by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“Um… no…” said Xia Yunchong awkwardly.
“Since there’s no need for that, why bother about temporary losses or wins? Being undefeatable isn’t something constant. There is only one time you must be undefeatable: when the things you care about are threatened. Because at that time, if you are not undefeatable, you will lose the most precious existence in your life. That kind of pain isn’t something we can bear. So when we are undefeatable, it is because we must be undefeatable, because we have no choice but to be undefeatable,” said Long Chen.
“Brother Long, I understand.” Xia Yunchong suddenly regained his confidence. His eyes also recovered their light.
Xia Yuyang and the white-haired elder looked at each other, both of them incomparably gratified. The knot in Xia Yunchong’s heart had been undone. That was amazing. This way, he could slowly find his undefeatable Dao-heart once more.
“Sometimes just understanding isn’t enough. You need to experience it. Here, try this wine.” Long Chen handed Xia Yunchong a bowl of wine. Xia Yunchong was too preoccupied to even notice that this was not the same wine that they had been drinking before.
“Think of when Youluo had her throat caught in someone else’s hand. Her life might have been crushed at any time like an ant. What would you do?” Long Chen’s voice suddenly changed, seeming to echo from all directions. His vast Spiritual Strength moved with his voice.
Xia Yunchong drank the wine. His eyes became scarlet and all the energy in his body erupted. He was just about to suppress it when he heard Long Chen’s voice and seemed to see Xia Youluo caught in someone else’s hands.
RUMBLE!
Xia Yunchong’s energy erupted like a volcano, and a powerful qi wave unfurled. An undefeatable will shook heaven and earth.
Long Chen finally sighed with relief. Even duping people was tiring work. It needed a step by step sequence.
Xia Yunchong had regained his undefeatable will, and he was full of delight. He was just about to thank Long Chen.
“Not good! Princess Youluo has committed suicide!”
Xia Yunchong’s expression completely changed, and with a furious roar, he flew out like a gust of wind.
Chapter 1234 Don’t be too Evil
Xia Youluo was lying on her bed quietly. Her face still had tearstains on them. Her eyes were closed, and she looked like she had simply cried herself to sleep.
But right now, her heart had already stopped, and her spiritual fluctuations had disappeared. The lively and cute girl had become a lifeless body.
Xia Yuyang, the white-haired elder, Xia Yunchong, Xia Yunfeng, and the others were all present. Xia Yunchong was crying as he held his little sister, unable to believe this reality.
Xia Yuyang was holding a piece of paper with beautiful lines of words on it. After reading through those words, Xia Yuyang closed his eyes in pain.
Xia Youluo had said that this time, so many of the Grand Xia’s experts had died because of her. Her brother’s Dao-heart had also been destroyed, severing his cultivation path. She blamed herself.
She felt herself to be a disgrace to the Grand Xia’s imperial family, and she was too ashamed to face her father, brothers, or sisters. She was also too ashamed to face the commoners. Only by dying could she retrieve the Grand Xia’s imperial family’s dignity.
“How could you be so foolish?! This wasn’t your fault!” Xia Yunchong held Xia Youluo, weeping. Xia Youluo was the little sister he had doted on the most. He would rather he have died than her. But now, he was unable to do anything.
“In the end, it was still impossible to escape this calamity?” Xia Yuyang sighed in pain. Originally, he had thought the calamity had already passed. But in the end, calamities weren’t so easily avoided.
“It’s alright, stop crying. Youluo hasn’t died. She’s just in a state of quasi death,” said Long Chen suddenly.
Everyone was startled to hear that. Right now, her spiritual fluctuations had completely vanished. How could this possibly be a quasi death state?
“Let me!” Long Chen sat beside Xia Youluo’s bed. Seeing the tears on her face, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Why bother? This matter was not Xia Youluo’s fault at all. The Grand Han had long since laid down this trap. Even without her, the Grand Xia wouldn’t have escaped their losses.
By being captured, the only one she had implicated was Xia Yunchong, but she had foolishly thought that everyone had lost their precious time to run away because they had been waiting for her, which was why they had died.
Long Chen pressed his hand against her forehead. He had just raised his left hand when he awkwardly said, “Uncle Xia, maybe you should all back up a bit. Youluo stopped her own heart, and I have to restart it…”
“Cultivators don’t have so many misgivings. Go ahead!” Xia Yuyang knew what Long Chen was saying, but he didn’t care. As long as he could save her, the rest wasn’t important.
Long Chen could only continue. He took out a drop of the divine life elixir for her and then placed his right hand gently over her chest.
Xia Youluo had severed her heart muscles. This was the suicide method most cultivators chose. With the heartbeat stopped, a person would slowly fall unconscious, and in the end, their soul would dissipate without the slightest pain.
Long Chen needed to reconnect her heart muscles. This was not difficult with the divine life elixir. But with her spiritual fluctuations gone, reviving her was something even a god couldn’t do.
Everyone was holding their breaths as they watched Long Chen work. Xia Yunchong’s fists were clenched tightly, his palms sweaty. He hoped Long Chen really could create a miracle and revive Xia Youluo.
“You don’t need to be so nervous. Youluo definitely won’t die. In the ancient remnant, I already sensed her mental state was a bit off, so I gave her two pills at that time. One was a healing pill, while the other was a Nine Revolution Rebirth Pill. When she committed suicide, as her life energy faded, the Nine Revolution Rebirth Pill automatically took effect, harboring her soul within the Niwan, allowing it to enter the most primal state. So you can’t sense her spiritual fluctuations, and when she wakes up, her soul will feel weak for a while. But after this rebirth, her mental state will have risen.
“If you talk to her then, she won’t continue being so stubborn and thinking this is all her fault. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but I didn’t know she would really do this. I only gave her the Nine Revolution Rebirth Pill to guard against all possibilities,” said Long Chen as he worked.
Hearing his explanation, they all had an urge to prostrate themselves toward him. It was all thanks to how meticulous Long Chen was that Xia Youluo hadn’t died this time.
Long Chen’s hand began to shine as Spiritual Strength entered Xia Youluo’s head. At this moment, her head shook slightly and her spiritual fluctuations returned.
Although Long Chen had told them not to worry, seeing her spiritual fluctuations actually return allowed them to all relax.
Her soul had revived, and her heart was once more beating. This kind of short-term quasi death state posed no harm to her.
“Alright, let Youluo sleep for a while. Later, have someone watch over her to talk her around when she wakes up. Now brother Yunchong’s Undefeatable Dao has returned, so she has even less reason to feel guilty. Furthermore, she really doesn’t need to feel any guilt for what happened in the Four Nations Ancient Remnant. It should be an easy misunderstanding to fix.” Long Chen stood and stretched.
“I’ll look after her.” Xia Yunchong was the first to open his mouth. Xia Youluo’s suicide this time had made him feel even more dearly for her.
“It should be me. I owe this child Youluo too much. Don’t fight with me over this.” Xia Yuyang sat beside Xia Youluo, rubbing her head gently. He was filled with shame.
Living in the imperial family was sometimes sorrowful. Whether it was the emperor, the princes, or the princesses, living like that was a kind of sorrow. They couldn’t even enjoy the feeling of f
amilial love like others.
Seeing Xia Yuyang personally volunteer to look after Xia Youluo, Xia Yunchong didn’t argue. He left with Long Chen and the others.
The next day, as Long Chen had predicted, all kinds of propaganda disparaging him began to spread.
Long Chen was a Heaven-Seizer, Long Chen was a homicidal maniac, Long Chen intentionally drew a disaster to the Grand Xia, Long Chen wanted the Grand Xia destroyed, Long Chen was an evil star. All kinds of rumors spread.
The streets were filled with countless people discussing this. Through the full power of the Pill Tower’s dogs, all kinds of proof spread, and the public opinion toward Long Chen grew worse and worse. Some people unrelated to the Pill Tower were already starting to call for Long Chen to leave the Grand Xia.
There was even a large group of the Grand Xia’s ‘original inhabitants’ that were shouting in the streets for Long Chen to scram.
Long Chen merely smiled and said it was fine. Having the Grand Xia’s commoners make some extra income was fine. These people were all bought by the Pill Tower, and it seemed they had been bought at quite a high price.
Long Chen even had Xia Yuyang tell the guards that if they had nothing else to do, they could also join that group. Of course, they would have to ask for a slightly higher price. After all, they had a special status.
When Xia Yuyang heard Long Chen wanted him to do this, he was absolutely flabbergasted. But after asking around, he found out it really was the truth. These commoners were all being paid a shocking price.
Xiantian experts were paid a hundred middle grade spirit stones for one day of shouting. Sea Expansion experts were given one thousand middle grade spirit stones, and Foundation Forging experts were given ten yuan spirit stones a day.
“Damn, they really are rich! I even want to bring my brothers from the Xuantian Dao Sect to join in. They’ll shout enough to make them bankrupt.” Long Chen couldn’t help but curse when he heard the price.
It was unknown what the price was for Jade Core or Soul Transformation experts. But looking at the previous prices, it was definitely not low.
“Long Chen, what should we do? This truly is an enticing work.” Even Xia Yunchong was affected by this bait.
“Let’s do this: starting tomorrow, announce that there’s a curfew at night. If they still want to shout, they’ll have to pay a noise tax. The tax will be in accordance with a person’s cultivation base. There’s no need to take that much; just half is enough,” said Long Chen.
“A fifty percent tax?! That’s not that much to you?!” Xia Yunchong was speechless. He had never heard of such a heavy tax. This was too evil.
“Even if it was higher, they’d continue shouting. Furthermore, the Pill Tower’s people have plenty of money. Not making a killing off them would be a waste. Tell the guards to join, and tell them it’s time for their families to get rich. We can’t let the wealth go to others. Furthermore, it’ll make it easier to control.
“Once more people join in, start raising the price. If they refuse to pay, have your people stop shouting, and since they’re not allowed to shout, the others also won’t be allowed to shout. If they don’t accept the prices, the guards will beat up whoever shouts.
“As for the price, don’t raise it too fast. Just raise it once every few hours, and only raise it by ten percent. Remember, don’t be too evil!” said Long Chen.
Raising it ten percent every few hours wasn’t too evil? Xia Yunchong wasn’t able to keep up with Long Chen’s thoughts.
“Is this really possible?” Xia Yunchong had never done something like this, and he had no confidence in it.
“Don’t worry, according to my years of conning people, this matter has a one hundred percent chance of succeeding. This is your territory. If you didn’t con them, wouldn’t you be looking down on them? How would you face the commoners of your Grand Xia? You should hurry with this, because after a while, the Pill Tower will be forced to scram, and there won’t be another chance like this to get rich.” Under Long Chen’s urging, Xia Yunchong thickened his skin and went to see the guards.
During the next little bit, the people funding the shouting encountered a great misfortune. The Grand Xia was collecting taxes, and whether people wanted to or not, they had to pay. Those shouters naturally refused for this tax to come out of their own pockets, so the price naturally rose.
Furthermore, not only was the price increasing, but even more and more people were joining in on the shouting. The amount of money required to pay them rose slowly, so the backers reduced the number of paid shouters to cut down their expenses.
As a result, all of those shouters protested, saying that they wouldn’t shout if they didn’t bring out enough money for everyone. They were extraordinarily united.
If those people didn’t shout, they would have failed the mission that the Pill Tower gave them. As a result, those sects that had been ordered to carry out this mission gathered up their resources to pay them. A single sect would be unable to bear such a price.
But they were infuriated to find that more and more people were joining in on the shouting, and they couldn’t refuse them. If they refused, the rest would all stop shouting in protest. And there were too many of them, and they refused to allow others to shout if they weren’t.
There was no way the payers dared to use force against them within the Grand Xia. Either they brought out more and more money, or there would be no shouting. Eventually, there came a day when several million people were there to receive their pay, and every few hours, they would inflate the price. They didn’t even shout that much. Most of the time, they were only coming to them for their pay, making the employers infuriated. The Grand Xia’s people were absolutely shameless!
But this was the mission the Pill Tower gave them. If they failed at it, they would not only have failed at currying favor, but they would even be kicked away.
So those sects could only clench their teeth and bear the pain. They continued paying a huge amount of money each day. Inside, they prayed for Long Chen to hurry up and leave, or they’d end up bankrupt.
But today, Long Chen leisurely went to see Xia Youluo. She had woken up today.
Chapter 1235 A Piece of News
Within the imperial palace’s garden, there was birdsong and fragrant flowers, rock gardens and flowing water, as well as small pavilions elegantly placed in various locations. The scenery was so beautiful it looked like the work of a god. This scene had a special kind of feeling to it.
“Long Chen, thank you!”
Xia Youluo was walking alongside Long Chen. Her face had recovered a bit of its past rosiness, and her eyes contained a particular expression now.
However, she no longer had her old mischievous and unruly air. It was as if in a single night, she had matured to the point where Long Chen wasn’t accustomed to it.
“There’s no need to thank me. After all, we are battle companions, and our accomplishments, whether it be fighting in the Four Nations Ancient Remnant or swindling wine in the Wine God Palace, are not things ordinary people can compare to.” Long Chen smiled.
Xia Youluo also smiled slightly. She thought of when she had first accompanied Long Chen to swindle wine from the Wine God Palace. That day, there had been crying and laughing, as well as fighting. Now thinking about it, she felt like it had been a lifetime ago.
“Long Chen, was I really dislikable back then?” sighed Xia Youluo sadly.
“What are you talking about? It’s not like you’re very likeable now either.” After saying this, Long Chen immediately felt things were different. According to Xia Youluo’s old character, she should have immediately flown into a rage and started beating him. But now, she simply lowered her head and didn’t say anything. He awkwardly said, “Girl, if you’re going to be like this, I won’t joke around with you any longer.”
Long Chen still preferred the previous naive and simple Xia Youluo. Although that Xia Youluo had been unruly, willful, and somewhat violent, those were her ch
aracteristics.
She was like a newborn baby, and whatever she did, she had no schemes or other intentions. Everything she did was instinctual.
But after experiencing what she had, it was like she had matured overnight. But by maturing, she was no longer the old Xia Youluo.
Maturity did not depend on age, but on experience. Only by experiencing pain would a person mature.
That was because they had no choice but to mature then. Now she knew her own responsibility and how she was supposed to bear it. Once a person matured, they naturally had to lose some things. Perhaps that was the price of maturity.
“Long Chen, can you still hold my hand as we walk?” Xia Youluo was a bit red, and her voice all quivered slightly, but there was hope in her eyes.
“How could I do such a thing? Do you think I’m the type to take advantage of others like that?”
Although that was what came out of Long Chen’s mouth, he had already taken hold of Xia Youluo’s hand.
Xia Youluo smiled. Feeling the warmth of Long Chen’s hand, she felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
Walking while holding Long Chen’s hand, she said, “Long Chen, you’re a good person.”
“Thank you, but you absolutely can’t say such a thing.” Long Chen shook his head.
“Why not?” asked Xia Youluo.
Long Chen looked up at the sky and worriedly said, “People who often say things that go against their conscience will be struck by lightning.”
Xia Youluo laughed and lightly hit him. “Don’t tease me. I’m being serious.”
“I’m also being serious. Do you not hear those people shouting at me to leave Grand Xia City? How could a good person be treated like that?”
Xia Youluo covered her mouth and chortled, “Don’t think I don’t know that you and brother Yunchong are up to mischief. Those people shouting are all your people. You’re just taking their money.”
“It’s not mischief. One side wants to beat others, while the other side wants to be beaten by others. Both sides are getting what they want. At most, this could be called cooperation. Yes, this is a mutually beneficial cooperation,” said Long Chen.
