Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

by <unknown>

  "The reason is simple. The military and the Cultivation sects are the two wings of the federation. With a great war coming close, the two wings must cooperate in order to unleash the full power of the Star Glory Federation," Yuan Manqiu explained.

  Li Yao nodded in agreement.

  The military and the Cultivation sects had always been in a subtle relationship.

  Before the federation, it had been the era of sects. There was neither government nor military.

  All human beings relied on the Cultivators in the sects to fight against the demon beasts.

  Conflicts were brewing among the countless sects, which eventually turned against each other.

  Also, many Cultivators considered themselves to be saviors of the world and lived an extravagant life by exploiting the ordinary people. The folks were not as supportive as before after suffering a lot.

  Therefore, in light of the defects of the sect system, the Star Glory Federation adopted a series of hypercorrect policies during the time known as 'Red Dragon Legion Era'.

  During the thirty years of the Red Dragon Legion Era, the old sect system was smashed into pieces, and the power was highly centralized to the federal government. All the Cultivators were enlisted into the Red Dragon Legion and fought as soldiers of the army.

  When the Red Dragon Legion was first established, it contributed a lot to the banishment of the demon clan with its amazing strength.

  But as time went by, the main drawback of the new system, its rigidness, was revealed.

  Creativity and epiphany were of paramount importance in Cultivation. A 'eureka' moment had been what all the Cultivators looked forward to.

  Besides, due to their domineering strength, the Cultivators often preferred freedom to restraints. They might go wherever for training whenever they wanted to.

  However, the top principle for soldiers was obedience. They didn't need to think. All they needed to do was to play their part in the war machine.

  When organized in the form of an army, the Cultivators immediately lost vitality.

  The Cultivators who were willing to research new techniques or new magical equipment grew fewer and fewer. Many of them turned into submissive nerds who focused all the attention to the stern military training rules, which distorted their mind and transformed them into utter killing machines. Some even set on the path of devil Cultivators.

  Just like that, thirty years after the Red Dragon Legion was established, its battle capability plunged. All kinds of riots were taking place in the legion. There were even cases where the entire troop turned into devil Cultivators.

  The Cultivators who dwelled on the sect era were also conspiring to tear the Star Glory Federation apart.

  Thankfully, the dark time finally passed without insurrection against the regime.

  Based on the lessons learnt from the sect era and the Red Dragon Legion Era, the Star Glory Federation imposed a mixed system that combined characteristics of the two.

  The military and the sects co-existed. The military represented stability, the sects represented creativity; the military had a large number of soldiers who had dominative strength in a battlefield, whereas the sects were famous for their advanced technology and magical equipment. With the checks and balances of the two sides, the world of Cultivation and the Star Glory Federation both witnessed peaceful and rapid growth.

  At this time, the military's outsourcing for the main force battlesuit was clearly a signal that even if a war were to break out, the time that the military controlled everything such as the Red Dragon Legion Era wouldn't come back. All sects should rest assured and work together against the common foe.

  Li Yao finally understood why so many more refiners had joined the Project Mystic Skeleton.

  Yuan Manqiu said, "The Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution has been working on crystal suits for mass-production since more than ten years ago. Although we haven't make many achievements, we did have collected a lot of data and documents. Therefore, many experts decided to join us, especially those who believe in the grassroot ideologies.

  "However, we have formidable competitors, too.

  "The moment the military's decision of outsourcing was announced, the universities and sects that had the ability all started their own mass-production crystal suit refinement projects.

  "They may lack experience, but they have a long history of crystal suit refinement.

  "Some sects are even refining low-cost crystal suits by simplifying the crystal suits that they already have. Naturally, their research speed is much faster.

  "The Refining Department of Deep Sea University is working with the Golden Armor Sect for a new model of crystal suit for mass-production, too.

  "The Golden Armor Sect ranks among the top twenty in the federation. It is the strongest sect in battle armor refining and has refined crystal suits independently before. Their work is best known for the sturdiness.

  "Now, the best university and the best sect have formed a coalition. The billions-worth order is almost sure to fall into their hands. It's indeed difficult for us to steal the food from a tiger's mouth.

  "However, if we want the 'Holy Land for Refiners' to refer to us and us alone, we have to win the competition!"

  Li Yao clenched his hands. His voice was shaking in excitement.

  "Professor, do you really believe that we can beat the Refining Department of Deep Sea University and take the title of 'Holy Land for Refiners'?"

  In a faint smile, Yuan Manqiu said, "I'll tell you a secret, Li Yao.

  "Ever since the day I went separate ways with Chu Xiuhong, my professor, and walked out of Deep Sea University, there hasn't been a day going by over the past decades without me yearning to beat the Refining Department of Deep Sea University and assume their title 'Holy Land for Refiners'!"

  Li Yao gasped at the determination in her words.

  Yuan Manqiu laughed and patted Li Yao on his shoulder. She continued, "Alright. You must be exhausted after your adventure to the Dark Desolate Domain. Take a decent rest before you get back to work again.

  "Right, remember to check on your girlfriend, too. Days ago, when she heard you had went missing in the Thunderous Sound Mountain, she was jumping up and down in worry. She even decided to go to rescue you in the Dark Desolate Domain. Thankfully, President Xiong stopped her from doing that. What a silly girl."

  "Got it."

  Li Yao was so focused on the announcement of the military that he didn't even realize what his professor was talking about. A moment later, his eyes grew wide as he said in bewilderment, "My girlfriend? Who's my girlfriend?"

  Yuan Manqiu glanced at him strangely.

  "Isn't Ms. Ding, who stayed at the institute after graduation, your girlfriend? You always go to and leave her place at midnight. Everybody in the faculty neighborhood knows that. I've even seen it with my own eyes a couple of times. Is there a problem?"

  Chapter 261: Godlike Man |

  Li Yao's cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. He faltered and failed to give an answer.

  Yuan Manqiu misunderstood his awkwardness. She said in a comforting voice, "Students of the Grand Desolate War Institution are all grown-ups. The institution does not forbid students and teachers being in a relationship. Your situation is special, too. You've been more than qualified for graduation based on the facts that you passed the Refiners' Registration Examination and the three months' training in the Thunder Training Camp. Now, you are already a research associate of the institution. So, there is no need to worry about the code of conduct."

  "It's not like that, professor."

  Li Yao tried to explain, vaguely, "Ding Lingdang and I are only training partners."

  After saying that, Li Yao felt somewhat both jealous and lost.

  He was dazed. He didn't understand why he felt that way.

  Yuan Manqiu was surprised. She stared at him for a long time before she said, "Li Yao, I've read the report from the Thunder Training Camp which concluded your adv
antages and disadvantages that were observed during your three-month training. The Thunder Training Camp gave you a high score in every regard. There was only one shortcoming: you are too crazy about training."

  Li Yao didn't understand, "What's wrong with training crazily?"

  Yuan Manqiu was quiet for some time. Then she continued, not without sadness, "Li Yao, do you know the one thing that I regret most in my entire life?

  "One year ago, the night before what we thought would be the day of the Project Mystic Skeleton's success, Old Mo told me that he made a reservation in a nice restaurant and he wanted us to go to dinner alone to celebrate it in advance.

  "When the refinement of the super-compressed crystal reactor succeeded the next day, the entire Refining Department would definitely celebrate together in great joy. There wouldn't be private space for us.

  "However, I turned him down, because of an unimportant data assessment task.

  "Over the years before that, we had fully devoted ourselves to the Project Mystic Skeleton like two fanatics. We barely expressed our feelings to each other. Our meals were either eaten in the school cafeteria or were takeaways that a lot of people gathered together to eat. I could hardly remember when was the last time that Old Mo and I went out for a serious dinner.

  "At that time, I always thought that it was not important. Training and research were what mattered most.

  "Also, after the Project Mystic Skeleton succeeded, we would have the rest of our lives to share with each other.

  "I was wrong.

  "You know what happened the next day.

  "I don't regret that I left Deep Sea University; I don't regret that I walked on the path of the grassroot refinement ideology. Even Old Mo's accident by itself never shook my perseverance in Cultivation.

  "But I deeply, deeply regret that I didn't go out to dinner with him that night.

  "Even if one day the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is successfully refined and the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution becomes famous all over the world, I'll never have the opportunity to talk with Old Mo about our sufferings in the past decades and share the happiness of success with each other at a dinner table anymore."

  Li Yao sniffed. He felt that something deep down his heart was touched.

  Yuan Manqiu sighed and said solemnly, "Crazily training is good. Greatness cannot be achieved without obsession. How can you break the barrier of Cultivation without a bit of craziness? But bear in mind that the purpose of Cultivation is to become a genuine human being, instead of a training machine.

  "Refinement, Building Foundation, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation… the path of Cultivation never ends.

  "There are countless worlds in the boundless cosmos.

  "But the precious things in your life are likely to be gone forever before you can appreciate them.

  "And once they're gone, you can't find them again even if you become the best Cultivator in the entire universe.

  "Remember, you are, first and foremost, a human being and then a Cultivator. Training is important, but it's more important to be a human being first.

  "Therefore, I want you to withdraw from your crazy training for a moment and examine the beautiful things in your life.

  "Only after you've tasted the beauty of life can you face brutal battles valiantly; only after you found the things that you cherish most can you understand the true meaning of Cultivation."

  Li Yao bit his lips. He was breathing hard. His eyes beamed out two thin lights.

  He felt his brain was in a mess.

  Many memory pieces that looked like glittering glass surged in his brain and gathered into a giant smile, a smile so contagious that anyone who saw it would immediately start smiling, too.

  Ding Lingdang…

  Yuan Manqiu said seriously, "Ms. Ding's mother was also a faculty member of the Grand Desolate War Institution. She was a colleague of mine for decades. Although our research fields were different, and we didn't communicate a lot, I have been very familiar with her daughter ever since she was a little girl. Ms. Ding is a good girl. But her parents' accident was too much for her. She has been somewhat stuck in the mire of Cultivation.

  "For years, she has been a lunatic in training like yourself. There is nothing but training, training and training in her head.

  "You are the first one to have ever disrupted her training and let her forget it temporarily."

  Li Yao opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.

  Yuan Manqiu glared.

  "Don't you dare say again that the purpose of you meeting each other alone at midnight is for training! Why don't you come to me for training at midnight?"

  Failing to come up with any rebuttal, Li Yao shut his mouth.

  Yuan Manqiu glanced at him and told him one last shocking message, "The day before you reached out to the outside world again, when everyone thought that you were dead, Ding Lingdang was the only one determined to go to search for you in the Dark Desolate Domain. She even cried in front of the principal."

  Li Yao's head went blank. The world seemed to have turned into a giant cloud on which he was standing dizzily.

  He jumped up and dashed out.

  "I'm going to find her now!"

  …

  Li Yao was running through the campus.

  It was a cool autumn day. Red leaves that looked like fire were everywhere on the ground, burning Li Yao's feet and pushing him to be faster and faster.

  Ding Lingdang and he were back in touch several days ago. But during their talk via the spiritual crane messenger, she was talking and laughing as usual and never mentioned anything about her rescue plan.

  "Why didn't she tell me?

  "Did she really cry?"

  Every moment since they first met each other popped up in Li Yao's head. It was not until now that Li Yao realized he remembered everything so clearly, as if he had a crystal processor inside his body that recorded Ding Lingdang's every smile.

  Ba bump! Ba bump! Ba bump!

  Li Yao's heart was beating like drumming and his sweat was pouring from his forehead. He felt more anxious than when he was faced with the two demon general hunters.

  Rushing all his way, and by a lift in the end, Li Yao finally arrived at the floating mountain of the Combat Department.

  Yuan Manqiu told him that Ding Lingdang would be teaching the physical exercise class for the freshmen of the Combat Department.

  Although there was still a long way head, Li Yao was already able to see Ding Lingdang dashing like wind and fire kicking dozens of freshmen down before she roared that they needed to do long-distance running while carrying plates of hundreds of kilograms.

  Li Yao couldn't help but smile.

  She was just like the old days, a phoenix flying in fire that would never stop on the ground.

  Li Yao sat cross-legged beside the playground, leaning on one of his elbows while waiting for the class to be over.

  Or rather, he was waiting for the class not to be over. It felt good to watch her dancing cheerfully so far away.

  Soon, Ding Lingdang noticed him and put on a big smile.

  "Look over there!"

  "Ms. Ding is smiling! So gently!"

  "Are my eyes deceiving me? I never saw such an expression on Ms. Ding's face before. What's going on? Has she been possessed by a devil?"

  The freshmen were all stupefied. Many of them, not realizing that their plates had fallen on their feet, didn't even scream out in pain. The playground was caught in a weird vibe.

  Their school had started only a few days ago, but they had all learned the toughness of Ding Lingdang already. Ms. Ding was truly a devil in training. Her crazy training methodology had put the most enthusiastic students in tears.

  After consulting the sophomore students, they learnt more history about this human-shape tyrannosaurus.

  Apart from everything else, the fact that she was the sole female president of the Iron Fist Club was evident enough of her resolutio
n.

  Never would they ever believe that Ding Lingdang had such a personality that could almost be called 'sexy', which fascinated all of them.

  "Who's this guy? He has an air of sharpness around him, like a wild beast that just came out of the forest!"

  "He seems to be coming for Ms. Ding. Look! Ms. Ding's eyesight has never been away from him for even a single second ever since he came here. Wow! She smiled again! Did you see that? A smile with so much femininity! Ms. Ding must've been put under a spell!"

  "Ms. Ding walked to him. Ms. Ding opened her arms. Wow! They hugged! Hugging, not tugging!"

  "Could he be the 'Vulture', Li Yao, the legendary strongest man of the new generation of the Grand Desolate War Institution?"

  "That's right. It must be him. But the reason why he is the well-acknowledged strongest man of the new generation is not because of his credits or his achievement in the Limit Challenge Competition, but, according to sources, because he is very likely to be Ms. Ding's boyfriend!"

  "What?"

  Countless eyes gazed at Li Yao in admiration.

  To think that he could tame a human-shaped tyrannosaurus! No wonder he was the new legend of the Grand Desolate War Institution! What a godlike man!

  …

  At night.

  The roof of Ding Lingdang's house was surrounded by bamboos. Lying on the roof, one would feel like sailing in a sea of bamboos with nature as the helmsman. It was quiet and peaceful.

  Stars were dancing in the sky. Their brilliance gathered and formed a big smile.

  Li Yao shook his head to get rid of the illusion. He rubbed his face hard.

  Ding Lingdang came out through the skylight. She laughed when she saw Li Yao's grimace, "What are you doing?"

  Chapter 262: Tale of Time |

  For some reason, Li Yao felt guilty and didn't dare to look at her in the eyes, fearing that she might see through the unsaid feelings in his heart.

  "Why are you acting all weird? Not recovered from the protracted stay at Thunderous Sound Mountain yet?"

  Ding Lingdang walked to Li Yao on the tips of her toes and lay down beside him. After stretching herself, she patted Li Yao on his back heavily as she said, "Good for you. Surviving ten days by yourself in the Thunderous Sound Mountain without being eaten by a demon beast. That's my boy!