Chapter 2445: Worse Than Your Old Man
Mu Xie was just one person. Progenitor Smoke would not intervene, and Nong Yi did not want to get involved. All of them also valued stability over all else, which meant that Lu Yin was alone against Nutjob Lu. Alone, there was nothing that he could do.
Even if Nutjob Lu stood right in front of Lu Yin at that very moment, there was no guarantee that Lu Yin could take the man’s life.
Nong Yi continued swinging his hoe. "Some things can't be rushed. Take it slow."
Lu Yin gripped his hoe tightly. "Liu Yue is dead," he hissed.
Nong Yi briefly froze in place.
"Three years ago, we managed to hold back the four ruling powers, but that doesn't mean that we can do so again. Senior, have you ever wondered why the four ruling powers were so determined to exile the Lu Family? You know what role the Lu family played in defending humanity from Aeternus. Without them, Aeternus gained a huge advantage and was suddenly able to easily invade the Perennial World. The four ruling powers were powerless to stop them.
"I looked into the battles that were fought after the Lu Family was exiled, and I learned that the Seven Skygods who were previously held back by the Lu family also disappeared. The pressure on the five array bases increased, and the four ruling powers’ most powerful Progenitors were stuck defending the Dominion Realm. However, the overall intensity of the fighting dropped compared to when the Lu Family was still around. That doesn't make sense," Lu Yin said.
"Then there's Liu Yue's death. The four ruling powers dared to kill a Progenitor without any evidence. They must have already been prepared to have a falling out with the Nong family, Specter Abyss, and Humility's Gate. Where do they gain such confidence from?
"The four ruling powers have acted in confusing ways at times. While they have always had a reasonable-sounding excuse, when looked at closely, things don't add up. It feels like…"
Nong Yi looked up. "It feels like something is giving them confidence, but I don’t know what it could be."
Lu Yin and Nong Yi locked eyes for a moment, and then Lu Yin nodded.
Nong Yi's smile faded. "Lu Qi asked me if I was willing to be conferred by him. Can you guess what I replied?"
Lu Yin grew curious. "What did you say?"
Nong Yi chuckled, "I told him to get lost."
Lu Yin arched a brow, but remained silent.
"Lu Qi is your father. I couldn’t believe that he was shameless enough to ask me such a question. My surname isn't Wen, and I'm not the type to play the role of a martyr and sacrifice everything for humanity, so spare me the platitudes. On top of that, your father wasn’t very eloquent, so I kicked him out of the Outer Realm that I was guarding back then," Nong Yi said. "And yet, you managed to convince me. This isn’t because you're more charming than your father.”
"Honestly, if I were to compare the two of you, I would rather have him confer me than you. He might be shameless and a thick-skinned bastard, but at least he has always been honest. You are too scheming, and it terrifies me," Nong Yi continued.
Lu Yin took the words as a compliment.
"But the times have changed. The Lu family is gone. The four ruling powers have exiled the Lu family and killed Liu Yue. I was willing to allow you to confer me not only because I fear the four ruling powers, but also because of their means. Everyone can tell that they're hiding something, and whatever it is, it's given them the confidence to eliminate Liu Yue."
Nong Yi drew a deep breath. "Only those who guard the Outer Realm for many years can understand how important it is to the Perennial World. With Liu Yue dead, who will replace him in the Outer Realm? Destroying that giant scarlet eye may be enough to prevent more corpse kings from invading us, but it can’t stop any of the Progenitor-level corpse kings. While the five array bases have become far more relaxed than before, the Dominion Realm has never lowered its guard.”
"Despite this, the four powers still decided to kill Liu Yue, which is practically no different from choosing to abandon the Outer Realm. There's no way they are unaware of their actions’ consequences, so the fact that they proceeded anyways means that they have some secret source of confidence that we don't know about."
Lu Yin asked, "You have no idea what they might be hiding, Senior?"
Nong Yi shook his head. "No, none at all."
The less he knew, the more uneasy he felt.
Nong Yi had cultivated to the Progenitor realm, which meant that he was no fool. But even with his Progenitor-level strength, the Nong family's support, and the Liu family’s help in the past, they had still never been able to uncover just what the four ruling powers were keeping hidden. This secret was extremely well concealed.
"You're much worse than your father," Nong Yi suddenly said.
Lu Yin stiffened. "How am I worse than him?"
Lu Yin knew that his cultivation speed and combat strength were both unparalleled for his age and level of cultivation. Looking back throughout all of time, perhaps only the Three Realms Six Daos could compare to him. No one with the same cultivation level was even close to a match for him, and that included the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Despite that, was he still regarded as much worse than his father?
Nong Yi sighed. "Although your father wasn't very talented in terms of cultivation, he has a way with women. In the past, he was quite the playboy in the Perennial World. There's nothing that he couldn’t handle, so long as it involved women."
Seeing Lu Yin's strange expression, the older man continued to say, "If you had your father's ability, Bai Xian'er would have never been a problem."
Lu Yin's face flushed. "I'm not exactly gifted in that aspect, Senior."
Nong Yi sat down and pointed at the ground next to him.
Lu Yin followed suit, sitting beside the man.
The two of them sat on the muddy field, each holding their hoes. They looked like nothing more than two simple peasants.
"Cultivation is all about extending one's lifespan, but over the course of one's life, people fight for power, wealth, and all sorts of other things. Who do they fight against?" Nong Yi asked.
Lu Yin was taken aback. Who were they fighting against?
"Naturally, they compete against their rivals and enemies," he replied.
Nong Yi smiled. "Exactly. The opponents that you compete with, no matter if it’s in cultivation, commerce, or politics, will always remain other humans. If you win, are the means by which you won important?"
"Of course not."
"Even if an ordinary person manages to defeat a Progenitor, a win is still a win. Ultimately, you compete with other people. If you can understand people, then you can beat them. You’ve always followed the path of cultivation and violence, but your father was different. He understood women, and that made him invincible against them, even if they were Progenitors. So, don’t you think that you’re inferior to him?"
Lu Yin smiled. "That’s true. Qiong Xi'er mentioned that business isn’t just about making money, but rather people. Understanding and defeating your opponent is the very essence of business, and the same is true of cultivation."
"Is Qiong Xi'er the woman who represented the Heavens Sect during the trade negotiations for equipment and resources?" Nong Yi asked.
Lu Yin nodded. "All matters regarding commerce throughout the Fifth Mainland have been entrusted to her."
"You're a pretty good judge of people’s abilities. I've heard of that woman—she's a tough nut to crack. The four ruling powers were more or less chewed up by her." Nong Yi chuckled.
"It's mainly due to the resources. If not for the quality of the equipment that we can provide, the four ruling powers would have never spared her a single glance."
"This part of the universe has gone through tremendous changes over the last three years. Even if the threat of Aeternus has temporarily subsided, cultivators have constantly been improving their equipment. The five array bases remain strong, and every cultivator hopes to obtain their own collapsible spacecraft, microarray weapons, universal armor, wireless jincan, and most importantly, a Void Wanderer. You must have made quite the profit from these sales, no?"
Lu Yin shrugged. "Not too much. Actual sales only made up a portion of the various transactions. Most of the trades were made with the exchange of provisions."
During the last three years, the Fifth Mainland had generated an impressive stream of revenue by providing various tools to the Perennial World, but Qiong Xi'er had her own plans. For this reason, Lu Yin had not touched any of the money yet.
Lu Yin said, "Speaking of profits, that reminds me of the New World. There are many cities there, and each of them should have a considerable amount of star essence. Where did all of it go?"
He had finally brought up his primary motivation for this visit.
Nong Yi replied, "There are 272 cities in the New World. As you mentioned, star essence was recovered from each city. It has all been divided up, and a portion naturally belongs to you. According to the four ruling powers, other than simply eliminating all the corpse kings, all of the cities apportioned to you have remained untouched."
Lu Yin asked, "How many cities did I get?"
"The four ruling powers each received fifty cities. My Nong family was given twenty, and another twenty were divided among the defenders of the five array bases as their reward. The Lockbreaker Society was given ten cities, you were given ten, and the final twelve were split among independent cultivators and other various families of the Perennial World. After all, such people have also participated in protecting and defending the rear battlefield."
Lu Yin's eyes grew hard. "Why was I only given ten cities?"
Nong Yi replied, "When the New World was retaken, you certainly did contribute greatly as the trailblazer, but you left almost immediately due to the issues that arose in the Fifth Mainland. The fourth array base did not join in the attack on the New World, and they mostly remained behind to hold the defenses. That is why you were only given ten cities."
Lu Yin asked, "On average, how much star essence does each city hold?"
"Approximately 10 billion."
Lu Yin nodded. Nong Yi did not say much about the rationale behind how the cities had been divided. If Lu Yin was unhappy with his allotment, then he could only voice his complaint to the four ruling powers. Of course, he was already planning to do exactly that.
Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something. "By the way, is there someone trapped in your wheat field?"
Nong Yi was confused. "Who? There’s no one trapped."
Lu Yin replied, "A woman named Qiu Shi. She has been trapped there for a long time."
Nong Yi slapped his forehead. "Ah, Qiu Shi. It is true that I left her there for quite some time. One day, she mysteriously appeared in my Seed Garden, her origins completely unknown. I guessed that she was from the Forsaken Land."
"That’s right. She’s the top disciple of the Fifth Mainland's Cosmic Sect and is likely going to one day inherit the sect. How is she doing?"
Nong Yi replied, "She's fine. We've kept an eye on her from the moment she arrived. I have to say, the girl is quite likable, and her innate gift is truly outstanding. Her talent is in no way inferior to Sanniang’s. I made the impulsive decision to take her in as my disciple, and she has been in secluded training for more than ten years since."
Lu Yin understood. This explained why Qiu Shi had never returned home, even after so long. If she had not gone into seclusion after escaping from the wheat field, she would have returned to the Fifth Mainland long ago. She was most likely unaware of the most recent events that had played out in the Perennial World and the Fifth Mainland during her seclusion.
Nong Yi asked, "Should I ask her to come out?"
Lu Yin waved the question away with a hand. "There’s no need. Let her focus on her cultivation."
There was a rustic charm to Seed Garden that made Lu Yin feel as though he had returned to nature each time he visited it.
He was in no hurry to leave. He swung his hoe in the field, just the same as Nong Yi. The two hoes methodically rose and fell.
Nong Siniang approached Lu Yin, a strange look on her face. She was still haunted by the matter of Yu Hao.
Lu Yin felt rather awkward. "Your staring is a bit uncomfortable."
Nong Siniang blinked. "I miss Professor Hao Yu."
Lu Yin rolled his eyes.
Nong Sanniang quickly arrived as well, and she dragged Nong Siniang away. "You're still too young to be interested in appearances!"
She then turned to Lu Yin. "The way you look now is more eye-catching."
Lu Yin grinned. "You too."
Nong Sanniang went stiff. Lu Yin’s response did not feel quite sincere.
Bai Xue also approached, and she handed each person a cup of tea.
As she handed a cup to Lu Yin, there was no change in her expression. Lu Yin realized that she had never revealed anything about her relation with him to the Nong family. It was possible that she had become emotionally attached to the Nong family after living with them for so long and did not wish for any misunderstandings to arise.
From the edge of the field, someone called out in a voice that sounded completely exhausted, "Sanniang, it's your turn now."
It was a middle-aged man who looked as though he had just fought a great battle.
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