by <unknown>
Zhen Dongming gave a very lewd and lascivious smile.
Li Yao was mouth agape. Only after having been stunned for a while could he reply, "Indeed, it is intrinsically different. Then, I wish for you to have fun till your heart's content in Sky Fantasia Academy's Combat Department!"
Zheng Dongming hesitated a bit before pulling Li Yao far away and activating a "Sound Insulating Glyph" around them. Only then did he speak and that too in low voice:
"Fellow Student Li Yao, the matter of Devil Flood Dragon Island... it is better to forget it. Since childhood, I have had no ambitions. Besides eating, I have never thought of doing anything else. My only dream is to flirt with all of the girls in the world that I could flirt with. If possible, I also don't want to cultivate that damn tenebrum energy! That's why, you don't need to worry. If one day my devil techniques reaches the point of culmination, even then I will absolutely not kill you. And you, even more so because of your fear of being killed of me, don’t need to kill me before I kill you. Do you understand?"
Li Yao pondered a bit. "Oh?"
"Hey hey hey, I said so much, I expressed my kind-heartedness and all my sincerity, but all you can say is 'Oh'? Don't think that I'm afraid of you. You have had your fortuitous encounter, and I have also had my fortuitous encounter. From here on out, we will drift along in the cultivation world. Who the f*ck wouldn’t have 8-10 fortuitous encounters? Do you think you are formidable?"
Li Yao smiled as he patted Zheng Dongming's shoulder:
"You see, no matter what I say, you are not going to believe me, and similarly, no matter what you say, I am not going to believe you. Since that’s the case, then why don't we just sprint on the road of cultivation, climbing to the peak? Come on, let's compete with each other!"
While speaking, a tattered, long-distance flying shuttle gradually descended.
With a leap, Li Yao climbed aboard, waving his hand at everyone as he said, "Goodbye, everyone! If all goes well, then maybe after three months, I will be a true cultivator myself!"
…
From this day onwards, Li Yao traveled to the far reaches of the Star Glory Federation.
His first stop was the "Seamount Island" located in the southernmost region of the federation.
It was a very small island. All year round, only a palm-sized part of the island was visible above the surface of the water. That was why it was also known as "Palm Island".
However, under the water, cultivators had instead built a huge underwater city around the endless undersea mountain range.
Here, the residents of the city resided in glittering and translucent crystal bubbles. And to leave and enter, they would use "Waterproof Beads" to clear the path before using a special underwater jet-type flying shuttle to go back and forth.
Under the sea, they cultivated a large number of colorful corals, and much like a herd of sheep and cattle, a large number of fish, shrimp, crab, and turtles were reared. This was the source of the entire federation’s fresh seafood.
In here, the women liked to wear pearl shirts sewn by tying the pearls together the most.
Every night under the pitch black darkness of the sea, wearing colorful and gorgeous pearl shirts, they would beautifully and charmingly sit on the corals as they played their spirit flute which could be heard under the sea, waiting for the powerful men of the sea to quietly come in the darkness.
In here, Li Yao enjoyed the colorful and picturesque scenery, ate the most delicious and sweetest seafood before returning back to the continent and heading to the farthest reaches of the southern west direction.
On the fourth day after his departure, he arrived at the "Lantern City".
It was a town built in the vast rain forest located at the southern region of the federation. It was a town which was completely devoid of high-rising building. Using a secret technique, the cultivators would constantly accelerate the growth of a fruit on a special tree in the rain forest called the "Lantern Tree". Finally, each and every lantern fruit hanging from the branches would be modified into houses.
The residents of this city lived in this very lantern fruit. Every night, the fruit radiated in a colorful and gorgeous shimmer, turning the entire city into a sea of lanterns.
Because the rainforest is inconvenient to travel from here and there, the residents of this city liked to ride huge grasshopper-type spirit beasts, hopping from one branch to the other as they harvested precious herbs in the jungle.
Whenever there were guests from afar, the residents would invite the guests to ride the giant grasshopper. If any one of them on their first try managed to successfully ride the giant grasshopper for over a minute, he would be treated as a true warrior and would get to enjoy the finest VIP treatment.
Li Yao tried three times, but at the last moment, he was ruthlessly thrown down by the giant grasshopper. He could only helplessly throw in the towel.
Although he didn't get to enjoy the VIP treatment, when the straw skirt wearing girls of the rainforest, who had skin as smooth and delicate as honey, held cold salves and meticulously smeared it on his body, he felt a different kind of relish.
On the ninth day of his departure, Li Yao arrived at the "Saber’s Tip Snow Mountain"
Although it was not the highest peak of the Star Glory Federation, it was one of the most difficult mountain peaks to climb.
The entire snow-capped mountain was like a double-edged saber that was as bright as snow, ruthlessly stabbing towards the sky.
The steepest part of the mountain was as smooth as a mirror; it simply didn't have a single foothold. Furthermore, all year round, the powerful gusts always lingered around the peak. Even for a cultivator riding a flying sword, it would still be very difficult for him to fly to the peak.
At the summit of the snow-capped mountain grew a very precious Seven-Star Snow Lotus. It was one of the natural ingredients absolutely necessary for a dozen types of high-level strengthening drugs.
Consequently, this was where the best flying sword riders in the entire federation were produced.
The November of every year when the wind was at its strongest and the Seven-Star Snow Lotus bloomed, countless flying sword experts would whistle through the sky as they charged through the raging winds to reach the summit.
Amidst these perilous, fierce winds, they would seek for the gaps, try to feel its rhythm as they charged left and right, and would even be tossed around for 3-5 days before eventually conquering these winds and acquiring the most precious herb!
Although it was not the blooming season for the snow lotus when Li Yao arrived, it didn’t decrease the number of flying-sword experts that gathered around the snow-capped mountain. Amidst these winds, they were undergoing training and doing all sorts of eye-catching air maneuvers, which made Li Yao feel like it was not a wasted trip; he was completely satisfied.
If it was an air-battle, the battle prowess of these flying sword expects would absolutely not be less than any flying demon beast.
In the next three months, Li Yao toured mountains, rivers, rainforests, hills, deserts, oases, and farmlands of the federation; he saw all kinds of weird towns.
There was a town located on top of a crater of an active volcano. The entire volcano crater had been sealed by a huge array of glyphs.
Rumor has it that four hundred years ago, this volcano had once erupted, ravaging a dozen nearby towns. A cultivator, after sealing the volcano, had lived here with his family, guarding the volcano.
Even to this day, the family had developed into a new town but they had never forgotten their mission as they referred to themselves as the “Guardians of the Volcano”.
There was a town which was completely built on the back of a few hundred ginormous "Alpine Camel Beasts".
In the Heaven Origin Sector, the Alpine Camel Beast was one of the largest spirit beasts on land. Each Alpine Camel Beast was like a whale surfing on the sea. People built houses on the back of these Alpine Camel Beasts, and each Alpine Camel Beast could house a few dozen
families on its back. Hundreds of Alpine Came Beasts together constituted a mobile city.
The residents of the city took part in the care of animals for a living. With the changes in the season, they would drive the Alpine Camel Beasts to seek water grass to raise the cattle and sheep. Here, Li Yao ate the freshest mutton in his life; he boiled the mutton for ten minutes to the point where the blood didn't coagulate, and when he took a bite, it immediately melted in his mouth as it rolled down his throat, much like a delicious wine.
Town after town...
Chapter 100: The King of Metal Forging |
At every hill, every lake, every farmland, every town, Li Yao saw many bizarre things and met many strange people.
One time, he had encountered an old man of 130-years of age. Obviously, he was just an ordinary person; however, he had a pet “Whistling Sky Hawk”, a spirit beast with a length of 4-5 meters.
When the old man was 4 years old, he had inadvertently picked up a palm-sized bird whose wings were broken. As the bird was very pitiful, using branches, the man had helped connect its broken wings and had also smeared healing ointments.
From then on, the little bird always stuck to him, accompanying him all the way through adolescence, marriage, childbirth, and old age.
From the beginning to a century later, the little bird had always remained palm sized. The old man had also gotten accustomed to the existence of this small thing that was always around him.
But who would have known that after its 104th birthday, the height of the little bird would suddenly soar; in just a short span of three years, the bird grew to be 5m long, revealing the lofty appearance that many spirit beasts had.
Only then did the old man come to realize that he had picked up an amazing thing.
"I was just an ordinary wage earner. My house was small, and there was also my son and daughter-in-law as well as my grandchildren who were soon to be married. So, where would I be able to raise such a big bird?"
"I was forced to secretly raise it on the roof of the house. Because of this, I had been nagged by my wife, my son, and my daughter-in-law, and the neighborhood committee had even come looking for me several times—they had even alerted the police!
"A few cultivators from the cultivation sects had come knocking at my door, stating that they were willing to pay an exorbitant price for this guy, but how could I be willing to part with it? In the eyes of cultivators, it is just a spirit beast, but in my eyes, it's my whole youth, my whole life! I will not sell, I will absolutely not sell!"
The old man gently caressed the Whistling Sky Hawk's head and laughed as he spoke.
The Whistling Sky Hawk, which was known for its fierceness, very gently leaned on the old man.
The left wing was slightly twisted and signs of having been seriously injured in the past could be seen.
"And just like that, after another twenty years, I retired. My children and grandchildren don't need to worry about me, and my old woman has also left a step earlier. Finally, I can fulfill my childhood dream! Little bird, oh little bird, ever since I was a child, I have always wondered how much better it would have been if you were a spirit beast. If you were a spirit beast, then I could ride you and continue to fly—fly across the mountains, over the rivers, above the clouds, and even fly throughout the Heaven Origin Sector."
The old man jovially laughed, revealing the lack of front teeth as he climbed up on the back of the Whistling Sky Hawk with difficulty.
"Preet——"
The old man blew a whistle laden with rust. The Whistling Sky Hawk gave a long whistle before flapping its wings and soaring into the sky.
The Whistling Sky Hawk had suffered an injury to its wings, and the old man was not a cultivator and simply didn't know any skills for riding spirit beasts. A man and a spirit beast slowly soared into the sky; the way they flew was full of twists and turns, it was simply too horrible to watch.
The old man simply didn't care. He sang a song which used to be popular a century ago as their silhouettes slowly disappeared into the pile of cotton-like layers of clouds.
Along the way, Li Yao had encountered no small number of people who were no different that this old man.
He had met a sword cultivator with tyrannical strength that was both accomplished and well-known, but as the age of 90 dawned upon him, he suddenly came to a realization and had discovered that what he truly wanted to become was a scholar-type cultivator—he wanted to be a poet.
And so, this sword cultivator put down his sword. In the desolate and vast land of snow, he hiked on a mountain of snow, searching for inspiration.
Occasionally, he would encounter some highway robbers or bandits, but only as a last resort would he use the sword. On the contrary, he would try to use poetry filled with warmth and love to reform the evildoers.
Over time, everyone near the snow mountain had heard of a "Devil Poet" who had excellent sword arts as they came to fear his poems and even moreso dreaded the 3-feet-long sword in his hand.
Li Yao had also met a village doctor who had graduated from the Empyrean Capital School of Medicine and had once worked in many cultivation sects. He was a renowned master in the cultivation world and was most skilled in unblocking the eight extra meridians as well as treating Qigong Deviation.
But after the age of 180, feeling obligated, the peak Building Foundation Stage cultivator rejected many high salary offers from major hospitals and cultivation sects, concealed his identity, and started traveling to every remote village in the federation in order to treat the patients in the backwater villages.
"Three decades ago, I had once acted as a protector for a sect leader of a major sect during his breakthrough and had helped him successfully step onto the Core Formation Stage. Later on, the sect leader had gifted me a luxurious seaside villa in addition to five shops on the busiest commercial street in a major city!"
"I used to think that it would be the largest consultation fee I would ever receive in my life."
In a shabby brick house, the village doctor, while grilling sweet potatoes in the fire furnace, laughingly said to Li Yao, "That is, until yesterday when I had received the most valuable consultation fee.”
"What was it?" Li Yao very meticulously peeled the sweet potato as the hot air blurred his vision.
"I helped a little boy who had lost vision in both his eyes when he was playing with fireworks, helping him see the light after four years. He gave me a fierce kiss right here."
Pointing at his cheek, the village doctor had the most brilliant smile hanging on his face; it was truly a very natural and serene smile.
A retired old man riding a Whistling Sky Hawk, a sword cultivator who wanted to become a poet, a peak Building Foundation Stage village doctor...
There were many, many people like this.
During the day, Li Yao, in this picturesque paradise of mortals, would listen to all kinds of strange stories from these people.
During the night, even while sleeping, he would not forget to cultivate; he would zealously assimilate Ou Yezi's memory fragments.
Each memory fragments contained ten days to one month worth of Ou Yezi's memories.
And, every night, Li Yao would approximately assimilate one or two memory fragments.
If he tried assimilating any more, he would exhaust his spiritual power and would feel as if his whole neural field was on fire, causing him to feel excruciating pain. Assimilating more than he could handle would do more harm than good for his cultivation.
In this long trek which spanned for three months, Li Yao had assimilated about 70-80% of Ou Yezi's memories of the time when he was a forge worker.
Compared to the previous illusory dreams, this was different. This time, the memory fragments had completely integrated with Li Yao's, completely integrating with his own memory.
As if he had truly been a forge worker of the Hundred Smelting Clan, practicing the superior metal forging techniques forty millenniums ago.
Although each time in the
process of assimilating the memory, Li Yao, as Ou Yezi, would be tortured inhumanely to the point where he wanted to die.
But, the harvest he reaped was also enormous.
He had learned all of Ou Yezi's forging skills. In addition to [ One-Hundred-and-Eight Hands Chaos Gale Hammer Technique] as a foundation, Li Yao had finally reached the peak of perfection on the road of metal forging.
In today's world where various advanced magical equipment refining techniques were used in mass production, taking a broad view at the entire Heaven Origin Sector, it would absolutely be impossible to find a second Li Yao, one who would so foolishly learn some antique forging techniques from forty millenniums ago.
Therefore, Li Yao could also be known as "The Star Glory Federation’s Top Expert in the Ancient Art of Manual Forging Techniques"!
Although it sounded like a pretty prestigious title, it didn't have much practical value. But still, Li Yao found a little satisfaction in his heart.
"Today is forging techniques, and tomorrow will be the most sophisticated refining equipment techniques. After I assimilate all of Ou Yezi’s memories about forging divine equipment and sharp equipment, even Deep Sea University will be nothing! And finally, one day, the title of Holy Land for Refiners will belong to my Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department!"
After three months, in a nameless small mountain village in the northern reaches of the federation.
"Moo..."
"Baa..."
"Woff, woff! Woff woff!"
At the entrance of a village, a large group of the wooden oxen[1] reeled left and right as they let out feeble bellows in the grain drying field.
The wooden oxen were all generic metal beast puppets made for farming purposes.
Taking the sheep that kept bleating “Baa baa” as an example, its entire body was built from metal, its joints were inlaid with various crystals, and its entire body was engraved with dozens of array glyphs, allowing it to automatically walk and look for dead branches, leaves, and straw.