Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Ignoring Li Yao’s shameless statement that he was a terrible liar, Long Yangjun pondered solemnly for a while. Then she slowly said, “If you put it that way, I think it does make a lot of sense. That’s a good solution, except that you must pay attention to Yan Liren when you confess your identity to him in case he suddenly draws his sword and kills you. Not just you, even I can’t contain myself much longer now. It was so difficult for me to hold back my laughter during the meeting that I think my intestines are breaking apart.”

“Alright.” Li Yao rolled his sleeves. “I’m going to make noodles for them right now.”

“Wait. Wait, wait.” Long Yangjun took a deep breath and said, “Your Excellency Monster Li, dominator of three Sectors, I am not objecting to your plan, but don’t you think you need to give them a rest? Everybody has just finished analyzing the causes and consequences of the whole event, and now you are knocking on their door for a sincere chitchat? You may scare them into mental derangement…”

Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense. “Alright. Then I’ll just talk to everyone after they’ve had a good night’s sleep and gotten refreshed. We will explain everything clearly! Look at it now. A simple problem is getting more and more complicated.”

“Whatever you say.” Long Yangjun tried to hold back her laughter. “Then I must beg you—when you go to everyone to have a sincere conversation tomorrow morning, you must bring me. I guarantee that I will not say a word or cause any trouble. I will simply stand behind you and watch their faces quietly. It is definitely going to be spectacular!”

Li Yao frowned and asked, “Is this why you’re here?”

“Not exactly.” Blinking her glamorous big eyes, Long Yangjun smiled. “You know that I’m here for a slightly different purpose from everybody else’s. I’m cooperating with you partly to repair the Nuwa warship, but on the other hand, I also want to observe the new world carefully, especially the new heroes and new games in the new world, from the perspective of a ‘Nuwa warrior’.

“In the past two weeks, the abrupt and captivating drama that has taken place in the Star Glory Federation has fascinated me. I can’t help but applaud it.

“In fact, I ran an analysis about everything myself. It is basically the same as Han Baling’s, albeit with some disparity in the details.

“I think that my analysis is perhaps closer to the truth, but I am not certain. Also, many critical points in my analysis are top secrets of the top secrets that I can never know, but I feel that my heart will continue itching if the puzzles are not resolved, and it is impossible for me to go to sleep. Therefore, I am here to ask Monster Li, one of the parties involved.”

Li Yao sniffed. “Why do I have to tell you the secrets of my wife and my disciple?”

Long Yangjun’s eyes shone. “So, you have figured out the truth of the whole event, too? It does make sense. If Han Baling has discovered eighty percent of the truth merely as an outsider, you must’ve found out what Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue were up to long before he did as someone who knows the two women best. How about this? I don’t need you to tell me anything. I will tell you my speculations, and all you need to do is to say if they are right. Does that work for you?”

“No.” Li Yao shook his head.

“That’s a bit ungrateful, don’t you think?” Long Yangjun snorted. “I tried so hard to cover for you during the meeting just now, and you are doing nothing in return for me?”

Li Yao thought quickly. Then, he seemed to have figured out something. Staring at Long Yangjun solemnly, he said, “Alright. You will make guesses, and I will tell you if they are right. But this event is not as simple as it appears. There may be a series of subsequent changes. Once you learn the truth, you will never get to jump off the boat anymore. I will not allow you to stay out of it.”

“I never planned to stay out of the event in the first place.” Long Yangjun smiled. “Monster Li’s thigh is thick, strong, and dependable. Now that I have clung to it, how could I bear to let it go easily?”

Li Yao coughed and said, “You may begin.”

“Alright!” Long Yangjun nodded and spoke in great excitement. “In fact, Han Baling deserves to be one of the rare talents in strategies in the Ancient Sages Sector. It is no exaggeration to call him a great monarch. Also, everything he did when he demolished all the sects on the prairie, established the Eight Units of Cloud Qin, and became the leader of the Dark Cloud Prairies is similar to what is happening in the federation right now. The new powers are crushing the old interest groups that have gradually decayed and are no longer used to the latest changes.

“Therefore, his speculations on the whole thing are shockingly precise. The truth is a fatal trap that has been prepared for a hundred years like he described!

“However, it is impossible for him to know that the trap was not prepared by Monster Li but Monster Li’s disciple, Jin Xinyue!

“Jin Xinyue is truly one of the best strategic schemers in the federation who has grown to an extent far beyond her master!”

Long Yangjun suddenly paused and sighed, while she eyed Li Yao with envy and jealousy.

Li Yao was slightly dazed. “Why are you looking at me in such a way?”

“Because I’m jealous. I’m jealous that you recruited such a distinguished disciple when you didn’t do anything!” Long Yangjun said. “For the experts of our level who have reached the Nascent Soul Stage, what we want are merely two simple things. Firstly, to further move upward in our training. Secondly, to find a few loyal, gifted disciples who will pass on our lifelong knowledge and perfect it!

“The path of training gets more and more difficult as you walk further. To break through from the Nascent Soul Stage into the Divinity Transformation Stage is a challenging task for anyone.

“However, to recruit a real good disciple, one that both has distinguished talents and abilities and is loyal to their master, is a hundred times more challenging than breaking into the Divinity Transformation Stage!

“It is essentially the greatest achievement of your life to have recruited such a perfect disciple as Jin Xinyue who is loyal and willing to sacrifice for the interests of her master. I believe that you will rest in peace even if you die abruptly right now!”

“Is that a compliment? Why does it sound so weird to me?”

Long Yangjun smiled. “Of course it does. It sounds weird because it is not true. At first, I read a lot of biographies about Jin Xinyue and Ding Lingdang. But the thing about biographies is that they are often embroidered to cover the mistakes of the persons and to highlight their achievements, just like how the figure in the ‘Chronicles of Li Yao’ is not the real you. Therefore, it is impossible to tell the real character of the persons and the logic of their actions.

“Later, I began to analyze the videos of their speeches. You know that a lot of videos of their public speeches are available on the Spiritual Nexus for them to run for the Supreme Speaker.

“I carefully studied almost a hundred clips of their speeches. I dare not say that I know them as well as you do, but I believe I have found something that Han Baling and the rest of them didn’t.”

“What is it?” Li Yao asked.

“Ambitions. Undisguisable ambitions that flow out of every pore on Jin Xinyue’s body,” Long Yangjun said. “Jin Xinyue is an ambitious woman who has the strongest lust for power. Even if she truly regards you as the dearest and most respected master, it is impossible for her to sacrifice herself for you or your wife.

“Then, at first glance, the whole plan appears quite illogical.

“After her ‘self-detonation’, Li Yao’s group will certainly rise and will completely control the federation, but she might be sentenced to prison, and all her possibilities on the surface will vanish.

“After all, no matter how despicable the traditional conglomerates are, she is the center of the scandal. Suffering such a destructive strike, not just the important posts such as Speaker of the Federation, leader of the Ministry of Equality and Development, or president of the Dim Moon Fund, even the places of a lower level will not be open for her.

“For such a woman who was practically born with ambition for power, it is more excruciating than to be minced into pieces. Is my speculation on your little disciple correct?”

“Yes. She is indeed such a woman.” Li Yao nodded. “I learned about it a hundred years ago.”

“But back then, you didn’t know that her appetite was so huge,” Long Yangjun said. “Or maybe, Jin Xinyue, who was relatively immature a hundred years ago, did not have such a huge appetite then. A minor ‘Speaker of the Federation’ was enough to satisfy her at that time.

“However, after a hundred years of training and expansion, Jin Xinyue has grown into a rapacious, gigantic beast. What she desires is not a meaningless title such as Speaker of the Federation but the real power of the entire Star Glory Federation!

“The term for the Speaker of the Federation is five years, and one can only serve two terms at most, which will be ten years. Even during the ten years, they will be hamstrung by parliament and the many big shots in other aspects. They must take the influence and interests of other parties into account, too. So, does the Speaker really have the dominating power?

“No. Speaker of the Federation is just a vain title. There’s a post that is even more critical than Speaker. Sometimes they overlap, but sometimes they do not, in which case one can totally manipulate everything behind the curtain. The post is the helmsman of Li Yao’s group!

“In the New Federation that is deprived of the traditional conglomerates and the obsolete forces, Li Yao’s group will rise unstoppably. Whoever works as the helmsman of Li Yao’s group will control the entire federation!

“Also, Speaker has terms and is bound by checks and balances, supervision and exposure, but ‘helmsman of Li Yao’s group’ does not have terms and will not necessarily be checked. It does not need to answer to the general public, either! If the person is capable enough, they can work for fifty years, a hundred, or even longer, controlling the federation for the next century! Am I right, Monster Li?”

Li Yao gave neither approval nor disapproval. “However, even if a ‘Li Yao’s group’ does exist, Ding Lingdang is its helmsman right now.”

“But your wife is neither the materials for the Speaker of the Federation nor for the helmsman of Li Yao’s group.” Long Yangjun chuckled. “She is not even willing to take the jobs herself, is she?

“That’s why Jin Xinyue went through all the trouble of pushing her to the stage, because Jin Xinyue is very clear that Ding Lingdang will not fight for power with her!

“On the surface, everything Jin Xinyue did was self-sacrifice to pave the way for Ding Lingdang. Such loyalty is truly touching!

“But on second thought, the core circle of the so-called ‘Li Yao’s group’ is only four people—Li Yao’s wife and his three disciples.

“Li Yao’s wife Ding Lingdang and first disciple Wu Mayan are both warriors. They are incapable and uninterested in political power or managing Li Yao’s group.

“There’s no need to mention his second disciple, Xie Anan, who is the purest refiner. Her ambitions are perhaps even smaller than Ding Lingdang’s and Wu Mayan’s. She was not born to be a leader at all!

“Then, if a helmsman must be chosen from the core circle, who is more qualified than Jin Xinyue, capable, loyal, and willing to sacrifice herself for Li Yao’s group?”