Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“That explains a lot!”

Li Yao was greatly enlightened. “And here I was wondering why you suddenly became so great. I thought you had come here to stop the war of the wildlings because you were sincerely trying to save the people. But that did not seem like your style at all!

“As it turns out, you are just deceiving those wildlings to go upward as the cannon fodder of your scheme!”

“Wrong. It’s not a scheme but an uprising. They will not be cannon fodder but the warriors of a righteous army!”

Long Yangjun said with a smile, “The life of the Imperium’s people is already insufferable because of the dual oppressions of the Immortal Cultivators and the external enemies. Even the situation tens of thousands of meters below the ground is the same.

“The past ten years of Imperium’s counterattack almost drained every last drop of blood in every person of the Imperium, and the drastic changes in politics over the past few months, particularly the fall and collapse of the Dongfang family, have led to severe consequences too. It is inevitable that all the classes below the ground are affected as collateral damages.

“Many factories and energy bases below the ground originally belonged to the Dongfang family, but now that the ‘reformists’ are determined to eradicate the Dongfang family, all the major forces are attacking it together. Those factories and energy bases are certainly fat meat that everybody drools over.

“When the high and mighty big shots fight each other in the struggle for power up above, even the losers will have a chance to maintain their basic dignity, but for the small fries living below the ground whose livelihood depends on the factories and the energy bases, if the factories stop for one day, their whole families will be hungry for one day, and if the factories stop for ten days, none of them will survive. That is still not counting the collapses of buildings, fractures of tubes, fires, and leakages of poisonous gas caused by the battles of the Immortal Cultivators below the ground.

“The critical assets of the underground towns have changed their owners multiple times. To make up for the losses, the new owners further exploit the workers through whatever means possible, to the point that the workers are either starved because they do not have a chance to work, or die in exhaustion because of too much work, or accidentally get killed when they are unfortunately involved in a fierce battle between the Immortal Cultivators.

“In short, most of the hominoids living below the ground have had enough oppression! By launching a magnificent uprising to occupy the factories and energy bases, they will have enough food, compressed air, and coolers. This is their instinct for survival. Is there anything wrong about that?”

Li Yao said solemnly, “There is certainly nothing wrong about that. If I were on the spot, I would certainly participate in such an uprising in person. But how is it related to those wildlings?”

Long Yangjun chuckled. “Since they have decided to go big, they will certainly need to unite all the forces that can be united. The wildlings are a part of the underground civilization of mankind, and they are natural-born tough and dangerous hunters. Of course they must be invited for the great cause!

“It’s true that the uprising is risky and 99% of them will likely be suppressed, but those wildlings were preparing to die with each other in the first place. In the war among the Black Armors, the Night Wings, and the Red Rings, there would be no winner at all. Even if somebody managed to survive, it wouldn’t take long before they go extinct.

“Since they would be dead either way, don’t you think that it is more meaningful if they die in a noble cause by resisting the tyranny?

“Speaking of which, I actually learned my ideas from the legendary, glorious, sacred, and lofty Vulture Li Yao, the founding father of the Star Glory Federation and the dominator of three Sectors! Father Li once taught us that the federation was too weak and the Imperium was too strong, and that the federation would certainly be smashed into pieces if it were hit by the Imperium’s iron fists.

“However, the Imperium could not win the support of the people with its governance of violence and cruelty. The hominoids that took up 99% of the total population must be very dissatisfied with the reign of the ruling class. They were like a powder keg filled with infinite energy that could be detonated with a single spark.

“Therefore, if anybody had a chance to sneak into the Imperium, they must find a way to awaken the hominoids and ignite the fire of resistance that would illuminate the universe. As long as all the hominoids were roused and resisted the tyranny bravely and relentlessly, no matter how huge and overwhelming the Imperium of True Human Beings was, it would collapse without being attacked!

“That is exactly the tutelage of our noble Father Li. I have always regarded Father Li as the greatest man in the entire universe. I recite Father Li’s quotes three times every night before I go to sleep, and I’ve been carrying out Father Li’s directions in my work scrupulously. That’s why Nepenthe came into being and why such a great uprising is to take place! Why, are you bold enough to suspect Father Li?”

Li Yao was stunned for a long time before he took a deep, deep breath.

“Why do you look so angry?”

Long Yangjun said casually, “Your nostrils are widened enough to be stuffed with two eggs. It seems that you are truly dissatisfied with Father Li.”

“Do not twist what I said. That was not what I meant at all.”

Li Yao frowned; his veins protruding. “It’s true that I said the strengths of the billions of ordinary people of the Imperium must be activated, and that they should fight for the rights that they deserve when the time comes. But it is based on two things. Firstly, the ordinary people must be really awakened first to make them realize their situation and the way to completely change their fate, and then they will launch the charge following the Cultivators because the blood of the strong should be shed first! Secondly, in any case, there is no reason to suppress the feelings, desires, and will of human beings and transform them into ignorant beasts. That’s not how you should achieve the purpose!

“Let’s just talk about those wildlings. Having lived below the ground for ten thousand years, they have lost most of their wisdom, and their intelligence might be as good as a five-year-old kid! Are you able to make them understand the idea of fighting for their own freedom by resisting the tyranny in only half a day? How is it possible? Even though they are following you willingly on the surface, it is still just a deception!

“Is such an action any different from tricking a bunch of five-year-olds into going to a war with fancy talks?

“As for the Nepenthe believers from upper towns, they perhaps boast fundamental wisdom and judgment, and they have abandoned their feelings and desires to be your tools of their own will, but ask yourself with your conscience, will you lead the charge as the ‘Serenity Seraph’ and face thousands of aggressive Immortal Cultivators, or even Blackstar the Great who has come as a reinforcement, before everybody else? Will you?”

“I’m sorry, but my body structure is different from yours, and I don’t have an organ named ‘conscience’ inside my body.”

Long Yangjun said with a smile, “However, I do not need a conscience to give you a straight answer, which is that I certainly won’t. I will never charge in the frontline. That’s a stupid thing that only an idiot like you would do. I will not even lurk in the rear and command the battle. As a matter of fact, the upcoming great uprising barely has anything to do with me. The most that I’ve offered is a tiny bit of guidance to push the situation to where I want it to be. Don’t forget that I had been in the royal palace first and then with Dongfang Wang as the director of the Association of Demon Hunters for the past two years. It was impossible for me to have planned this… meaningless and suicidal uprising in person!”

Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense. Neither Queen Li Linghai nor Prime Minister Dongfang Wang was easy to deal with. Long Yangjun must’ve devoted all her attention to them while she was dealing with them. It was impossible and unnecessary for her to instigate such an uprising of hominoids.

“As for your criticism, it may be very reasonable, but it is too ideal.”

Long Yangjun said, as peaceful as before, “If it were you, how would you have cleaned up the mess below the ground? Were you going to teach them languages and what made a human a human for ten years, the ideas of the Cultivators for another five years, before you finally let them awaken their determination of resistance?

“What if all the wildlings killed each other during the ten or so years?

“What if they did not kill each other, but all starved because of the shortage of food?

“What if the Immortal Cultivators noticed your tricks in your protracted preparation and suppressed all the wildlings who were half awakened?

“Li Yao, you are a good man, and you are an out-and-out good Cultivator. Perhaps it is because of people like you that I am not entirely disappointed at the civilization of mankind. But just by being a good man cannot solve the complicated, infinite problems in reality. In many cases, you cannot afford to wait in an emergency, and you must be cruel and heartless to settle the problems quickly. In the drastic changes, if a few ants are accidentally sacrificed, although it is very pitiful and not quite right, is there anything else you can do?”

Li Yao completely calmed down.

He suddenly discovered that Long Yangjun was adopting a different approach to infuriate him and locate the loopholes of his beliefs so that his mental defense line could be breached easily.

After more than a hundred years of life-and-death adventures and collisions of beliefs with so many great men of the time, Li Yao’s soul had already been polished and indestructible, and his heart was also as pure as a newborn baby. Even though he looked shocked and angry now and then, his mind and his soul were never shaken easily.

“What is your purpose exactly?”

Ignoring the details, Li Yao went directly to Long Yangjun’s motive. “I don’t believe that you are doing everything genuinely for the sake of the underground locals. You must have a certain purpose by establishing a so-called ‘Nepenthe’ through all the trouble and instigating such a great uprising, and the purpose can’t be entirely for the benefits of the locals of this place. Let me take a guess—is it related to the Covenant Alliance?”

“Smart!”

Brilliant sparks were flashing inside Long Yangjun’s eyes as she looked at Li Yao with great interest. “That’s why I have to constantly remind myself during competitions with you, that the you who are standing before me is an extremely smart, extremely sleazy, and extremely dreadful Monster Li, and that I must not be fooled by your childish appearance that almost looks like a middle school student. This is really exhausting!

“However, you are only half right. What happens below the ground of the capital is not deeply connected to the Covenant Alliance. This is just my personal interest. I want to conduct a social experiment to explore the origins of the Covenant Alliance. Simple as that.”