Forty millenniums of cul.., p.431
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 431
The visiting scholar, Sand Scorpion, however, did not come with his compatriots. He was late by one month and did not arrive until today.
The Refining Department of Flying Star University had reached a preliminary consensus as to the treatment of the unique visiting scholar.
Although none of the professors and experts believed that Sand Scorpion was capable enough to be an actual contributor to the studies of refining in Flying Star University, everybody definitely wouldn't say no if the guy decided to put his money into their projects.
It would be even better if the Iron Plateau natives, who were on his back, grew interested in the Refining Department of Flying Star University because of him and invested even more.
Therefore, it had been decided that he would be welcomed warmly.
With the prestige of Flying Star University in the world of Cultivators, it was almost a pilgrimage for the visiting scholars from other space zones when they came here. Visiting scholars, at best, would usually have someone from the school greet them at the space port.
But this time, four young teachers and researchers of the Refining Department had come to the space port to welcome the guest in person. It was unusually formal for Flying Star University.
Long Yunxin, unlike Xie Anan, had volunteered to come.
She hated boredom more than anything else and, therefore, was quite interested in the visiting scholar from Iron Plateau. She said with a smile, "It can't be helped, Anan. You are the only one in our department who has met Sand Scorpion before. Since he saved your life, you are naturally the best candidate to welcome him today. Speaking of which, what kind of person is this best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau in your eyes?"
Xie Anan suddenly blushed.
Half a year ago, after the big explosion in the Skyhill Sword Seminar, she had been kidnapped and taken to Iron Plateau by the Temple of Immortals. It was 'Sand Scorpion' who had rescued her.
However, she had only seen 'Sand Scorpion' once in the valley and was handed over to the Great Horn Exo Society soon. She had never met him again before she left Iron Plateau.
However, there was a little secret in her heart.
When the twenty hostages were still held in prison, 'Sand Scorpion' had talked to her and learned the details from her mouth before the following operations were carried out.
Does he still remember me? Xie Anan thought to herself, only to be shocked by her idea.
She replied, her face red, "I—we weren't freed until we reached some valley. My head was dizzy when he took off our facial covers, and I couldn't see him clearly. I only remember that he was wearing a hideous armor, and his face was hidden by his messy hair. His voice was coarse, and he was quite mean. Before we caught our breath, he had already asked us to dig pits.
"However, we heard a lot of tales of Sand Scorpion from the Great Horn Exo Society later. It was said that he is a super expert who rose to fame recently on Iron Plateau. No one in all the six tribes had second opinion about his invincibility. Even the previous, previous best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau was slain by him!"
Xie Anan grimaced. "Such a brutal guy must not be messed with. Now I'm part of the reception work, what—what if I piss him off?"
The four young men chitchatting nearby came over and said with smiles, "Don't be scared. We are all here for you. He is just another barbarian who has more brawns than brains!"
Although Xie Anan was a student and they were teachers, they were born in the noble families of refining, too, and had known each other since childhood. They had always considered her to be a little sister.
Therefore, they were not as restrained as normal teacher-student relationships.
The young refiner in the lead was as slender as a monkey and had a mole below his left eye. His name was Hou Zitao, and he specialized in guns boosted by spiritual energy. He had quite a few patents despite his young age and was a rising new star in the circle of refiners.
He joined Flying Star University five years ago, but he had been working as an assistant for other people and did not apply for his own project until this year. He was quite ambitious, planning to make a career out of the project.
He had never realized the importance of funding when he was an assistant. But now that he was leading a project team on his own, he immediately found that the arts of refining were too, too, too costly.
Flying Star University was never short of experts and professors. Thus, it was extremely difficult for a young genius like Hou Zitao to apply for research funds.
Naturally, when he heard that a silly yet rich landlord was coming to the Refining Department as a visiting scholar, Hou Zitao was the first to offer to join the reception team.
Hou Zitao smiled. "Anan, don't think too much. Just go up there and say nice words to him for saving your life when he shows up. When he is overwhelmed with self-satisfaction, we'll come close and adulate him to the point that he will forget his name. Then, we'll show him the few projects that we've been working on. Awesome as the guy may be, he has nothing but muscles. Does he really know anything about refining? By then, hehehehe…"
Hou Zitao was smiling cunningly.
The other young refiners were more or less the same. They were all laughing and rubbing their fists, making plans to seize the rarely-seen opportunity to let the goose lay more golden eggs for them.
Long Yunxin sniffed and dragged Xie Anan to aside. Coldly eyeing the guys who were enjoying such fantasies, Long Yunxin lowered her voice and said, "Anan, don't listen to the jibber-jabber of those people. Just do what you are asked to do and don't presume that the man is really a wealthy idiot. It is not going to be easy to take advantage of him. In my opinion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau will not be easy to deal with!"
Xie Anan was dazed. "Sister Long, do you know Sand Scorpion?"
With a mysterious smile, Long Yunxin replied, "Of course I don't. But I have a good friend in the Cross Wind Space Zone who told me a piece of shocking news yesterday!
"Anan, do you know why Sand Scorpion was delayed for so long?"
Xie Anan was still confused. "The Cross Wind Space Zone?"
"Yes. There's a small family of Cultivators in the Cross Wind Space Zone known as the Wu family, who did not have many experts. One of the least famous noble families, I would say."
Long Yunxin told the story merrily. "However, twenty years ago, a quite capable young expert named Wu Mafei emerged in the Wu family. He reached the high level of the Building Foundation Stage before he was forty years old. He joined the White Dragon Society, a fairly influential sect in the Cross Wind Space Zone, and became a pillar of the sect, making quite a fortune for his family.
"Too bad that the geniuses always seem to be cursed. A few years later, when Wu Mafei went to visit his in-laws with his wife and his child, they encountered space pirates and went missing.
"At that time, everyone thought that Wu Mafei and his next-of-kin were dead. The great fortune that Wu Mafei made and the insurance compensation that the White Dragon Society provided naturally fell into his other family members.
"The seniors of the Wu family were too old. But Wu Mafei had two brothers who claimed all the money.
"But as it turned out, although Wu Mafei perished, his only son Wu Mayan survived on Iron Plateau.
"Now that the communication between Iron Plateau natives and space residents has been reestablished, Wu Mayan naturally went back to the Cross Wind Space Zone to visit his family with his father's ashes.
"However, his visit put the Wu family in an embarrassing situation. It had previously been an unknown family and only earned some fame by Wu Mafei's hard work. Its prosperity later was based on Wu Mafei's insurance, too!
"Now that Wu Mafei's only son suddenly showed up, how should the assets of the Wu family be divided?"
Xie Anan listened to the story in confusion. She tilted her head and thought for a while. "Since Wu Mafei still has a son, his son is naturally the rightful heir to the compensation, pension, and the money that Wu Mafei earned previously."
Long Yunxin smiled knowingly. "That's common sense, but Wu Mafei's two brothers have enjoyed his legacy for so many years. How could they bear to hand over everything that was once theirs?
"The communication has just begun. Iron Plateau is still a mysterious place for most space residents. Nobody knows much about the situation on Iron Plateau.
"When Wu Mayan went back, he looked like a teenager no more than fifteen years old, and his mother was a strengthless doctor. His uncles thought that they could take advantage of the widow and the fatherless child, and they planned to keep the legacy for themselves. According to my friend, they provided a very harsh agreement, trying to kick away the mother and the young man with petty benefits.
"However, other than being the only son of Wu Mafei, Wu Mayan has yet another identity. He is the disciple of Sand Scorpion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau!
"Besides, Sand Scorpion went to the Cross Wind Space Zone together with Wu Mayan!"
Chapter 642: Glorious Sunlight Group |
"Ah?"
Attracted by the story, Xie Anan exclaimed, "Sand Scorpion must be not easy to deal with. Since he could rise to fame in a world as lawless as Iron Plateau, he would definitely teach the Wu family a hard lesson!"
Long Yunxin blinked and said, "If he simply engaged in fights without thinking, I wouldn't think so highly of him. He would merely have been another reckless man.
"However, according to my friend, through some methods, Sand Scorpion made the Wu family attack him first!"
"Were they crazy?" Xie Anan was quite surprised. "The man is the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau. How could they be so foolish?"
"It was a good demonstration of Sand Scorpion's cunningness." Long Yunxin took a long breath and continued. "When Sand Scorpion just showed up, he didn't reveal his identity, and he looked like a plain redneck. It was said that several members of the Wu family mocked him at the welcome party, but he did not respond or fight back. When a Cultivator of the Wu family challenged him, he turned it down with the excuse that he was injured and dedicated himself to the meat on the table. As a result, nobody thought much of him.
"There was no telling whether he really liked to keep a low profile or he was acting on purpose. If he was pretending the whole time, his mind is too treacherous.
"The Wu family is a third-rate family in the Cross Wind Space Zone after all, and they don't really know any top secrets. How could they know that the redneck that they'd been laughing at was actually the best warrior on Iron Plateau?
"In the end, when conflict broke out between the two parties regarding the recognition of Wu Mafei's legacy and the division of his assets, the Wu family was bewildered enough to ask three Building Foundation Stage Cultivators to deal with Sand Scorpion!
"Can you guess what happened?"
"What?" asked Xie Anan interestedly, her face red because of the coldness.
Long Yunxin extended her three fingers and waved them softly, as she replied, "Three Building Foundation Stage Cultivators were in crystal suits, fully armed.
"Sand Scorpion did not even use any weapon, much less a crystal suit. He crushed the three of them barehanded!"
"What!" Xie Anan gasped. "Defeating three Building Foundation Stage Cultivators without weapons? He is so terrifying?"
Long Yunxin was still in shock, too. "I couldn't agree with you more. The news I got was that Sand Scorpion had a pair of hands like two devils. When his fists hit his opponent's crystal suits, the crystal suit would turn into components, and part of the suit would be dissembled!"
Xie Anan's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. "Dismantling a crystal suit emptyhanded? Unbelievable!"
Long Yunxin nodded in agreement. "The three Building Foundation Stage Cultivators were quite famous in the Cross Wind Space Zone, and yet, they suffered a humiliating defeat because of Sand Scorpion. Naturally, the entire Cross Wind Space Zone was shocked.
"It was not until this moment that Sand Scorpion told everybody who he actually was. He also formally accused the three Building Foundation Stage Cultivators to be assassins from the Temple of Immortals who had been ordered to kill him!
"The Wu family had thought that Sand Scorpion was just a Mr. Nobody, so they were all dumbfounded at the situation!
"Think about it. The cooperation between space residents and Iron Plateau natives had reached the most critical moment. Sand Scorpion was not only the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau but also a visiting scholar invited by Flying Star University. Neither of the two identities was something that the Wu family could mess around with!"
Xie Anan couldn't help but chuckle. "They deserved it!"
Long Yunxin laughed, too. "Anyways, after the incident, most of the property of the Wu family returned to Wu Mayan. His two uncles who had ill intentions were saved of the punishment of going to jail, but they were eliminated from the decision-making circle of the family. They received a small pension and retired in embarrassment.
"Later, Wu Mayan reorganized the assets of the Wu family. Supported by his mother's family, he established a new 'Glorious Sunlight Group'. No sooner had it been founded than it started negotiating about cooperation and acquisition with a few sects in the transportation industry of the Cross Wind Space Zone, showing that the owner of the enterprise had a lot of resources!
"It was said that the Glorious Sunlight Group would take the trade between the space and Iron Plateau as their main business, and they will most likely monopolize many resources on Iron Plateau!"
"Wu Mayan is quite impressive. He is just a teenager, and he can already form such ambitious plans?" Xie Anan mumbled.
Long Yunxin snapped her forehead softly and smiled. "You dummy. Wu Mayan is not fifteen years old yet, and he has grown up on Iron Plateau. How much could he know about business? His mother's family is best known for their medical arts and know little about corporate affairs, too. Besides, even though they were interested in the idea, they did not have the capital to establish the Glorious Sunlight Group! Sand Scorpion must be behind the endeavor."
Xie Anan finally realized what this was all about. "Indeed. I'm told that Sand Scorpion is quite rich. Besides, since he is the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, his list of connections on Iron Plateau must be enormous, too. Good heavens. If the resources of an entire planet are monopolized by his Glorious Sunlight Group, his wealth will be intimidating!"
Long Yunxin nodded. "Yes. The real owner of the Glorious Sunlight Group is definitely Sand Scorpion. The resources of a major planet are too abundant. Even if he is not monopolizing all of them, a franchise of one tenth of the important resources is enough to make the Glorious Sunlight Group one of the top-tier organizations in the Flying Star Sector!
"However, what I was really awed was Sand Scorpion's cunningness.
"Before, I thought the same with those people." Long Yunxin nodded at the four daydreaming young refiners and chuckled. "I thought that, impressive as his title might be, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau would merely be a burly barbarian after all. With a few compliments and adulations, we would definitely get him to dance however we wanted.
"But after I was told of the incident, I was literally soaked in cold sweat. If Sand Scorpion was manipulating everybody and set up a trap for the Wu family to help Wu Mayan get his annoying uncles away, then his devices would be too scary!
"These four guys think that he is a fat lamb waiting to be butchered. They do not know that his wisdom is proportional to his wealth! Although they are trying to fool him right now, I bet they will be devoured by him without any bones left while they think they are taking advantage of him!"
Xie Anan's face was even more twisted, as if she had just bitten a sour apple. She smiled bitterly. "Sister Long, after hearing your story, I'm even less willing to welcome the intimidating guy now!"
…
"Dear passengers, we are arriving at the No. 6 space port of the third orbital ring of Heavenly Saints City, our final destination. Please make sure your belongings are with you. The Feathered Snakes Brotherhood offer mind-refreshing pills for free for every passenger on board to ease your fatigue after such a long journey. The mind-refreshing pills are made of thirty-six valuable…"
Listening to the loud and clear advertisement, Li Yao stretched his arms and observed the view outside the cabin window with great interest, while he murmured to himself, "How splendid!"
He was in the middle of a carrier that was hundreds of meters long. Naturally, it was not a real cabin window next to him but a light beam where the real-time scenery that the crystal cameras captured of Heavenly Saints City was displayed.
It was not until this moment that Li Yao witnessed the magnificence and splendidness of the biggest metropolis of the Flying Star Sector in person.
Half an hour away, they passed the ninth and the tenth orbital rings, the two outmost residential areas of Heavenly Saints City.
Further outside, the eleventh and the twelfth orbital rings were still under construction.
Countless carriers and engineering starships towed the war remnants from various parts of the Flying Star Sector, which would then be refined in the space factories near Heavenly Saints City. Together with the components produced in asteroids and world fragments, they constituted new flesh and bones of Heavenly Saints City.
Thousands of workers collaborated with the automatic construction magical equipment. The scene reminded Li Yao of ants who were building their nests.
Thanks to the hard work of the workers, Heavenly Saints City was expanding at a visible speed. Instead of a dead object, it was likely an awesome giant beast that was roaming in the sea of stars.
Heavenly Saints City was made of a star fortress and ten orbital rings that surrounded it. The orbital rings were connected to each other by high-pressure vacuum tubes. There were many branches on the vacuum tubes and their ends were connected to countless smaller star fortresses.
