kilometers nearby, such cases are simply too many to be counted. Zhao Heiniu of Big Fish Village, Wang Tiezhu of Double Stones Village, Li Erlong of Four Square Dam… They were all rare geniuses that everybody knew, but they all perished in the end. Even the assistance of a couple of old grandpas was not enough to bring them back. How pitiful!"
"That's understandable," Li Yao said. "Your Cultivation plunged overnight, and you are almost a cripple compared to who you were in the past. But you do not strike me as very sorrowful and devastated."
"It can't be helped. I'm already used to it!" Han Te shrugged, with an expression on his face that suggested he was not scared of anything. "This is exactly what the Land of Sins is like. A couple of old grandpas fall from the sky every day, and an equal number of geniuses perish every day. If it happens to someone, they can only blame themselves for not being lucky enough. I was already quite lucky not to have been killed. What else could I ask for?"
"If such things are happening all the time," Li Yao said solemnly, "has it never occurred to you that the Cultivation arts that you have been practicing might have deadly shortcomings?"
Han Te grinned and said, "Of course it has, but can we simply put the powerful, unparalleled techniques aside? Life in the Land of Sins is so difficult. Sometimes, a few lives are lost just because of half a biscuit. Even if you practice an unparalleled technique that has fatal shortcomings, you will not necessarily die on the spot. With any luck, you will live a long time without any accidents.
"However, if you don't practice the techniques, you will be bullied because you cannot defend yourself. You will not be able to survive half a month here. Everybody can do the calculations, and they already have!"
After thinking carefully for a long time, Li Yao asked, "It's been hundreds of years since Judgment Day. So, the first batch of old grandpas must've arrived from the sky with abundant arts and techniques hundreds of years ago, didn't they? Have you never tried to modify the unparalleled techniques that you have and make up for the fatal shortcomings during those hundreds of years?"
"The succession of arts and techniques is not as simple as you imagine, Grandpa Yao," Liu Li explained. "The environment on the Land of Sins is extremely harsh. It is not unusual that a whole village is massacred without a survivor. Most of the villages only have a history of a few decades. Few people have Cultivation arts that can be dated back to hundreds of years ago.
"Besides, in the world of bloody fights where the strong prey on the weak, even if somebody improves an art, they will dedicate all their wisdom to making the art more aggressive, brutal, and powerful. Who cares how much damage the art will cause to themself?"
"It's exactly like Lightning Strangle, which I've been practicing. A lot of people in the Village of Peace practice it. Some people have occasionally met some problems, too. Did none of them, including my master, feel anything wrong?"
Han Te clenched his fists. "But what could we have done even if we knew it? We must still try our best in training because it is the best method of attack of the thunder class. Only with Lightning Strangle can we fight for more food, water, and energy!
"If we practice the arts, we may be mentally deranged, crippled, or killed abruptly in years to come. The consequences are indeed serious. But if we don't practice the arts, we will not be able to even fight for hot excrement. Everybody will starve to death in a few days!"
Chapter 1958: Flower of the Other Shore |
"Aren't there any stabler arts?" Li Yao asked.
"Of course," Han Te replied, "there are stabler arts, but stable means conservative, and conservative means weak. You can't have all the best in the world. If we practice the stabler arts while other people practice the radical ones, naturally, the odds of other people injuring themselves will be higher, but they will be stronger than us before that, and they wi
ll rob us of our food, water, and all the other resources. They will even dismantle our bones and feed on our flesh and blood!
"We do not have any choice except to practice the arts that are more radical. Even if they do have fatal shortcomings, that is the least of our concerns."
Liu Li sighed, too and said, "In fact, my dad and the other 'old grandpas' in my village thought about perfecting our arts and fixing the fatal shortcomings. At the very least, they can combine and make some arts that are both stable and powerful. To that end, even all the experts and old grandpas in the villages nearby were summoned once. But it was useless.
"It was partly because of the lack of resources and the sense of competition. But more importantly, as new-generation old grandpas arrive from the sky, they often bring arts that are more powerful, and naturally, more unstable.
"Yes. The dangers of the new-generation arts are higher, and the training will cause great harm to oneself. Normal people are not willing to practice them.
"However, there are always people who are determined to take the risk. Even if nine out of ten trainers are killed, the successful one may have an abrupt rise in capability and be able to monopolize all the resources in the hundreds of square kilometers around or even butcher all the other villages.
"To resist the bullying of such lunatics, we have no choice except to turn ourselves into lunatics and train ourselves following their example. Such a vicious cycle is perhaps the fate of the Land of Sins."
After saying that, both of the two little fellows bit their lips and fell silent.
All that could be heard was the smoke and dust spraying from the two sides of the shuttle.
"What a perfect laboratory for new magical equipment and techniques!" the mental devil remarked in great amazement next to Li Yao's soul. "By tossing 'aid' to the ground irregularly and controlling the quantity of the assets precisely, it's more than simple to manipulate all the sinners in the Land of Sins, forcing them to struggle on the verge of death. They will not be entirely starved, but they have to fight each other brutally for the slightest resources!
