Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The last light spot that was floating at the center of the sky of Fish Dragon City as beautifully as a firefly finally died down, replaced by certain bluish clusters of light that were hazier and more unpredictable. They congregated into deep blue rivers in the sky like flowing moonlight.

Although it had been a long time since human beings got rid of the planets and stepped into space, people who had spent their entire life on starships were still used to measuring the time with ‘days’. It was their tradition to simulate ‘daylight’ and ‘night’ in the man-made environment.

It was also a tradition to do clandestine, bloody business at night.

When the night was dark, it was the time for the murders and arsonists.

Fish Dragon City was an enormous metropolis in space built by the most powerful refugees of the four new worlds.

But the refugees from the four new worlds were not unified. They had all kinds of conflicts and contradictions among themselves.

Besides, countless brutal bandits who were too greedy about money to care about their own life often came to Fish Dragon City to stir up trouble, hoping that they could flee after making loads of money.

Perhaps because of the restriction of the unspoken rule, during the day, the various forces, each having their own ill intentions, were still able to tame their desire for death and destruction.

But once night fell, Fish Dragon City turned into a paradise for the space pirates, mobs, gangsters, headhunters, spies, and all the other outlaws.

With the super match ‘Ace Game’, which was held once every three years, underway, the experts and magnates of the entire Dragon Snake Space Zone and even the forces nearby had gathered there. Astronomical capital was flowing like brooks in the casinos and the arenas, adding more fuel to the already chaotic situation.

The three luxury shuttles travelled on the magnetic rails without a sound.

Fish Dragon City was a three-dimensional city that was constructed inwardly. There was no distinction between ‘sky’ and ‘earth’. The so-called ‘airspace’ was quite narrow. Without effective regulation, the shuttles that were flying at hundreds of kilometers per hour could run into each other anytime.

Therefore, the shuttles all travelled by attaching themselves to magnetic rails. On one hand, it was easier for traffic management and direction. On the other hand, the vehicles could be powered directly by the magnetic rails, which provided cleaner, pollution-free energy that was more suitable for the full-enclose environment of Fish Dragon City.

Through the window, Li Yao stared at the explosions and fire that were taking place here and there, listening to the rushing sounds of crystal suits while he thought about his next step.

The Four Sectors Chamber of Commerce was the ruler of Fish Dragon City. Generally speaking, the Exos of the Chamber of Commerce were able to take care of any emergencies.

For the first few nights after Li Yao and his companions reached Fish Dragon City, they often heard explosions and gunshots before midnight, but most of the damage and robberies would be cleaned up by the Chamber of Commerce. Before the light spots floating in midair turned crimson, a symbol of dawn, a huge batch of bodies whose eyes had been dug out would be thrown into space through the garbage tubes. The record of the whole process would be displayed in the sky of the entire city on the light beams, informing the outlaws who were planning to cause trouble in Fish Dragon City of the price they were going to pay.

However, the explosions and gunshots today were particularly fierce.

Li Yao’s nose flapped as he seemed to have sensed the scent of extreme danger.

Moving her bottom uneasily for a long time on the opposite of Li Yao, Tang Xiaoxing finally could not help it any longer. She made up her mind and carefully asked, “… Senior Lin, with your proficiency, you must be a famous big shot in the circle of refiners in the Star Glory Federation, right?”

Looking out of the window, Li Yao did not even bother to turn his head. “I’m not. As I said, I like to keep a low profile.”

Eyeing Li Yao’s clothes up and down for a moment, Tang Xiaoxing mumbled something to herself and could not have agreed more. Noticing that Li Yao did not burst into fury, she further emboldened herself and asked, “I wonder, what have you come to the Dragon Snake Space Zone for, Senior Lin? Firefly boasts some influence in this place, too. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you need us to do anything for you!”

“I don’t need you to do anything for now,” Li Yao replied casually. He had not come up with a plan to make use of Firefly yet. According to the rumors that he had overheard the past few days, the situation on Firefly seemed rather complicated.

The eleven Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were already big enough headaches. Firefly would only add to his troubles.

Tang Xiaoxing was unwilling to give in just yet after being subtly refused. “I understand. Senior Lin, you only need materials right now. Then, you have come to the right person. We have a lot of rare materials that we have brought from the center of the cosmos. They are still in excellent condition after a thousand years of preservation. You will never find them at the edge of the cosmos! Whatever materials you need, Senior Lin, I would like to offer them to you for free as long as I’m capable of making the decision. You don’t need to pay anything!”

“Who’s asking you to offer them for free?” Li Yao finally turned his head. Frowning, he said, “Money is not a problem for me. I have said that I like to keep a low profile. Fame and fortune are nothing to me. Money is pure garbage in my eyes. Do you think that I’m someone that can be pleased with such petty benefits?”

“I’m terribly sorry for what I said. Please forgive me!” Senior Lin was angry, and the consequences could be dire. Frightened, Tang Xiaoxing apologized quickly like a shocked bunny.

“However…” After thinking carefully for a moment, Li Yao said, “As it happens, while money is not a problem for me, the problem is that I don’t have money right now. I certainly wouldn’t say no if you can let me purchase a batch of materials on credit.”

“…” Tang Xiaoxing.

“Well, one other thing. It will be even better if you can lend me a sum of money personally!”

“S—Senior Lin, isn’t money pure garbage in your eyes?”

“Of course it is,” Li Yao said matter-of-factly. “It is exactly because money is pure garbage in my eyes that I don’t have any money. Who would carry garbage with themselves all the time?”

“…” Tang Xiaoxing.

Li Yao felt that something was wrong. His nose was flapping at a higher and higher frequency. Lowering the window of the shuttle, and listening to the blowing wind whispering like devils through the gap, Li Yao watched other shuttles rushing past them like phantoms against the dark night and the glowing fire.

“Let me ask you something. Did you piss off anyone in Fish Dragon City?” Li Yao asked out of the blue.

Tang Xiaoxing was entirely confused. “I don’t think so. I only arrived in Fish Dragon City yesterday. Other than refilling the supplies, I just visited the magical equipment store, said hello to Uncle Chu, and adjusted a crystal suit by chance. Nothing more.”

“Well…” Li Yao thought quickly. “Based on your experience in the past, have the forces in Fish Dragon City, including all the desperadoes in the Dragon Snake Space Zone, ever attacked the Cultivators from Firefly, you know, for personal grudges or simply for your treasures?”

“How is that possible?” Tang Xiaoxing snorted. “Although we have been on the run for a thousand years, the overall quality of our Exos are magnitudes higher than the mobs in this place. Also, most of the people here make their living directly and indirectly through the trade deals between Firefly and the Star Glory Federation. They are incapable of attacking us, nor do they have the courage to!”

“Therefore,” Li Yao concluded, “the marks of ‘Firefly’ have been clearly painted on the shell of the three shuttles of yours so that everybody else will know beyond any doubt that they are the shuttles that belong to the ‘rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic’, right?”

“Of course!” Tang Xiaoxing was confused. “It is very important to show your banner in such a place like Fish Dragon City. A lot of unnecessary trouble can be avoided. Is there a problem?”

“The problem is not a small one. Ask your men to change the route and return immediately!” Li Yao tapped the soundproof block between the passengers’ side and the cockpit and said, “Tell the driver to get out of the seat. I’ll take the wheel—”

Hardly had he concluded his sentence when Li Yao’s ears, which had been filled with spiritual energy, picked up a feeble sound in the air. His pupils constricted violently, and he gave up the plan of crawling into the cockpit. Instead, he went back and lunged toward Tang Xiaoxing, opening his spiritual shield!

“Watch out!”

The moment he let out the warning, an ear-splitting explosion took place. They seemed to have been hit right in the face by a heavy shuttle that was running at a speed of more than eight hundred kilometers per hour when they were in a shuttle that was running at exactly the same speed. While the world was spinning, the shuttle was thrown away from the magnetic rail!

Explosive spiritual energy flooded into the narrow cart like surging tides.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The airbags hidden in the shell of the shuttle all burst out, only to explode in the next second under the blast of the continuous spiritual energy from outside!

Even Li Yao’s face was bleeding everywhere, his body almost deformed. His brain was humming, and there was even a moment when he could not summon his spiritual energy!

You—you’ve got to be kidding me. Even a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator has been so heavily wounded? What the f*ck is that?

From the outside, the luxury shuttle had turned into a cluster of garbage from which smoke was billowing. It was swirling in midair quickly before it was attracted by the man-made gravity and crashed to ‘ground’.

Li Yao’s telepathic thoughts spread out like soft smoke. He immediately sensed that two massive streams of spiritual energy came from a skyscraper in the northeast and a crystal train in the southwest and hit the two shuttles of bodyguards precisely.

Boom! Boom!

After two deafening noises, the two shuttles turned into two clusters of furiously burning fireballs. The elite Exos from Firefly inside had been vaporized into ash before they had a chance to scream. The blood red fireballs illuminated the bluish night sky!

Crack! Crack!

Because the magnetic rail that they were on had been blown up, dozens of shuttles that were attached to the rail immediately lost control. They flew randomly in midair like headless flies, crashing into brilliant fireworks.

Li Yao’s pupils were constricted to the size of needles before they expanded and occupied his entire eyes.

Judging from the aftershock of the spiritual energy from the barrel, the attacks must’ve been made by the main guns installed on the small warships!

Are you kidding me? Dismantling the main gun, delivering it secretly to the downtown of Fish Dragon City, and attacking a single target with a cannonball that is designed to penetrate the shield and the plate armor of a hostile starship? No wonder even a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator’s nose is bleeding!

This is too unbelievable. Who’s putting on such a big show? Also, how exactly did they lock onto us? The shot was rather precise!