by <unknown>
"Brother Lie has demonstrated an excellent performance. He has killed twenty-two pigs since the battle began with stable breathing, heartbeat, and adrenaline secretion. That is truly impressive!" a seemingly harmless and beautiful girl said with a smile.
"Stable, yes, but it is too impassionate. I prefer Brother Shan's style. He has boosted his breathing, heartbeat, and adrenaline to the maximum, and he does not hesitate to kill anyone after he goes mad. Ha. Look. Even a pig from the Yuwen family has been slain by Brother Shan. It's true that nothing can stand in his way!" another tall and arrogant teenager observed.
Watching the flashing blades, the falling heads, the soaring blood, and the twitching bodies on the light beams, the future of the Li family finally cheered delightedly like a bunch of normal young people.
Not far away from them, another group of young people who had 'Yuwen' sewn on their chest looked rather awful and glared at them in fury.
"Excuse us. People of the Li family are always straightforward. If we accidentally hurt your vulnerable feelings…" the arrogant young man of the Li family shouted at the infuriated young people of the Yuwen family. "You can just suck it! If you are discontent, why don't we ask Wuying Lan, the producer of the game, to help us arrange a free contest after the Battle of Liberty City so that we can all go to the Land of Sins and see what's what?"
"That's a great plan!" The innocent-looking and beautiful girl clapped her hands and smiled. "After all, we will have a few days to ourselves after the Battle of Liberty City. We can go to experience the atmosphere of the Land of Sins first and make preparations for our selective trials next year. Why don't you come together with us? I very much would like to find out what it feels like to kill the pigs of the Yuwen family!"
Exasperated, the young people of the Yuwen all made throat-cutting gestures and nodded at the Li family. "It's a deal. Just wait for it!"
The young people of the other big families were fond of nothing but trouble. They immediately started whistling and cheering for both parties.
It was merely one of the everyday riots that did not raise the interest of the adults. After calling each other's names for a while, the young people shifted their attention back to the battlefield that was becoming more and more fierce and bloody.
Skulls were exploding, flesh was roasted, and internal organs were shattered into clusters of bloody mist that sprayed on those who were behind the victims. All the scenes activated the appetites of the young people. More than half of the food on the table was gulped by them.
However, in the middle of the exclamations of amazement from the young people of the Li family, an inharmonious noise came over. One of them was actually gagging.
It was a slender young man who gave an air of femininity, like a lamb that was wearing the skin of a wolf. He looked entirely different from the aggressive, intimidating, and ruthless young people around him.
He knew himself very well, too, and had been hiding in the shadows, not having the courage to join any conversations.
It was almost like his greatest happiness was when other people ignored him.
However, the pictures of battles on the light beams in all directions were too bloody and exciting. However he tried to avoid them, he still happened upon a 3D, vivid head that exploded entirely like a cantaloupe. Some of the red-and-white stuff even seemed to have splashed into his mouth.
He immediately shut his mouth, but he felt that he could not catch his breath. He breathed hard but still could not hold back the feeling of nausea. He was so uncomfortable, as if a tsunami was raging in his stomach, that he could not help but cover his mouth with a napkin and gag in secret. But the noise was still too loud to escape anyone's attention.
The young people of the few noble families nearby all looked at him in surprise.
Further away, the young people of the Yuwen family all noticed the quirky guy and eyed him in mockery.
The young people of the Li family immediately blushed before they turned gloomier than ever.
"Li Jialing, what is the meaning of this? Do you have to humiliate the Li family in public?"
In the utmost fury, the young man who had provoked the Yuwen family just now dashed over and grabbed 'Li Jialing', the gagging young man, by the neck.
"Garbage is always garbage!" The innocent, beautiful girl also put on an expression of extreme disgust. "I really don't know why we had to bring such a useless man. If he cannot stand such pictures, won't he pee his pants once he goes to a battlefield? We are a mighty Kurfürst family. Even if we die, we must open our eyes and remember who kills us. How can there possibly be such garbage among us?"
"I won't give him an opportunity to pee his pants." The arrogant young man narrowed his eyes and declared, "In a few days, when we have a chance to visit the Land of Sins, I will certainly kill you to honor the Li family! A renowned Kurfürst family does not need such a weak member. Just wash your neck and prepare to die!"
Like a panicked chicken, Li Jialing shuddered for a long time before he uttered feeble gagging noises again.
"*sshole. If you dare vomit on me, I will cut your tongue right now. Get lost!"
The arrogant young man pushed him hard, shoving Li Jialing to the ground and making him hit the corner of the desk heavily. One of the dishes on the table was knocked over, and he was soaked by the leftovers in it.
All the young people of the Li family chuckled in amusement. Seeing Li Jialing's weakness, they all wanted to stomp on him and only restrained themselves because they were in public. But such a thing was not unusual when they were within the Li family.
Chapter 2014: The Future of the Li Family! |
As one of the most dominating Kurfürsten in the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Li family had a long history. It had been a great family with influence in the military, in politics, and in the private sector in the Star Ocean Republic long before the Imperium was established.
After thousands of years of development, it had copious branches and offshoots. Counting the younger generation of the central bloodline alone, there were thousands of new people every year.
Since there were so many family members, they were naturally of different aptitudes, and not all of them could grow into geniuses.
However, most of the family members had received rigorous, elite education from their family, and their decisive and ruthless character was raised since childhood.
Even the most coldhearted bandits in the Land of Sins were as harmless as lambs whose teeth had been removed in front of the seemingly polite and graceful young people.
But 'Li Jialing' was not one of them.
It was said that he was born in a branch of the branches of the Li family. His father was a lesser warrior in the family who was killed on the battlefield a long time ago, and his mother passed away in labor when giving birth to him.
Therefore, he was raised in the 'Future Academy' of the family as an orphan. After he grew slightly older, he was sent to the household of a big shot in the family to learn from the big shot and to take care of the chores for him as an unofficial servant.
The destiny of an orphan of a branch of the family was supposed to be a common warrior of the family or a general worker that was even less known. Perhaps, after serving the big shot for decades dutifully, he would have a change to be sent to a certain new business established by the family on a remote planet as a manager.
However, with unbelievable luck, Li Jialing somehow won the favor of 'Li Lingfeng', one of the top experts of the Li family, who often took Li Jialing around with him.
Li Lingfeng and Li Linghai, the queen of the Imperium of True Human Beings today, were known as the Dual Pearls of the Li family. He was a powerful person who would very likely become the next leader of the family.
Not just a person that he was fond of, even a dog that he appreciated would be more awesome than some experts in the border worlds of the Imperium.
Therefore, Li Jialing was able to enter the circle of the most distinguished young
people of the Li family.
Like all the noble families of the Imperium, the Li family did not attach much importance to the bloodline but worshipped cruel competition more than anything else.
As long as they were strong enough, the offspring of the branches could also kill the offspring of the main bloodline and be acknowledged. They would also receive the real heritage of the Li family.
So, the young people had been quite wary of Li Jialing at the beginning and thought that Li Lingfeng had earned this special attention because of some particular qualities in him.
However, after a few days of getting to know each other, they discovered that Li Jialing was a completely spineless pussy and a joke!
It had nothing to do with his strength. After all, with the Li family's wealth and technology, even a cripple who could not catch a chicken could be modified into an acceptable warrior after astronomical resources were invested in him.
The real problem with the hopeless guy was that he was too indecisive. He did not even have the courage to kill a chicken, much less a person.
Human beings were evil in nature. Young people tended to fear the strong and bully the weak. It was especially so for the young people of the Imperium of True Human Beings.
Li Jialing soon became a target for all the core young people of the family to bully and vent their frustrations on.
At first, some of them were concerned about Li Lingfeng's attitude.
However, after throwing Li Jialing into a special school that was designed to raise the future of the family, Li Lingfeng never once asked about him, as if he had completely forgotten the guy.
There was one time when Li Lingfeng's blood grandson asked him about Li Jialing prudently. Then, the big shot of the Li family raised his head and replied in confusion, "Li Jialing? Which Li Jialing?"
It seemed that Li Lingfeng only did it on the spur of the moment. Perhaps Li Lingfeng had met the garbage's father before, but it could not be any important relation. Right now, Li Lingfeng had completely forgotten the garbage!
Li Jialing immediately became a target that everybody could bully casually at the core school of the family.
Or rather, if the sh*t in the school grew legs, it would have stomped on Li Jialing's face several times every day.
Everybody agreed that Li Jialing had survived to this day because he was too useless. He was so useless that anybody who killed him would only be mocked by their companions.
He was a toy for everything and a public sandbag. Nothing more.
However, on the trip to Manjusaka to watch the seniors to complete their trial quests, Li Lingfeng, who led the team in person, somehow remembered the garbage again and ordered specifically that he should join them.
The young people were dissatisfied with the decision, and the garbage even gagged in front of everybody, which was a great humiliation for the Li family. A lot of people were so infuriated that they were almost determined to kill him.
Li Jialing, however, was used to everything. He wiped the leftovers off his body in silence, without the slightest expression on his pale face. The mockery from within the family, the confusion of other families, or his inevitable death a few days later had no effect on him whatsoever.
His life did not seem to belong to himself but was just an unimportant game.
Li Jialing lowered his head, unwilling to watch the gory battles on the light beams anymore. He was about to hide in a corner of the lobby when he noticed the eyes of both coldness and passion that were staring at him. He could not help but shudder.
Li Lingfeng was looking at him in silence not far away.
The powerful man of the Imperium of True Human Beings—the blood brother who shared the same parents with Queen Li Linghai and the commander who could summon thousands of starships and millions of loyal warriors with a light cough—had a graceful appearance entirely different from his identity.
His face was as pure as jade, and his eyes were as brilliant as stars. His long hair covered his shoulders, making him look even gentler. He was more than two hundred years old, but he was like a young scholar who had just started his career in a college. His demeanor could not have been more elegant.
Li Jialing's eyebrow trembled hard. He lowered his head and bit his lips, walking over to Li Lingfeng obediently.
The young people of the Li family who bullied him blatantly were baffled, but how could they be bold enough to ask?
They were still looking at each other in bewilderment even after Li Lingfeng and Li Jialing went to the corridor outside of the hall, not having the vaguest clue about the relationship between the star of the family and the shame of the family.
In the corridor, Li Lingfeng and Li Jialing looked at each other in a subtle atmosphere.
With his hands behind his back, Li Lingfeng looked at the 'weak' young man and said casually, "Why didn't you attack after all the time you'd been bullied? Are you going to restrain yourself until they really kill you? Just kill a couple of them in a yawn, and none of them will dare bully you anymore."
Li Jialing bit his lips hard and fell silent for a moment. Then he said softly, "Your grandson is among them."
"I have a lot of grandsons, great grandsons, and great great grandsons," Li Lingfeng said. "It is not a big deal if a couple of them are dead, especially when it is for you."
With extreme agony and stubbornness beaming out of his eyes, Li Jialing shook his head and said, "I—I don't want to kill anyone. I know that a dam will be completely crushed if I begin. I will completely lose control of myself!
"Killing a couple of them will be enough? It's impossible. You're lying to me. After I kill a couple of them, you will certainly give stronger opponents to me and ask me to kill dozens more. Then, hundreds more and thousands more. There will be no end to the cruel experiment!
"If I cannot get out of your control in any case, I would rather kill none of them. If I must die, so be it!"
Li Lingfeng put on a smile of comfort. "You are very smart, and you are getting smarter."
"It is you who made me so smart." The young man put on a bitter smile. "Smart enough to figure out my identity and destiny and to realize that I am just a special 'test subject' that has no fundamental difference from the sinners in the Land of Sins."
"I'm having higher and higher hopes for you now." Li Lingfeng's eyes became deep and mysterious. "I really want to find out how terrifying it will be when you unleash all your potential. It will certainly be a shock for a certain someone."
"What if I never allow you to fulfill your wish?" Li Jialing summoned his courage and revealed a side that he had never shown to the young people of the Li family before. Clenching his fists, he said, "You may modify me into a terrible monster, but I will never start a cruel slaughter as you wish. What will you do? Kill me?"
Li Lingfeng was amused.
"I've spent so much effort and so many resources in the past ten years to raise you. The complexity of every experiment and modification, and how successful the results are, you should be clearer about them than anybody else, right?"
The future leader of the Li family looked at the young man thoughtfully and said, "You are my most precious treasure. How can I waste you for nothing? Besides, your performance today was within my expectations. It is a kind of interesting game between me and a certain someone.
"Trust me. One day, you will recognize your nature, submit to your real destiny, and even… inherit the strength of the entire Li family!"
Li Jialing shook hard in shock.
It was the first time that he had heard Li Lingfeng's last remark.
"W-what do you mean?"
Teeth seemed to have grown out of the young man's eye sockets. Blood spots the size of needles burst out of his face, as he half begged and half bellowed, "Tell me the truth. Who are my parents? Who is the 'certain someone' that you talk about all the time? Why did you choose me for such cruel modifications in the beginning? Why do you have to push me? Why?"
Li Lingfeng was utter
ly unmoved. "If you want to know the answer so desperately, just listen to the real voices in your heart. Stop being restrained by nonexistent laws and start a slaughter!"
His eyes suddenly turned gentle as he said, "In any case, you must believe one thing. From the beginning to the end, I have never regarded you as a 'test subject'. If possible, I really want you to become my real successor as the future of the Li family!"
Chapter 2015: Wuying Lan's Rise! |
'Future of the Li family' made Li Jialing's head dizzy again. He felt that he was trapped in an immeasurable maze.
The young man stared at the man who could influence the entire Imperium of True Human Beings in a daze and hesitated. "Can I trust you?"
"Why not?" Li Lingfeng smiled. "After so many inhuman, excruciating modifications, you should know very clearly that if I wanted to interfere with or even control your mind to start a slaughter, it wouldn't have been any trouble at all. There was no way that you could resist it.
"But I did not do so. For all these years, I have merely been trying to modify your fleshly body, activate the potential of your brain, build up your soul, and nurture the terrible monster deep within your heart. However, I never interfered with your free will.
"If I had been considering you as a common 'test subject', why would I bother to raise you in such an exhausting way?
"Come on. Let's go and meet someone."
Li Lingfeng led Li Jialing to a clean secret room next to the hall.
The secret room was empty, but it had a mirror that was transparent on one side, which allowed them to observe the people in the hall.
There were also light beams that were more advanced and detailed than the ones in the hall, allowing them to grasp every detail in the Land of Sins.
