"Li Minghui has been acknowledging foster fathers everywhere. Naturally, those 'foster fathers' and 'godfathers' are not idiots. Who would be reluctant to acknowledge such a big son without a good reason?"
Long Yangjun explained, "It's all because they are interested in the boy. The boy offers tremendous tributes every year and can help the Immortal Cultivators on the surface of the planet gain tremendous benefits from below the ground.
"Li Minghui has always been known to be one of the most brutal and harsh ones among almost all the underground Immortal Cultivators. The death rate in the mines and factories under the 'Black Iron Group' is even higher than that in other underground factories and mines by more than 30%. It must be noted that the hominoid workers and miners in other places are already extremely cruel. It is not hard to imagine what a gory picture it will be if he is thirty percent crueler!
"After he slowly extended the tentacles of the 'Black Iron Group' to almost ten thousand meters above and below the ground and hundreds of underground towns with the support of the Dongfang family, he even completely controlled the dark area. The workers suffered exploitation in his family's factories during the day and had to buy the synthesized food and compressed air provided by his family at a high price when they went back at night. The price of those things was at least half higher than in other towns, but their quality was much lower. But he was the sole dominator, and there was no other choice. Whoever dared to 'smuggle' the synthesized food and compressed air from other families would be beaten to death and thrown into the geothermal furnace, where they would be completely obliterated!
"Only by exploiting the flesh and blood of every rock and every hominoid below the ground brutally could the guy accumulate tremendous' tributes' every year and give them to the big shots of the Dongfang family so that the surname of 'Dongfang' could be maintained. That's why the arrival of extraterrestrial devils almost broke out in his territory."
Long Yangjun told Li Yao that, in the past decades, the underground hominoids living under the control of the Black Iron Group had been living a miserable life. Everybody's life was worse than death.
Over the past half year, the most intense earthquakes had taken place in quite a few geological layers in the area, collapsing dozens of mines and destroying quite a few energy factories, significantly slowing down the progress of the Black Iron Group's resource collection. Li Minghui couldn't have been more regretful and infuriated. He exploited his workers even more harshly.
The competition between the reformists and the leadership of the four Kurfürst families was a heavy strike for Li Minghui, too.
Yes, he had a keen sense of smell. Before the collapse of the Dongfang family, he had escaped in time and changed his family. However, becoming a godfather required money. Changing the surname from "Dongfang" to "Li" also required a lot of money. Otherwise, why would someone raise a dog like him?
It was said that he had spent half of his personal fortune purchasing all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and rarely-seen primeval treasures before he finally found a rather powerful new godfather through the connections of the Li family. He also promised his new godfather that if the Black Iron Group continued to be operated by him, more resources and profits would be generated incessantly in the next few years.
With "Li Minghui's" insatiable personality, taking out half of his wealth for nothing was like cutting out his heart, pulling out his tendons, and letting out all his blood.
With such a huge loss, naturally, he could only squeeze even more from the underground hominoids.
Therefore, in the past few months, Li Minghui had almost turned into a rabid dog. The production tasks in the towns and factories under the control of the "Black Iron Group" had been doubled. All the underground hominoids were working overtime day and night. The odds of accidents and even death had been increased by more than fifty percent. The underground hominoids were either similar or had accidents and died without leaving their bodies intact.
On the other hand, Nepenthe had been developing in secret and reaching the bottleneck where it was about to be exposed. If it continued to develop, it would certainly be discovered by the "Black Iron Group".
Instead of waiting to be killed, it was better to attack actively. Even if they had to die for their beliefs, it was still better than dying in the collapse of the tunnels or the explosions of the energy factories!
"That's the background of the upcoming riot. It really has nothing to do with me now."
Long Yangjun said with a bitter smile, "Except for the Serenity Arts and the methods of telepathy that I taught to the underground hominoids at the beginning, I never interfered with the specific operations of Nepenthe, especially after I became the president of the Association of Demon Hunters as' Dongfang Mingyue '. It was even less necessary for me to get involved with the Nepenthe believers who were destined to be annihilated. So, I kept a distance from them voluntarily.
"I really didn't know that they were planning such a big fuss below the ground. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen to return to this place even if it was for recovery and escape.
"It's been more than ten days. With Blackstar the Great's methods and Li Linghai's position in the reformists, they must've controlled the surface of the capital planet and even the entire Empyreal Terminus Sector. Now that the Nepenthe believers are stirring up trouble below the ground, Blackstar the Great will certainly notice it. It means that we will have to find another place to escape!"
Frowning, Li Yao asked, "Since you are the respected 'Serenity Seraph', can't you persuade the Nepenthe believers not to act recklessly?"
Long Yangjun shook her head and said, "Like I said, I never interfered with the specific operations of Nepenthe. All the organizations, plans, and operations are under the control of the 'Grand Guardian' of Nepenthe. The Grand Guardian's position and prestige in the sect are as high as mine!
"After all, I only taught them some techniques at the beginning before I left for years. The Grand Guardian, on the other hand, is the one who expanded Nepenthe ten times more than before.
"Besides, faced with the cruel oppression of the 'Black Iron Group', where countless underground hominoids are killed miserably in the factories and mines every day, what position am I in to stop the Nepenthe believers' resistance?"
Li Yao said solemnly, "But they are destined not to succeed. They are only going to be killed for nothing."
Her lips twitching, Long Yangjun sighed. "Li Yao, oh Li Yao, do you still not understand? Who cares whether or not the White Lotus Cult, the riot of the Heaven Battering Army in the Ancient Sages Sector, the resistance of Starlight in the Imperium of True Human Beings, or the upcoming uprising of Nepenthe? It's just that even dogs know how to bark and bite before they're slaughtered. Humans can't live a life worse than dogs, right? "
Li Yao clenched his fists, with flames of fury beaming out of his eyes. He chewed the name again and again. "The Black Iron Group … Li Minghui … Then, what's the specific purpose of Nepenthe's uprising? Is it to kill Li Minghui?"
"Killing Li Minghui is part of it, but more importantly, it is to occupy one of the central geothermal factories of the Black Iron Group."
Long Yangjun said, "From a primeval relic deep below the ground, Nepenthe has excavated an ancient treasure that can significantly amplify brainwaves and spread them far away through the rocks below the ground.
"If all the Nepenthe believers enter the 'telepathy state' and resonate with each other's brainwaves, it will be very likely that the residents in a thousand towns nearby will be affected. Everybody will forget their pain, anxiety, and sorrow and experience the eternal tranquility of 'extinguishing the desires and keeping the truth' together. It will be possible to expand the scale of Nepenthe by a hundred times instantly.
"Hehe. In such a case, whatever the outcome is, it will at least be a big fuss. Everybody living on the capital planet and even the entire Imperium will know their beliefs. That's what the Grand Guardian and all the Nepenthe believers think.
"However, the functioning of the 'super brainwave magnifier' requires astronomical energy, which can only be supported by the largest geothermal factories under the Black Iron Group. Therefore, they have to occupy the 'Great Iron Plants' first."
"What?"
Li Yao's pupils constricted violently. "Are you suggesting that they are trying to create a hundred times more Nepenthe believers overnight?"
"Yes. I repeat, it's none of my business."
Long Yangjun frowned hard and said in distress, "What can I do if they insist on making such a big move?"
Li Yao narrowed his eyes. "You are worried that the whole thing will get you into trouble, but you don't want to take care of it yourself. So, you are kicking the mess to me?"
"Please don't say that. Like I said a long time ago, I will not keep anything from you."
Long Yangjun's distress turned into a smile. "If I don't tell you the great scheme, will I be any different from Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, and Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan? Besides, I'm truly curious about what you will do. It's certainly easy to destroy the 'super brainwave magnifier' and even kill the Grand Guardian and all the key members of Nepenthe, but are you going to do that? What will happen after you destroy and kill them all? "
Thinking in silence for half a minute, Li Yao asked, "What's the situation of the Black Iron Group? What's Li Minghui's level?"
"Ha. I knew that you were going to play the hero again, but it's impossible this time. Your body can't take it."
Long Yangjun said, "Having dominated the underground world for decades and become a local tyrant who controls a hundred towns, Li Minghui is certainly not a random guy. He is in the beginning level of the Yuanying School of Combat and Management. He also keeps countless ferocious desperadoes under his command, who are known as' Black Iron Sect '. They are the claws and teeth of the Black Iron Group for expansion and competition for territory.
"Things have been changing on the ground recently, and the situation below the ground is very tense, too. Li Minghui, as a coward, has spent a fortune to introduce a 'fully-automatic defense system', mainly consisting of five thousand of the most advanced battle puppets. They are estimated to be three times stronger than the Grand Illusionary Soldiers under Xiao Xuance's command during the riot of the Flying Star Sector!
"If you were still in the Divinity Transformation Stage and had an intact Colossus with abundant ammunition and fuel, those desperadoes and battle puppets wouldn't be a problem at all. But right now, your body is broken, your soul is lackluster, and your Colossus has become a pile of scrap iron. By comprehensive evaluation, can you still carry out the strength of the Yuanying School?
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