Translator:
Exodus Tales
Editor:
Exodus Tales
In the guest room of Blue Starfish Mansion, Tang Xiu and Duanmu Lin continued their talk, and there were only two of them inside now.
âTang Xiu, I trust you wonât do anything harmful to our country, but I still need such commitment from you today.â Duanmu Lin wore such a solemn face that he didnât even lit the cigarette in his fingers Tang Xiu just gave him.
âI see. Then Iâm giving that commitment today,â replied Tang Xiu. âAs long as you, Duanmu Lin, are still alive, Iâll never do anything harmful to China. And Iâll absolutely lend the country a hand should it face trouble, so long as youâre still alive.â
Duanmu Lin squinted his eyes in response before he nodded without a word. His eyes kept flickering and then he said, âTang Xiu, I get that your commitment is based on the premise that Iâm still alive. Youâre also well aware of my identity as well as my abilities. But I can only live at most a few decades more.â
âNot really.â Tang Xiu shook his head and said, âYou can still live on for a century or hundreds of years more if you want to.â
Duanmu Lin trembled upon hearing this. He fell into silence for a long while before he slowly said, âWhat exactly do you want from me?â
âI want you to live much longer, but there are a few caveatsâthings I need you to turn a blind eye to,â said Tang Xiu with a light smile.
âYour condition is great and way too tempting, indeed,â commented Duanmu Lin. âBut my position is rather political, I canât break the bottom line. Shall your request be too excessive, even the temptation to live for centuries more is something I canât promise you.â
âIâm perfectly happy if you have your criteria and bottom line, Senior Duanmu,â said Tang Xiu with a slight smile. âBut donât you forget what Iâve promised. Iâll never do anything harmful to China as long as youâre still alive.â
Duanmu Lin said, âThen, you mean...â
âYouâre also perfectly aware of what Iâm capable of, Senior Duanmu,â explained Tang Xiu. âBut I can tell you something. Subverting China is very easy for me should I want it to happen. But Iâm a cultivator. All the mundane things in the secular world donât interest me. What Iâm pursuing is to increase the level of my cultivation and to ascend and become an Immortal.
âBut the cultivation resources a cultivator need is astronomical. And where do you think can I get these resources? Naturally, I can buy them with money since I canât just resort to robbing and plundering them. Thatâs why I need to expand my power in the secular world which requires me to seek huge wealth, so I can buy a lot of cultivation resources. You should now understand after I spoke all these, shouldnât you?â
âI can understand that,â said Duanmu Lin without hesitation.
Tang Xiu nodded and went on, âSince you understand that, then itâll be more likely for you to accept. Iâll need to handle a lot of issues to expand my influence, such as setting up a company and earning money through normal channels. But making money is never an easy task, so I need a massive intel network to figure out the channel to make it happen. Therefore, I decided to root out the Darkwind and build a huge intelligence network around the world myself.â
Gasp...
Despite realizing the importance of Tang Xiuâs following statement, Duanmu Lin couldnât help but gasp as he never thought that it would turn out to be so big a revelation.
âRooting out the Darkwind and establishing an intelligence network that covers the whole world? Anyone in the world will definitely be afraid of Tang Xiu should he be able to realize it!â
âThereâs no need to be shocked, Senior Duanmu,â said Tang Xiu lightly. âAnd donât doubt my words, for I have the power to obliterate all the cultivation forces that exist on Earth, to begin with. The Darkwind organization is just a minor issue that I need not expend much price to weed out, much less use my aces.â
Duanmu Lin suddenly recalled the soul-stirring beautiful woman whose power made him suffocated by her aura alone. He looked at Tang Xiuâs confident face and was hardly able to ask, âAbout that woman who threatened me then, who is she to you? One of your people?â
âAh, are you talking about Yanâer? Sheâs my disciple,â answered Tang Xiu smilingly.
âThatâs impossible!â Duanmu Lin blurted aloud, âHer power is very terrifying, ten times more powerful than yours. Itâs just impossible for her to be your disciple. You...â
Tang Xiu raised his hand to interrupt him and faintly said, âSenior Duanmu, things you know are much too little. Yanâer is very powerful indeed, much more powerful than the current me. But had it not been for an accident, I could also destroy the entire Earth with just a flick of my fingers, and a punch of mine can destroy the entire Milky Way galaxy. I donât want to disclose some things, but it doesnât mean that I donât have the power to do so. Logically speaking, explaining anything to you is not necessary given your status and capacity. But still, I returned from that place, so I need to survive and live as per the customs of this world. Iâm of Chinese descent, so thatâs all the reason why I can tell you some bits of it.â
âThat place? Returning from there?â
Pupils contracted and shrunk, Duanmu Lin finally realized how terrifying Tang Xiu really was. He suddenly recalled the information from the investigation on Tang Xiu when he was in the second and third years of high school. The previously genius student had been wasted and many people even called him âidiotâ.
âSomething so unusual must have something abnormal behind it!â
It was then that Duanmu Lin realized that he couldnât really read through Tang Xiu and much more difficult to figure out what kind of existence he always was.
âTang Xiu, can you answer a question of mine honestly?â after taking a long time to calm himself down gradually, Duanmu Lin asked.
âPlease ask.â Tang Xiu nodded.
âWhen those dreadful demonic beasts appeared in the Himalayas, why it was you who went all out then, while your powerful disciple didnât show up?â asked Duanmu Lin.
âItâs because once Yanâer makes any action here, she and the rest will be discovered by the Heavenly Dao that rules over this plane,â answered Tang Xiu calmly. âThey will have to leave this world once it happens.â
They?!!
Duanmu Lin realized that the woman who was called âYanâerâ was not the only expert under Tang Xiu. The revelation sent a great shock to him yet again. But then, he suddenly realized something and exclaimed, âYou mean... they are... they all have ascended and become immortals?â
âAscended and become immortals?â
A disdainful look flashed across Tang Xiuâs eyes as he replied indifferently, âThere are things you need not ask, Senior Duanmu. The only reason Iâm telling you some bits today is mainly to make you feel convenient and be accommodating to us in China in the future, while at the same time, turning a blind eye.â
Duanmu Lin turned thoughtful for a while and then asked slowly, âHas it already started?â
âAlmost,â answered Tang Xiu.
âWhy telling me since you almost have it up and running, then?â Duanmu Lin forced a wry smile. âYouâre on control over the scale of your own intelligence network. But donât let me catch any trace of it. You wonât get away with it, otherwise.â
âYou wonât find anything so long as you donât proactively seek it,â said Tang Xiu smilingly. âAlso, Iâve prepared a present in order to thank you, Senior Duanmu. I hope you can accept it.â
Having said that, a cultivation ancient manual suddenly appeared in Tang Xiuâs hands. After handing it to Duanmu Lin, he smiled and said, âYou may be an ability user, but thereâs no rule that says ability users canât practice an ancient manual of cultivation and become cultivators. As long as you can control two kinds of energy in your system, you may be able to achieve something in the future.â
âA manual for cultivation?â
Duanmu Lin looked shocked as he didnât expect that Tang Xiu would be so generous and give him a cultivation manual. One must know that such a thing was extremely precious, and you could expect great uproar once it fell into othersâ hands, where you could expect bloody storms and terrors to follow afterward.
âThe Nascent Soul Stage? The highest level that can be practiced is up to the Nascent Soul Stage?â
Duanmu Linâs hands slightly trembled. His eyes shifted to Tang Xiu with a complicated expression.
âIs this... a bribe?â
âYou can say it so,â said Tang Xiu smilingly.
Duanmu Lin drew a deep breath and a smile appeared on his face. Then, he snappily said, âHurry up and get out of here, brat! If you wanna make money from that Aeroglider, just hurry up in your research and develop its second generation.â
âCopy that.â
Tang Xiu faintly smiled and his figure disappeared from the room.
There was only Duanmu Lin left in the empty room. He reopened the cultivation manual and read it for more than half an hour before closing it again with nearly uncontrollable surprise and ecstasy.
Gradually after, his expression turned a bit strange. He had tried to circulate the energy in his body according to the circulation route from this cultivation art. He found that he could easily complete the full circulation for the Qi Refining Stage. Much to his surprise, when he started to circulate it according to the cultivation route at the Foundation Establishment Stage, the energy contained in his body broke through to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment Stage without difficulty.
âThis power... Iâm at least ten times stronger than before.â
Duanmu Lin clenched his fists while sensing the surging power in his body that made him want to scream aloud. But after a while, he finally suppressed the urge as a thought finally bred in his mind:
If each ability can cultivate this easily after getting a cultivation art, then all the ability users in the agency can greatly increase their power and subsequently drastically increase the strength of the stateâs Special Abilities Bureau at that time.
With the birth of this thought, Duanmu Lin couldnât sit still. He rushed out of the room and shouted, âNotify all the senior levels of the agency. Except those in charge of the operation in the Himalayas, all of them are to return to the headquarters in the capital!â
Outside the Blue Starfish Mansion.
Li Yuquan finally felt relieved after he jumped off the boat with Tang Xiu and back to the bank. He felt like he had survived a great tribulation, so he felt very grateful to Tang Xiu.
âThanks a lot, Boss,â said Li Yuquan in a low voice behind Tang Xiu.
âThe price I paid to preserve your life was quite great, you know,â replied Tang Xiu without turning back. âYou should know what you must do, I presume.â
âMy life is yours from now on. Iâll immediately carry out any orders you give me,â said Li Yuquan respectfully.
Tang Xiu nodded in response. âYou know, you have a good son. Iâll take him out of the greenhouse and someone will take him away soon.â
Li Yuquanâs face changed and hastily asked, âBut Boss, this is...â
âYou can refuse, of course,â said Tang Xiu lightly. âBut the consequence of your rejection will make it so that your son will be only an ordinary person for the rest of his life. You must let him go if you want him to transform into a dragon.â