Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

In the Land of Sins, there was no obvious distinction between civilians, warriors, and bandits. The warriors of the Village of Peace were trained by Gu Zhengyang, an expert from the sky, and ‘Blood Eagle’ Zhao Lie, a former tough bandit. They were well-organized and boasted a high combat ability.

After they arrived at the valley willing to sacrifice themselves, they were fearless of any enemy. The bandits who had just fought for a whole night and had lost all their leaders were no match for them at all.

Those who dared resist were immediately killed by the warriors of the Village of Peace, who outnumbered the bandits ten to one.

The slaves on the human market were freed and enlisted on the Village of Peace’s side.

By noon, the Village of Peace had basically got the situation in Double Dragons City under control. The flames that had burnt for a whole night gradually died down.

Although the asset warehouse of the Red Fire Gang had exploded and burnt to the ground, the other gangs had more than ten enormous warehouses of resources after all, in which high-energy food, water-cleaning cartridges, anti-radiation suits, and a myriad of magical equipment were stored. They even had dozens of low-level crystal suits.

With so many assets, even if the population of the Village of Peace doubled, they would be able to sustain themselves for the next year and half.

However, although the situation was settled for now, the future was still unpredictable.

The Red Fire Gang and the Black Water Gang were gone, but Double Dragons City was a critical location. Although it was in the middle of a power vacuum, new gangs would enter the place before long and restore it to what it had once been.

Unless, of course, the Village of Peace was capable of defending Double Dragons City and became a new dominator, which had perhaps been the greatest dream of ‘Blood Eagle’ Zhao Lie in the past.

The Village of Peace was not necessarily incapable of that, but if they became the new dominator of Double Dragons City, they would inevitably turn into ferocious, ravenous animals like the Red Fire Gang or the Black Water Gang.

As for exactly what path they should walk in the future, Gu Zhengyang had not figured out the answer. Perhaps no one in the Village of Peace knew.

They could only try to save more people and live longer by following their heart.

At noon, Han Te and Liu Li went to Gu Zhengyang, who had been busy all morning. Holding each other’s hands, they summoned their courage and proposed their request to Gu Zhengyang.

“You’re leaving?” Gu Zhengyang’s eyes glittered as if he were a hawk as he stared at Li Yao behind. “You are going to find Manjusaka, the City in the Sky, with this… Fiend Star?”

“Yes!” The two little fellows gritted their teeth and replied, “We have to go to Manjusaka and ask the high and mighty angels a lot of questions. We will figure out the truth of our world!”

Somewhat out of their expectations, Gu Zhengyang did not immediately turn them down. His eyes were deep and blurry, and there was no telling what was on his mind. Touching Liu Li’s head, he sighed. “Both the City in the Sky and this Fiend Star contain too many secrets. Perhaps they far exceed the limits of what we can pursue, and we will have to pay with our lives if we want to know the answer. Are you still going to search for the answer even so?”

Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other and said firmly, “Yes. Master, we know that it is very dangerous to look for the City in the Sky. But is there any place in the Land of Sins that is not dangerous? Although we lived in the Village of Peace peacefully, didn’t we suffer disasters every once in a while?

“Furthermore, the Village of Peace has resolved the crisis at hand, but it will only be temporary! Double Dragons City is a fat piece of meat. Soon, other wolves and tigers will find it and try to occupy it. After those animals arrive at the city, the first thing they do will be to beat the Village of Peace because we are the greatest threat in the area!

“If we do not want to be swallowed by others, we have to strengthen ourselves with whatever means possible just like the gangs. We must grow tusks and claws and become animals that are madder and more brutal than them. But is such a life what you want?”

Gu Zhengyang was silent. After a bitter smile, he said, “That is the path that Zhao Lie wanted to walk on. Perhaps it is indeed the right path, but I—I simply can’t make that choice.”

“No. Zhao Lie… and the entire world are wrong. You are the right one, Master!” Han Te clenched his fists. “Liu Li and I both want to change the cruel and absurd world. But to change it, we must know clearly what it is. That is why we have to go to Manjusaka, the City in the Sky! Master, do you not want to grow Gold Barley over the entire Land of Sins one day and settle all the conflicts and disasters on our land? Just let us go. We will certainly find an answer about this world!”

“Dad, we have already grown up. You can’t protect us forever.” Liu Li bit her lips. “If ‘Fiend Star’ comes with us, there will not be any problem!”

Gu Zhengyang looked at Li Yao again. Then he recalled the horror last night made of gunshots, explosions, and surging flames.

It was hard to imagine that Double Dragons City had been destroyed by a spiritual puppet.

What kind of monster was it exactly?

Gu Zhengyang’s instincts made him confused and vigilant of Li Yao.

However, on second thought, his daughter, his disciple, himself, and even the entire Village of Peace were just some minor forces in a remote area of the Desolate Worlds. Nobody would have any reason to covet them, right?

Had it not been for the spiritual puppet, the Village of Peace would have been razed to the ground, and his daughter and disciple would have suffered the most miserable torture under the bandit Fei Zhong.

Gu Zhengyang sighed and said, “What are you going to do exactly?”

Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other and both cheered. Han Te said confidently, “Fiend Star found an invitation card from Double Dragons City. We plan to go to ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie with the invitation card!”

“Fist King?” Gu Zhengyang was slightly dazed. Then he frowned and said, “The Fist King is preparing to attack Liberty City. The Bloody Plateau Area is turbulent right now. You are going to involve yourselves in it?”

“If we don’t join the Fist King’s army, how can the two of us, who are nameless nobodies, sneak into the Elysian World and find a way to ascend to the City in the Sky?” Han Te rubbed his nose and smiled. “The confrontation between ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie and the leader of Liberty City gives a great opportunity to us small fries to take advantage of the mess. We will certainly be able to get a lot of messages and even accumulate abundant ‘contribution points’.”

“We are going to the Fist King for the sake of the Village of Peace, too,” Liu Li said solemnly. “Right now, most of the gangs on the Bloody Plateau Area have focused their attention on the competition between ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie and the leader of Liberty City. They have no time to bother with the small places like Double Dragons City or the Village of Peace. I estimate that we will still have time to consolidate the defense of Double Dragons City.

“However, after the battle in Liberty City is over, somebody will definitely come here to steal Double Dragons City.

“Therefore, after we join the Fist King’s army, we will observe in secret and find out who covets Double Dragons City and the Village of Peace so that you will be able to make preparations in advance, Dad.

“Moreover, if we are lucky enough, we will win the support of ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie. Nobody will dare touch the Village of Peace if so, and you will be able to build Double Dragons City into a brand-new city!”

Gu Zhengyang smiled and did not comment on their proposal. He simply said, “Judging from your words, you seem to be confident in ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie’s victory. But I can tell you that it is not necessarily the case. Xiahou Wuxin, the leader of Liberty City, has been a dominating expert since decades ago. I don’t believe that he will wait to be killed by the Fist King.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The two little fellows looked at each other and smiled. “We will not stand on the Fist King’s side loyally. If Xiahou Wuxin turns out to be tougher, we will certainly not hesitate to switch sides!”

“Just let us go, Dad!” Liu Li shook her father’s hands. “Otherwise, what can we do even if we stay here? When the battle between the Fist King and the leader of Liberty City is over, a lot of gangs will come, and we will still be doomed!”

Gu Zhengyang was deep in thought. “About that…”

…

That day at dusk, Han Te and Liu Li were all set to go.

Even Li Yao had fully upgraded himself with the assets in Double Dragons City. He still appeared clumsy and unattractive, but the gear, engine system, and aggressive magical equipment inside the iron shell had been entirely renewed and could more or less keep up with the pace of his soul.

Gu Zhengyang had gone to bid the two of them farewell with a lead gray jar in his hands.

“Master, what’s this?” Han Te asked curiously.

Gu Zhengyang smiled and opened the jar. Weird fragrance spread out with gold brilliance that looked like wine.

“The seeds of the Gold Barley!” Liu Li exclaimed.

“Exactly.” Gu Zhengyang sealed the seeds carefully and gave them to his daughter. “Help spread them across the entire Land of Sins. Maybe they will take root and sprout somewhere.”

“Master…” Han Te called him earnestly and waved his fists hard. “You must hold on. We will certainly be able to protect the Village of Peace if we work together!”

“Of course I will. I will not be crushed so easily.” Gu Zhengyang grinned. “I will certainly protect the Village of Peace until you return!”

“It’s a deal!” Han Te waved his hands hard. “Master, we’re off!”

“Dad, take care of yourself.” Liu Li held back her tears. “We are leaving!”

“Wait. There’s still something I want to say to you.”

After much hesitation, Gu Zhengyang took a deep breath and said, “About the chip that I sent you, the one that contains ‘Little Cultivators’, I’ve given it a lot of thought. It was not until I was almost killed by Ma Ku and Fei Zhong the other night that I finally figured everything out.

“Maybe it doesn’t matter whether or not the Martial Meritocrats Sector had Cultivators in the past. Even if all the stories in ‘Little Cultivators’ were fabricated and there were never such idiotic and shortsighted things as ‘Cultivators’ in the past, it doesn’t matter.

“What matters is ‘now’ and the ‘future’.

“Perhaps, at present and in the future, Cultivators will exist forever.

“I sincerely hope so. Therefore, go now, kids. Believe in yourselves and change the world to create a new one of your own!”