Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

After pausing for a moment to catch his breath, Fei Qi went on. “Jin Xinyue was a queen of the demons in the beginning, but after the New Federation was established, she joined the ‘Secret Sword Bureau’, the intelligence and espionage agency of the New Federation, taking up the responsibility to suppress the demons that were discontent with the New Federation. To pursue her own power, the woman never hesitated, never even batted an eye, when she massacred her fellow demons. This is the first clue of her cruelty, heartlessness, and brutality!

“Based on her accomplishments in slaughtering her compatriots and her expertise in eliminating the dissidents, the woman rose to power quickly in the Secret Sword Bureau. After little more than twenty years, she was already promoted to the Deputy Director of the Secret Sword Bureau and the Chief Execution Supervisor. While Guo Chunfeng, director of the Secret Sword Bureau, stayed in the rear to command everything, Jin Xinyue led the charge in the front, responsible for the capture, suppression, and interrogation missions on the frontline.

“After the Star Glory Federation gradually conquered the four Sectors, the ‘Equality and Development Ministry’ was founded. Jin Xinyue became the youngest minister of the federation.”

“The Equality and Development Ministry?” Li Yao queried.

“By equality and development, they mean carving and swallowing,” Fei Qi said. “We all call it the ‘Conquest Ministry’. It is a bloody bureau that is specifically responsible for carrying out enslaving education in the four newly-conquered worlds; colonizing the new territory; and exploiting, extorting, and suppressing the resisters such as ourselves!

“Under the leadership of the vicious Jin Xinyue, the colonization that the ‘Conquest Ministry’ implemented on the four new worlds went quite well. She is best at double-dealing, instigation, divide-and-conquer, and other diplomatic methods. After decades of enslaving education, most of the people in the four new worlds have already forgotten the pride and dignity of their respective civilizations of the past and really consider themselves ‘federal citizens’. The few resisters whose heads were clear enough and who were too determined to surrender have also been captured, tried, and executed at Jin Xinyue’s command. At this point, without the assistance of the fellow Cultivators and seniors from the Imperium, it will be absolutely impossible for us to defeat the witch!

“Jin Xinyue, the executioner whose hands are covered in blood, climbed upward on the ladder of power, stepping on the piles of bones of the resisters from the four new worlds. She continued expanding her influence in the federal government and collecting resources from the four new worlds to please the major sects and conglomerates in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector. After a series of sordid, shameless, clandestine deals, she became one of the most important ministers in the federal government. She is now like the sun at midday, utterly unshakable!

“She is currently campaigning for the role of ‘Supreme Speaker’ in parliament right now. If the witch is truly elected as the Speaker of the Federation, the days of the four new worlds will only get worse!

“Nobody wants Jin Xinyue to be elected as the Speaker. However, well, Skyfire, which is under Jin Xinyue’s control, is one of the most powerful forces in the Star Glory Federation. She is quite popular among the major sects in the three core Sectors and has the support of the vast majority of the demons in the federation. The odds that she will win the election are very high.

“Seniors, if possible, please try to take down Jin Xinyue first before the final battle! As long as she is taken care of, half of the plots and schemes of the federation will be gone!”

Showing neither approval nor disapproval, Long Yangjun coldly said, “It is not your place to decide our specific tactics. All you need to do is tell us everything that you know! Is there anything else you would like to say about the two she-devils? You just mentioned that the two of them are in disagreement. What, is their relationship not good? That makes sense. Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. I can tell that neither of the two women are willing to work under somebody else. It is only natural that they are at loggerheads with each other!”

“I couldn’t agree more. The two she-devils have never been in a good relationship. Skyfire and the Patriots Front under their lead have also been competing openly and in secret for almost a hundred years. It is not a big secret within the federation.”

Licking his dry lips, Fei Qi added, “Although Ding Lingdang is Jin Xinyue’s masteress, it’s not like that Jin Xinyue would simply—”

“Wait. Excuse me?” Long Yangjun was slightly dazed. “About the two most powerful women in the federation, Ding Lingdang is Jin Xinyue’s masteress? What do you mean by ‘masteress’? I don’t suppose it is ‘master’s wife’, does it?”

“What else can ‘masteress’ mean?” Fei Qi blinked and replied, “Jin Xinyue’s master and Ding Lingdang’s husband are the same person.”

“Well, that is rather—” Even Long Yangjun was lost for words for a moment.

She looked back, only to discover that the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were also dumbfounded, not knowing what was going on.

For ancient Cultivators, the title of ‘master’ was ten thousand heavier than it was in the modern Cultivation civilization.

It was because the gap between ordinary people and Cultivators in ancient times was larger, and it was more difficult for the former to be admitted by a Cultivation sect. The Cultivation arts and techniques were also highly confidential. It was impossible for some arts to be placed on the Spiritual Nexus where they could be downloaded by any random person.

To be accepted by a wise master meant that the possibility of learning state-of-the-art techniques, getting rid of the miserable life of an ordinary person, and turning into a brilliant and wealthy ‘deity’. It was the biggest dream for everyone!

Under such circumstances, if a master was willing to recruit someone, support them and their family, and teach them all kinds of techniques, the master would essentially be giving the disciple a new life. The disciple should respect their master more than they respected their own parents!

Therefore, the formalities between master and disciple were highly valued by the ancient Cultivators. A Cultivator’s master and masteress were equivalent to their birth parents in the sect. Of course, some disciples might have killed their master for various reasons, but they certainly did such things in secret.

The notoriety of ‘Master Spiritual Vulture’ could half be attributed to him slaughtering the many villages, but the main reason was that he had killed his master, Elder Five Despair!

Were it not for the fact that ‘Master Spiritual Vulture’ had been born in the Southland of Sorcerers and should not be treated with the manners and rules of the central plateaus, and if it were not the end of a dynasty where everything was in chaos and guidelines were no longer appreciated, it would not have been possible for the ‘Master Spiritual Vulture’ that Li Yao played to shake off the aftermath of the event.

Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue, the two influential she-devils in the Star Glory Federation, turned out to be in the relationship of masteress and disciple, and yet they were at loggerheads in public, causing such a fuss that even someone like Fei Qi knew of their conflict. It was something utterly incomprehensible for the people from the ancient times.

Should betraying one’s master not be done in secret?

“How uncanny!” Long Yangjun exclaimed in surprise. “Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue are both critical figures in the federation. If what you said is to be believed, they are strong, resolute, wealthy, and powerful. If they joined hands, it should be more than enough for them to control half of the federation. Then, shouldn’t Ding Lingdang’s husband and Jin Xinyue’s master be the ‘king of the federation’? Why didn’t you mention such a great man just now?”

“He truly deserves to be called the king of the federation, in the ‘Old Federation’ a hundred years ago,” Fei Qi said. “Ding Lingdang’s husband and Jin Xinyue’s master was named Vulture Li Yao. He was an extraordinary person in the Old Federation. It was said that Vulture Li Yao made unparalleled contributions to the unification of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector in the era of the Old Federation. Even the few major forces that support the New Federation—including Skyfire, the Glorious Sunlight Group, and so on—were actually founded by Vulture Li Yao. Even Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue’s great power and influence in the New Federation have a lot to do with the enormous legacy of Vulture Li Yao that they inherited!”

“Vulture Li Yao?” Long Yangjun chewed on the name thoughtfully.

The many Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators behind her also frowned solemnly.

He sounded like a real badass and must have been a ferocious, treacherous person that was difficult to deal with!

“However, it was all a hundred years ago,” Fei Qi said. “Vulture Li Yao went on a mission a hundred years ago. The authorities of the federation have always tried to hide the traces and never offered any explanation to his outcome. However, a lot of rumors have been spreading among the people. The most trustworthy theory is that Vulture Li Yao went mentally deranged and died a miserable death abruptly a hundred years ago because he grew famous too early and advanced into the Nascent Soul Stage too young, not to mention a certain ‘superlative’ technique he practiced that severely exhausted his body and soul!

“Because he was a symbolic figure in the Old Federation and the greatest legend of the Old Federation, who in the official propaganda was even praised as the ‘supreme person of the three Sectors’, the federal government was reluctant to acknowledge his miserable death. Therefore, they have always remained ambiguous as to his outcome.

“All in all, a hundred years have passed!

“In the past years, drastic changes have happened to the federation. From three Sectors to seven Sectors, and from the Old Federation to the New Federation, all kinds of heroes and experts have emerged. The old monsters such as Vulture Li Yao who belong to the era of the Old Federation have already become pictures in history books. Except during the College Entrance Examinations in the federation every year, and when Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue are mentioned, few people are interested in talking about him today.

“That’s why I didn’t mention the legendary old monster who has probably been dead for a hundred years when you asked me just now. He cannot become trouble for the Imperium!”

“Wait!” Long Yangjun’s pupils suddenly constricted. Her nostrils slightly expanding, she touched the tip of her nose softly. “How many years? When did Vulture Li Yao die?”

Fei Qi found Long Yangjun’s reactions queer, but he still confessed dutifully under the stimulation of her needles. “Probably… about a hundred years ago. The specific timing is unverifiable now. However, the old monster has not been seen or heard from since the New Federation was founded. At first, Vulture Li Yao was said to be training in seclusion. Then, he was claimed to have joined the ‘space patrollers’ to explore the universe with his wife, Ding Lingdang. However, when Ding Lingdang reappeared in the federation, there was no sign of Vulture Li Yao. All the departments of the federal government avoided the questions tacitly.

“According to our analysis, Vulture Li Yao must’ve died a long time ago. The training in seclusion and the exploration of the universe are just smoke grenades and fake news that the federal government released as buffers to ease the aftershock of the abrupt death of such a federal hero.”

“That explains a lot,” Long Yangjun mumbled to herself. A vague smile popped up on her face again as she glanced at Li Yao casually. “Vulture Li Yao, the strongest monster in the Old Federation, went missing a hundred years ago, presumably dead…”

Li Yao stared back at her innocently and fearlessly.