"If you are from Starlight, you are in great danger right now," Li Jialing said confidently.
"Are you planning to attack 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky'? This is a scheme. The army of the Imperium, led by Li Lingfeng, has set up a dragnet waiting for you! Nobody can save you right now. Perhaps I am the only one who can get enough items for you to escape. So, we can definitely make a deal! "
"Is that so?"
Li Yao smiled casually. "But has it ever occurred to you that, now that you have told me such critical intelligence, why should I continue to be a moth to a flame? I can just pat my butt and run away now, leaving you here alone! "
"Huh?"
Li Jialing was just a teenager after all. Even though he had been strengthened and refined by the Li family and "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" since he was not born, and his body, brain, and soul had been nurtured by infinite resources, and he had spent every second of his life thinking about ways to escape, how could he be a match for such a cunning man as "Vulture Li Yao"?
His eyes bulged out after only one sentence from Li Yao, and he was almost dumbfounded.
"Please, don't put on a dumbfounded look, in case somebody notices something wrong."
Li Yao said in a hurry. "It's just a joke. Don't be so nervous!"
The young man coughed softly to cover his embarrassment. He was even more curious about the guy who had appeared out of nowhere. "Who — who are you exactly? Are you really a Cultivator from Starlight? Or are you from another force? What's your purpose exactly? "
"That's not important. What matters is that I am rather interested in the deal that you just mentioned."
Li Yao said with a smile, "Tell me about it. What chips do you have that you can trade with, and what do you want in return?"
After a brief silence, Li Jialing said, "It depends on what you want exactly. I can only say that I have ways to move freely in 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' and even win Li Lingfeng's trust — at least on the surface.
"'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' is owned by the Heavenly Eye Group, and its manager is Wuying Lan. However, the Heavenly Eye Group is backed by the Li family, or more precisely, Li Lingfeng. In other words, Li Lingfeng is the most powerful person in 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' right now. Even Wuying Lan, the owner of this place, has to listen to his command. The two of them seem to be planning some scheme stealthily."
"Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan?"
Li Yao thought for a moment. "Are you talking about the two experts who were observing you from the other side of the wall? Since you're just their 'test subject', what right do you have to gain their trust? "
"Yes, that's them."
Li Jialing hesitated for a moment and said, "The issue is very complicated, and it is impossible for me to explain it clearly for the time being. Even I have been looking for the deepest answer. All in all, I am not as simple as just their 'test subject'. Li Lingfeng can be said to be … half of my teacher and protector."
Li Yao slightly frowned.
Li Lingfeng was Li Linghai's brother, and Li Linghai and Li Yao's foster father had an ambiguous relationship. This Li Jialing was very similar to his foster father, and they were probably related by blood. Li Lingfeng, on the other hand, was half of the young man's mentor and protector, and yet he was still running such cruel tests and refinements on him …
Where exactly should he begin to crack such a complicated circle?
"I need to know the overall structure of 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky', especially the mainframe crystal processor and the energy supply base of the beehive prison."
After much consideration, Li Yao still proposed his request to the young man. "Also, if you can really get in touch with Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan, the owner of this place, I would like to know what they are up to exactly.
"Right. How much do you know about Starlight? Are their activities in the Imperium very influential?"
"So, you are really not a member of Starlight?"
Li Jialing did not dwell on the issue for too long. He said, "It's not exactly a big deal. Starlight and the Cultivators are all outdated things. Although I've heard about them from time to time in the past hundreds of years, they never caused much trouble."
"That's right."
Li Yao said, "I'm told that the Imperium has won a great victory in the frontline and forced the Holy League to retreat nonstop, leaving a lot of territory to be divided. At such a critical moment, Li Lingfeng, as one of the four Kurfürst families and the backbone of the Li family, has come to this place to deal with a bunch of unworthy Cultivators instead of thinking about how to divide the trophies in the frontline? I feel that it is a scheme no matter how I think about it. I would like to know his real purpose! "
Pondering for a moment, Li Jialing said, "I should have a way to move around in 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky'. I can even ask Li Lingfeng to tell me something. But what exactly he will say is beyond my control. I can't ask him voluntarily. It will be too obvious!"
"Okay. That's enough."
Li Yao said, "Then, tell me. What do you want?"
"Freedom."
Hunger and thirst beamed out of the young man's eyes again, like the last roar of a man who was mired in a swamp before he was completely swallowed by the darkness. "I want to escape from the control of Li Lingfeng and the Li family. I want to escape from the fate of being manipulated. I want to live a free life in a place where nobody can control me and where nobody knows who I am!"
The brilliance in the young man's eyes made Li Yao's soul jump nonstop, as if he had seen his other self from a long, long time ago.
"Why?"
Li Yao grew more and more curious about the young man's past. Thinking for a moment, he said, "Li Lingfeng is a big shot who can do whatever he wants. Since he is sort of your half master and protector, your life in the Li family shouldn't be too bad, right?
"The world where the strong prey on the weak may be cruel, but you are not a weakling who can't even truss a chicken. You are an out-and-out expert, a perfect killing machine!
"If my senses are correct, the green-haired gorilla just now was no match for you at all. You could've dug out his heart in only one second, couldn't you?
"Judging from the shape of your bones and teeth, you are not very old. You are no more than twenty years old at most. Even I find it hard to imagine how much effort Li Lingfeng has devoted to you for you to boast such magnificent strength before the age of twenty. Even if you are really a 'test subject', you must be one of the 'ultimate test subjects' that he values most.
"Therefore, if you are willing to unleash your strength to your heart's content, you should be able to claim a place in the Li family easily and even become a backbone of the family. It is not impossible that you will be as dominating as Li Lingfeng in the future.
"Why did you not fight back when you were attacked by the green-haired gorilla just now? Why do you want to get rid of such a fate?
"Do you not agree with the ideology of the Immortal Cultivators?
"Right. You guessed that I was a Cultivator from Starlight just now, but you showed no hostility or disdain at all and even wanted to cooperate with me without any hesitation. Are you a Cultivator?"
A hint of mockery flashed in Li Jialing's eyes. "I don't know what I am exactly, but if I have to choose a side between the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators, I am certainly a legitimate Immortal Cultivator!
"Survival of the fittest, survival of the fittest, and winner is king. That is the law of the universe in the first place. What's wrong with that?
"As for the Cultivators? Such childish, hypocritical, weak, and naïve things are only suitable for novels and games. How can they compete with the Immortal Cultivators in reality? "
Li Yao: "… Young man, you are rather straightforward!"
Li Jialing said, "However, even if I am an Immortal Cultivator and you are really a Cultivator from Starlight, it doesn't stop us from cooperating temporarily. I am just an insignificant person. Even if I run away, it won't affect your plan or ideology, will it?
"All in all, I don't care about ideology, beliefs, righteousness, and all the other messy things. All I want is freedom. Absolute freedom!
"I don't want to be a perfect slaughter machine and fight for the Li family, no matter how many benefits the Li family offers me!
"I only want to live a free, lawless, and absolutely uncontrollable life. If I have to fight, I will only fight for myself. That's it!"
At such a close distance, Li Yao could sense the young man's feeble but sharp fighting will.
It was as if the frozen sea was thawing, and the sound of ice cracking could be heard.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao said, "It seems that you have been preparing for 'freedom' for many years."
"Yes."
Sadness and desperation beamed out of Li Jialing's eyes again, but it was soon replaced by stubbornness. 0.1 seconds later, he was covered in the icy mist again, and it became the tranquility before the storm. "Since a long time ago, I've been considering how to get rid of the Li family and Li Lingfeng's control. However, Li Lingfeng's strength is definitely not something that I can compete with.
"Since I couldn't find an opportunity, I could only hide my strength and pretend that I was at the mercy of anybody in desperation. There was no need for me to reveal too much of my strength.
"This is perhaps my only chance. So, whoever you are — not just a Cultivator from Starlight, it doesn't matter even if you are from the Holy League or even the extraterrestrial devils — I only want freedom!
"I'm done. If you are really sent by Li Lingfeng to test me, I'm willing to accept my loss. Come on. Give me a quick result!"
The young man closed his eyes, as if he were ready to be executed.
Li Yao did not know what to think of the young man who was very likely to be related to his foster father by blood.
He had long known that Li Jialing, who was born in one of the four Kurfürst families of the Imperium of True Human Beings, could not be a pure lotus.
However, the young man's forbearance that was far beyond his age and the brutality below his forbearance still made him feel rather scared.
In order to achieve his purpose, he would do whatever he wanted. He would hide his claws and teeth and soar into the sky!
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