by <unknown>
"The battle, on the other hand, is drawing near and may take place soon.
"So, I don't care what methods you resort to, but you have to break his mental defense and the 'rules' inside his head this time so that he will kill other human beings consciously and voluntarily. It will be even better if he can start an indiscriminate massacre!
"Only by completely shattering his original beliefs will I be able to rebuild a set of new beliefs for him, the beliefs that are more glorious, advanced, and correct and belong to the Immortal Cultivators. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" Wuying Lan nodded heavily. Looking at the gory picture in the test room again, he hesitated. "What about now?"
"Forget it. The stimulation that the green-haired gorilla has given him is not strong enough. He will not attack." Li Lingfeng waved his hands. "Get that thing out of here and let him take a rest. See what else you can do. I'll give you another three days. In three days, I want to see a brand-new Li Jialing!"
Chapter 2068: Clever Young Man |
Inside the test room, the green-haired gorilla was still on a rampage. His fists that felt like iron hammers were bombarding Li Jialing nonstop like a storm, almost entirely drowning the tiny body of the young man.
Suddenly, rays flashed nearby, and dozens of red spots appeared on the green-haired gorilla again. In swooshing sounds, the powerful anesthetics were injected into his body.
He moaned at first and then scratched his body crazily as if his skin was itching. Staggering and dancing like a drunkard for a moment, he collapsed to the ground.
Li Jialing lay in a pool of blood. He stared at the sleeping green-haired gorilla emotionlessly and sighed.
The seemingly gapless wall glided to two sides without a sound. A few Exos entered and pulled the green-haired gorilla out.
But no doctors or researchers came to examine Li Jialing's body, as if everybody knew full well that the minor injuries would not cause any substantial damage to the young man.
Chi…
Dense mist spurted out of the walls, cleaning the blood and the stains immediately. The room recovered its previous pureness and translucency.
Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan moved away and left the control room.
When the gate of the secret chamber was closed again and turned into a gapless wall, the only things left in the room were Li Jialing, whose body was healing rapidly, and Neltharion on which part of Li Yao's soul was hidden.
Sensing that the two clusters of powerful life energy had walked away, Li Yao finally took a breath in relief. He was now able to summon more computational ability to examine the deepest parts of his mind palace.
"The young man… The face…"
Staring at Li Jialing's face that was filled with bitterness, helplessness, and sorrow, Li Yao felt that his memories of the past were raging inside his head like an unstoppable flood.
Countless mottled faces brushed past his soul, and he traced back all the way back to a long, long time ago when he was in his teens.
"Wait!" the mental devil suddenly said. "Have you discovered that the boy looks like your father?"
"What are you talking about?" Li Yao was slightly dazed. Then he trembled hard and almost lost his cool and gasped. "Now that you mention it, you're right. The facial organs and the feelings inside his eyes are truly similar to my pop, who used to be drunk all day!"
Li Yao had achieved what he had today partly because of the memories of Earth. But his foster father's meticulous caretaking and tutelage, and especially the man's teaching of basic knowledge in maintenance and refining, certainly played an irreplaceable role.
Without his foster father, he would not have become what he was. Maybe Vulture Li Yao would only be a pugnacious rogue in the magical equipment graveyard and the leader of a certain gang at best. It was even possible that the fate of the entire Star Glory Federation would have been changed and be no more right now!
In his teenage years, before Ding Lingdang appeared, Li Yao's only relation in this world was his foster father, other than the uncanny dreams of Earth.
His foster father had protected him countless times in the dangerous environment in the magical equipment graveyard. Other than laying a solid foundation of refining for him, he had also taught Li Yao many moral lessons and told him to look for the light above his head even if he were mired in the swamp of darkness.
Li Yao was very close to his foster father. They were like a real father and son bound by blood.
Well, perhaps 'Little Black' was sort of his family, too. But Little Black had been brought by his foster father as well.
Also, his foster father had hidden his last words, which explained his origins, and half a weird key inside the body of Little Black.
His foster father was not a native of the federation but from the most mysterious Alliance of the Holy Covenant. But he was also in a sophisticated relationship with a woman named Li Linghai from the Imperium of True Human Beings. He had asked Li Yao to go to the Imperium and turn to Li Linghai for help if the federation could not hold on any longer, as if he believed that Li Linghai would certainly protect and help Li Yao.
His foster father was somehow related to Li Linghai.
Li Linghai, according to the intelligence that Li Yao had collected through various sources, was a core member of the Li family, which was one of the four most powerful Kurfürst families in the country, and the queen of the Imperium of True Human Beings!
The emperor of the Imperium today had lost the authority that Blackstar the Great had a thousand years ago. But in any case, an emperor was still an emperor, and a queen was still a queen!
"So, what kind of messy family drama am I watching right now?" Li Yao was befuddled.
After observing the young man more carefully, and especially after scanning the structure of his facial organs and his bones, he was even more certain of his finding!
When his foster father escaped to the Star Glory Federation at the edge of the cosmos, he was already a weary, wounded, and dying old man.
His face that had been weathered by snow and storms was naturally as old as dry rind.
Also, he had grown a messy, gray beard, and his face was always covered in stains, grease, and the stink of alcohol. Even Li Yao had barely seen his clean face.
At first glance, he was entirely different from the mysterious young man who was vigorous and had a clean skin.
It was also the reason Li Yao had failed to recognize him at the beginning.
However, after Li Yao scanned their face and bones profoundly and examined the very similar feelings in their eyes, he was able to discover the shocking similarities between the two people!
The unique air of sorrow and hopelessness would have escaped anyone's attention if they had not spent every day with Li Yao's foster father like Li Yao did.
But now that he had clearly sensed it, it would be bullsh*ting to claim that Li Yao's foster father was not related to the mysterious young man.
"Is he… the blood son of our foster father?" the mental devil asked. "Didn't we speculate that he used to be in a romantic relationship with Li Linghai, the queen of the Imperium? Then, it is perfectly normal that they secretly had a child!
"Wow. It is indeed as expected of the foster father of Vulture Li Yao. To think that he made the wife of the supreme Emperor of the Imperium of True Human Beings cheat on her husband! How incredible he was!"
"Enough of the cr*p!" Li Yao was amused. "My pop fled to the Star Glory Federation about a hundred and thirty years ago. Even though he was in a relationship with Li Linghai, it must've been a hundred and fifty years ago. If he really had any blood children, they should be more than a hundred years old now!
"If they were Immortal Cultivators, they would be in the most prime years of their life as the most standard adults. If they were ordinary people, they would already be in their senior years. But in any case, they should not be such an unbelievably young boy!"
"That is not necessarily the case," the mental devil said. "Don
't forget that the artificial insemination and fertilization technology nowadays are already unbelievably advanced. Sealing the life seeds for a hundred years is not a technological problem at all. Didn't you also leave some life seeds in the federation, which somehow went missing after being sealed for a hundred years? Chances are that several vigorous kids will jump out of nowhere in a couple of days and cling to your thigh calling you dad. It will be perfectly normal, too!"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Li Yao trembled hard. "May that never happen. Let's stay on topic!"
"I am not scaring you, only trying to point it out to you that, if our foster father did leave some life seeds in the Imperium of True Human Beings before, it is absolutely technologically possible to produce his offspring after a hundred years of freezing.
"It is even possible that he left a descendent more than a hundred years ago who was kept in hibernation, in which his bodily functions and his growth were all frozen, until the descendent was 'unfrozen' recently. This is a viable possibility, too.
"In any case, the odds are really too low for two people to have identical facial organs, bone structures, and even auras, one of whom from the center of the cosmos and the other from the edge billions of lightyears away. The mysterious young man must be deeply related to our foster father, right?"
"Yes." Li Yao agreed with the mental devil's judgment.
The mental devil was the other side of his soul after all. So, it was his own conclusion as well.
Li Yao was very close to his foster father. He was very curious about his foster father's origins and past. If the young man was truly related to his foster father, it was certainly his obligation to find out the truth and protect the young man!
Right then, a weird thing happened.
The mysterious young man 'Li Jialing' suddenly glimpsed at Neltharion's direction, as if he had noticed it.
Did he sense it?
Li Yao's interest was aroused.
The mysterious young man was much stronger than he had anticipated. Or maybe it was because he accidentally leaked some insignificant ripples in his excitement when he discovered that the mysterious young man looked very much like his foster father.
From the quick glance, however, Li Yao sensed emotions of deeper levels from the mysterious young man's seemingly tranquil eyes.
The mysterious young man left him an impression of sorrow and hopelessness just now. The man seemed to be completely desperate about the situation he was in and his destiny in the future. He was like a zombie dragging a shell, waiting for the arrival of death.
However, the look on the young man's face that flashed quickly was like a man lost in a desert who discovered an oasis, a drowning man who had found a piece of floating wood, or an adventurer who had retrieved a marvelous weapon that could slay tigers and dragons!
His eyes looked like frozen magma, and he did not seem to be waiting to be killed at anybody else's mercy at all!
Cr*p.
Li Yao was worried that the young man would act rashly. After all, although the two clusters of powerful life energy next door had left, dozens of crystal cameras were still monitoring the secret chamber from around. Traces would be exposed after only one moment of carelessness.
But the young man was much calmer than he expected. His eyes were only frozen for half a second before they moved away. Then, he began to cough loudly. While coughing, he crouched on the floor again, and the desire for survival that was as intense as a storm in his eyes was hidden again. He became a walking shell without a soul, exactly like before.
"What an interesting kid." The mental devil chuckled. "Take a guess. Has he discovered us or not?"
Chapter 2069: The Old Monster and the Little One |
Whether the mysterious young man had discovered him or not, Li Yao decided to get in touch with him despite the risks.
Now that there were experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage on the Immortal Cultivators' side paying attention to the young man, it was evident that he must be a key to a certain program or project.
Judging from the mysterious young man's torture a moment ago and the strong desire of survival that he was trying to hide right now, he did not seem to be particularly fond of the owner of Manjusaka or the place itself.
The mysterious young man and Li Yao were natural allies.
Li Yao's time was limited. Right now, the Immortal Cultivators 'epic quest' was being implemented step by step. If Starlight really walked into the trap, it would probably happen within a couple of days.
Manjusaka was an enormous, complicated, super space fortress that looked like a maze. Li Yao was not sure that he could locate and sabotage its fatal weakness in only a few days.
Perhaps the mysterious young man could give him valuable intelligence.
Also, the man seemed to be deeply associated with Li Yao's foster father…
Leaving the intimacy between him and his foster father aside, it was also his foster father's request to look for Li Linghai in the Imperium of True Human Beings. As a native of the Covenant Alliance, it was unlikely that his foster father had made friends with many people of the Imperium. So, was it possible that the mysterious young man was related to Li Linghai or was even their secret child as the mental devil said earlier?
Li Yao had not snuck into the Imperium by himself to destroy the Imperium, and it was impossible for him to do so. Like it or not, the federation and the Imperium would coexist for a very long time and would even be faced with the threats of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, the Pangu Civilization, and even the extraterrestrial devils together.
It was an undeniable fact, which all the Cultivators respected!
Whether the two parties fought or not, if he had an opportunity to meet Li Linghai, the queen of the Imperium, Li Yao would certainly be able to widen the federation's choices in the future.
Is the mysterious young man related to Li Linghai, the queen of the Imperium?
If he is, how did the almighty queen allow him to demean himself here as a miserable test subject?
Or rather, are the Immortal Cultivators so inhuman that they do not let go of their own children as long as there is enough value in them to be exploited?
With a headful of questions, Li Yao maneuvered Neltharion to slowly sink to the young man's head at a speed that was almost still. He then sent an extremely feeble spiritual wave to the young man's brain, which was equivalent to 'private talk' of the highest level.
"Hush. Don't talk. Don't move," Li Yao said.
The young man trebled slightly. The glamorous and violent sparks appeared and flashed deep inside his eyes again.
Li Yao had never seen such flames in his foster father's eyes, but he did often see his own eyes burning furiously like that in the mirror.
Maybe, the young man was the same type of person as him.
At the very least, the young man absolutely was not as meek and cowardly as he appeared!
"Sense the vibration of my spiritual energy, and then vibrate your soul at the same frequency. Then, our brainwaves will be able to communicate," Li Yao said. "Judging from your performance just now, your soul is rather strong. Such a simple trick to play with brainwaves is not a problem for you, is it?"
The young man blinked and mumbled something inaudible before he turned around.
There was no telling whether he did not hear Li Yao or simply was unwilling to respond, but he did not send out his own soul waves for a long time.
"Who are you? Why are you locked here? What kind of studies have those people been running on you?" Li Yao asked patiently.
The young man was still staring at the ceiling in a daze, his eyes completely frozen. The flashing flames just now seemed to be only Li Yao's imagination.
Li Yao smiled. It was truly an interesting and tricky young man, but he was still too little to deal with a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator!
"It seems that you are quite satisfied with your current situation and do not want any change. So, just forget it," Li Yao s
aid unhurriedly. "I'll be gone in three seconds and never show up again. You know how heavily guarded this place is and how difficult it is to sneak in. There won't be a second chance.
"Three… Two… One!"
"Who are you?"
When Li Yao dragged his tone and counted to 'one', the ice inside the young man's eyes was finally broken. The brilliance of extreme hope flooded out like magma again as he sent out a brainwave somewhat clumsily.
Li Yao smiled. "Why were you silent just now? Were you suspicious of me?"
The young man hesitated for a moment but said dutifully, "Yes. I suspected that you worked for Li Lingfeng and were testing me in such a way."
Li Lingfeng?
Li Yao was slightly dazed. He naturally knew that Li Lingfeng was also one of the most powerful and influential celebrities in the Imperium of True Human Beings right now. He was Queen Li Linghai's brother and would likely be the next leader of the Li family and one of the four Kurfürsten!
Li Lingfeng, Li Linghai, the mysterious young man, and his foster father. What had the four of them been up to exactly?
Thinking quickly, Li Yao asked, "Then, why are your suspicions gone now?"
"They are not, but I don't seem to have a choice except to take a gamble."
The magma flowing blatantly on the surface of the young man's eyes was frozen again, and he appeared to be a sorrowful and hopeless zombie again. But there was a slight hint of determination in his brainwaves, like a gambler that had wagered all his money.
"If you are not sent by Li Lingfeng, you must be from 'Starlight'. I did not know that Starlight had such experts who could hide one wall away from Li Lingfeng without being noticed by him!"
Li Yao was greatly alarmed. It was not until then that he realized the powerful life energy just now belonged to a future Kurfürsten. No wonder it was so intimidating that he did not even dare fart.
The meticulousness of the young man's thinking and the calmness of his mind were also far beyond his expectation.