by <unknown>
Both Lu Zui and the Cultivators next door, including Guo Chunfeng, were dumbfounded by her words. They were even more astonished than when they saw Ding Lingdang crushing the spiritual seed a moment ago.
After almost half a minute of silence, Lu Zui stammered, "Then… what about the members of the Patriots Partnership who will not be sentenced to death?"
"After they are punished by law and have paid for their wrongdoing, if they are willing to join the brand new 'Patriots Front', we will treat them equally and welcome them happily."
Ding Lingdang opened her hands and said, "If they are not willing to, whatever. They can go wherever they want. Do you really think that the planet will stop moving if we don't have them?"
"What about the immense resources under Li Yao's control?" Lu Zui was so anxious that he was almost mad. "Don't be so arrogant. The enchantress Jin Xinyue is definitely malicious. If you don't hold on to Li Yao's resources, she is definitely going to steal all of them!"
"I know that you are up to no good. You are still trying to foment trouble between Li Yao and me at this moment." Ding Lingdang sneered and casually replied, "I'll give you the same answer. I don't care! Li Yao and I are not married yet. All his items are his prenuptial property. He can give them to whoever he wants. Does it have anything to do with me?"
Lu Zui was completely overwhelmed. He jumped to his feet with disappointment all over his face. He yanked on the chains so hard that they were clattering.
"You—you—you are truly an idiotic woman! Without my heritage, without Li Yao's resources, what are you? Nothing! You are just a fighter with more brawn than brains! How do you expect to compete with Jin Xinyue? Even her hair is smarter than you! Before you know it, you will be tricked into the hell!"
"Hiss—"
In the surveillance room next door, everybody gasped.
That was not an appropriate way of suicide. Talking to 'Crimson Queen' Ding Lingdang like that?
If the woman was really pissed off, not just a high-level Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, even the deities in the heavens would have to run away from her quickly!
Crack! Crack, crack! Crack, crack, crack, Crack!
The poor glass between the rooms, because of Ding Lingdang's shockingly exploding aura, had yet another hundred cracks. It was barely possible to see what was happening in the other room now.
For a moment, Ding Lingdang's eyes turned deep red, more scorching than magma. She seemed to be holding a ten-thousand-ton ship in each hand.
Even if she burst into fury and tore the entire White Silver Fortress to the ground, nobody would be surprised.
However, she managed to control her emotions in the end. Taking a long breath, she looked at Lu Zui in disdain. "Save your breath, old fart. Whatever you say, your era has passed. It is our era that is coming next!
"We will guard the future of the federation well. You can get lost and do whatever you want now!"
Ding Lingdang pushed open the gate of the prison cell and walked out with her head held high.
Each step carried her three meters forward, but she kept her arms in front of chest stably, as if an unparalleled longsword was placed in her arms.
Just like that, she walked out of the White Silver Fortress one step after another. In the warm sunlight, she walked to the future.
She never looked back, not even once.
…
Five minutes later, in the prison cell, Lu Zui sat cross-legged in a corner wearily. His face was frozen in fury and bafflement, as if he were wearing a tawdry mask. The twisted wrinkles did not relax for a long time.
Standing right in front of his former boss and looking at his miserable appearance, Guo Chunfeng had mixed feelings. He sighed. "People say that a woman's heart is as unpredictable as a needle at the bottom of an ocean. Today, I've seen it with my own eyes. She was almost convinced by you in the beginning. You really should've kept the few redundant words at the end to yourself."
Lu Zui was frozen for more than one minute before his eyeballs started moving again. He pushed the spiritual seed that was still rotating above his skull to Guo Chunfeng softly. "Ah Feng, here are you."
"What?" Guo Chunfeng was amused. "I admit that I'm quite tempted to swallow your spiritual seed, old boss, but you decided to throw it to me after you failed to offer it to a young girl in her twenties? I have my pride, too!"
"You're wrong!" Lu Zui wiped his face softly. As if a magic trick, all the devastation, desperation, insanity, and fury on his face was gone, replaced by a gloating smile that indicated that his plan had worked out.
He was like an old fox that had just stolen a bunch of big, sweet, purple grapes.
"Is she gone now?"
Lu Zui craned his neck and looked around. After confirming that Ding Lingdang had left, he said to Guo Chunfeng with a smile, "What do you mean by 'throwing it to you'? This spiritual seed was condensed for you in the first place! Don't think that I'm fooling you. You will know it after you swallow the spiritual seed. Inside the spiritual seed are the most critical points about the jobs in the Secret Sword Bureau, the Cultivation techniques that will be beneficial for your training, and all the secrets of the Patriots Partnership that I promised. Moreover, there are some reminders for you based on my life experience, in which your names are clearly written. What does the spiritual seed have to do with her?"
Chapter 1173: Lu Zui's Successor |
Guo Chunfeng was dumbfounded. His mouth slowly opened, his every tooth emitting unbelievable brilliance. The brilliance gathered and turned into a simple question. "Provocation?"
"Yes," Lu Zui admitted with a smile. "To deal with a woman who is known by the demons as 'Blazing Tyrannosaur', is there a more effective approach than provocation?"
Guo Chunfeng shut his mouth hard. Narrowing his eyes, he said coldly, "I'll tell her. She is my friend. I won't let you fool her like that."
"It doesn't matter."
Lu Zui seemed to have been drained after bewildering Ding Lingdang. Like a torch that had been burnt out, his back was further hunched, and the black spots slowly covered his entire body, turning into black gas and flowing toward his head.
The last bit of brilliance inside his eyes had entirely disappeared. His pupils were completely melted inside his eyeballs. Guo Chunfeng could not even tell if he could still see anything. However, he vaguely felt that his former boss had been granted with a hollow and yet deep sight that allowed him to see through one's heart directly.
Lu Zui's body that was about the collapse could not support his big head anymore. He crawled forward, holding the wall, and anchored himself in a corner. His lips curled up, and he said with a smile, "After the failure, I have realized that for a competition that will last a hundred years, all schemes will have loopholes, and they are most likely to fail. In such a chess game, the real effective methods are the open ones.
"I was not scared that you would hear the conversation between Ding Lingdang and me, and I am not scared that Ding Lingdang will hear the conversation between you and me now. Provocation is an open approach. For those who are provoked, even if they can free themselves for now, they will still be mired in it in the end because the fury, discontent, and ambitions that are invoked have always been lying in their heart. Such feelings will not rest easily once they are awakened!
"Fury and hatred are the most enormous forces and can both be forged into unstoppable weapons. Just now, I saw infinite fury inside Ding Lingdang's eyes. It is more useful than giving her a spiritual seed that is not fit her. Much more useful!"
"You are too… sordid." Guo Chunfeng could not help but shudder. "As it turns out, you didn't choose Ding Lingdang because she is Li Yao's woman. You chose her as the Sword Grabber for her own potential and capabilities!"
"You're wrong again!"
Black stripes were crawling on Lu Zui's face like ivy, with tiny spots of light blinking in them, as if his brain was burning in the most glorious way.
His voice was so deep that it was barely audible
. Guo Chunfeng had to bend his body and listen carefully in order to work out what he was saying. "Ding Lingdang is not the Sword Grabber that I have chosen. She was chosen by Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao. I merely enlightened her a little bit on behalf of the deceased Fellow Cultivator Zhou.
"Only a simple-minded warrior like Zhou Hengdao would pick a successor such as Ding Lingdang, right? How could I appreciate such a female gorilla who jumps up and down the moment she is pissed off?
"As for the most appropriate successor in my heart… Do you need to ask? I told you on Hidden Star. It is you, Ah Feng!"
Guo Chunfeng's body stiffened, and his facial expressions suddenly turned weird.
Bubbling sounds were echoing inside Lu Zui's throat, as if some of his veins and nerves, if not all of them, had been burnt, broken, and shattered and were flowing up to his mouth in his blood.
Guo Chunfeng tried his best to deduce what he was saying from the meaningless syllables. "Who says that there can only be one Sword Grabber? If the Patriots Partnership in the past had two leaders, the Patriots Front in the future can have two, too!
"The Patriots Partnership founded by me is destined to be destroyed, without the slightest remnants left. It has been decided since the moment when I attacked my own compatriots against all laws and moral standards. Nothing can stop its destruction!
"However, I do hope that the spirit of the organization is passed on.
"It is exactly because the spirit needs to be passed on that the newborn 'Patriots Front' should be entirely separated from the old Patriots Partnership on the surface. They should not be connected whatsoever. The Patriots Front must be open, frank, pure, and able to walk in the brightest sunlight. Nobody will be able to find any secrets about it. That is the only way that it can march into battle in the future without hindrance!
"That was why I talked to Ding Lingdang just now. As for the effect, you've seen it with your own eyes. I believe that her Patriots Front will certainly be something in the future, won't it?
"However—"
The life of Lu Zui, perhaps the greatest villain alive, was coming to an end. Centered at his eyes, the last brightness on his face was fading away quickly, gradually turning him into a vivid statue.
There was a long pause after saying 'however' before a feeble voice came from the depths of the 'statue'. "Ding Lingdang alone might not be enough. Ah Feng, since you love the federation, the land, and all the patriots living here, just fulfil your responsibility as a federal citizen and be the other Sword Grabber. Supervise the demons and guard the federation in your own way!"
Guo Chunfeng could not have been more hesitant.
He had clenched Lu Zui's spiritual seeds in his hands in the beginning, but after hearing Lu Zui's words, he could not help but loosen his hands. After a few seconds of reluctance, he gritted his teeth and pushed the spiritual seed back.
"I… refuse!"
With a hoarse voice, Guo Chunfeng said miserably, "Director, there's something you don't know. I cannot be the Sword Grabber and supervise the demons! It will be the most hilarious joke! Please choose another Sword Grabber. I'll help you forward your spiritual seed to them!"
"Hehe…"
Deep laughter or a cry burst out of Lu Zui's chest, which was nothing more than a stone now. His eyes, drowned in the swamp of death, shot out sharp, insightful brilliance for the last time. He picked up his spiritual seed with his withered hands that were burning in black flames and pushed it into Guo Chunfeng's arms again.
Lu Zui's eyes were gradually softened. He stared at his most excellent subordinate whom he had mentored for decades in the same way a strict father looked at his most distinguished child.
A mysterious smile popped up on his face as he said in the weakest voice, "It's alright. Take it. Maybe… I already know."
After the last word was uttered, no air was breathed in again. Lu Zui's eyes sank into the immeasurable swamp once more.
But this time, they did not float again.
With the mysterious smile lingering on his lips, Lu Zui's head slowly tilted to one side.
Different from Zhou Hengdao, who refused to close his eyes after he perished, his eyes were shut very quickly, as if he could not wait to join his wife in the other world. However, his arms were crossed and placed in front of his chest, and he was crouching like a child who had misbehaved. Perhaps he was worried that his wife would criticize him or even reject him for what he had done in the human world.
Guo Chunfeng was left alone, dumbfounded, appalled, frightened, and anxious while holding his body, which was gradually cooling down and collapsing into ashes.
Ten thousand thunderous roars were breaking out in his head at the same time.
He knows? He knows! What does he know exactly? When did he find out?
In any case, Guo Chunfeng would not be able to find the answers to the questions, and they would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Lu Zui—the former director of the Secret Sword Bureau, the founder as well as the first and the last leader of the Patriots Partnership, the planner of the explosions in the Federal Square and the assassination of Speaker Jiang Hailiu, a high-level Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and a questionable patriot—finally burnt up his life and soul and came to the end of his life!
Outside the White Silver Fortress, the setting sun was making the last struggles on the ridge of the mountain.
Perhaps, like Ding Lingdang said, Lu Zui's death marked the ending of an old era.
The era of the new federation that belonged to the next generation of Cultivators and patriots was soon to arrive!
…
Three days later, at the periphery of the Heaven's Origin Sector, a small starship was flying toward the Flora Satellite IX.
The Flora Satellite IX was the ninth satellite, and the smallest one, of the Flora God Planet, the fifth planet in the galaxy of the Heaven's Origin Planet.
There was no atmosphere or water, which were vital for the survival of ordinary people, on the satellite. Barely any resources could be found, so it did not boast enough value to be developed.
Also, covered by the magnificent ring of the Flora God Planet, it was only known by few people.
Therefore, it was a quiet, unpopulated place. Even Cultivators who did training in space would hardly come here.
The starship that was no larger than a yacht slowly landed on the surface of Flora Satellite IX. On the head of the starship, a huge word 'Li' was glittering.
In fact, the small starship from the Flying Star Sector was a super extravagant space yacht with a high performance. It was designed for the magnates of the Flying Star Sector to enjoy themselves during their holiday.
Hearing that Li Yao had returned to the Heaven's Origin Sector, his Glorious Sunlight Group in the Flying Star Sector hurried to send a yacht of the highest level over for his training in space.
Chi…
The moment the starship landed, it automatically triggered a spiritual shield covering one square kilometer. A man-made gravity field was also established, and oxygen was pouring in.
Li Yao and Ding Lingdang flew out of the starship wearing super-thin suits.
Both of them were seasoned Cultivators now. Even without oxygen and gravity, they could survive in the vacuum of space through 'internal breathing' alone.
Three days earlier, Lu Zui had passed away after burning up his life, but the spiritual seed that he offered to Guo Chunfeng stored tremendous secrets of the Patriots Partnership, including letters that had been sealed with his soul stamp.
With the help of the secret information and the letters, the last remaining force of the Patriots Partnership had finally been destroyed. The whole thing had come to a perfect conclusion.
Li Yao and Ding Lingdang were finally able to catch their breath in their busy lives and enjoy the world where there was only the two of them.
Chapter 1174: Do It Once! |
Ding Lingdang jumped onto the Flora Satellite IX carefully.
The surface of the Flora Satellite IX was full of tiny, smooth, pink dust, which made it look like a dreamy beach.
Ding Lingdang danced agilely on her tiptoes, leaving footprints that looked like peach blossoms on the 'beach'.
However, the beach was not clear not enough for Li Yao to bring her to this place specifically.
Ding Lingdang pouted and looked at Li Yao in confusion.
Li Yao smiled and lay down on the pink dust on the Flora Satellite IX. With his hands as the pillow, he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position and said, "Look over there."
Ding Lingdang looked where he was pointing at and found it difficult to breathe.
In the starry sky northeast was the Flora God Planet, the mother planet of the Flora Satellite IX.
The Flora God Planet was the biggest planet in the Heaven's Origin Galaxy in the first place. It was dozens of times larger than the Heaven's Origin Planet and much closer to the Flora Satellite IX.
When they looked at it from this particular perspective, the Flora God Planet swallowed half of the sky and seemed as if it would fall down at any moment.
The Flora God Planet was full of overlapping craters that could be hundreds of thousands of kilometers in diameter. They were as beautiful as blossoming flowers. It was also how the Flora God Planet had gotten its name.
In the planet's orbit, there was the most magnificent ring of the Heaven's Origin Sector.
The glittering ring seemed to be made of billions of silver feathers whose radiance spread millions of kilometers away in ripples, almost brushing the tip of Ding Lingdang's nose.
Despite her addiction to weapons, Ding Lingdang was still deeply awed by the beautiful view of the vast and splendid universe.
Li Yao, however, narrowed his eyes and looked at the sun, which was hiding behind the Flora God Planet far, far away. He then lowered his head and checked the portable crystal processor on his wrist, mumbling, "Ten seconds to go. Keep your eyes open and watch closely. Three, two one…"