Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Therefore, the leadership of the federation did not conceal the progress of the civil war of the Imperium of True Human Beings.

The story of ‘Federation Myth, Vulture Li Yao’, suppressing Black Star Emperor, the founding ancestor of the Immortal Cultivators, Wu Yingqi, turning the tide, and carrying the revolutionary flag on his shoulder had been spread by the propaganda machine.

Since the situation was good, it was only reasonable that they sent reinforcements to support Li Yao. It was hard to say what would happen in other places, but at least in this place—Li Yao’s hometown, Floating Spear City—the people had been excited for a long time, and the popular sentiment could be

used now.

Meng Xiaolang glanced around casually. The feverish atmosphere and the heatwave that supported the expedition were everywhere.

When they passed by a street, they were met by a rally of veterans. The sounds of drums and drums filled the sky, and firecrackers were ringing. They passed by an alley, where some young high school students were talking to each other. On the glass walls of the skyscrapers, nine out of ten commercials

were about Li Yao’s miracle in the center of the sea of stars. The details of the battle between Li Yao and Wu Yingqi were not transmitted back from the center of the sea of stars, which gave the merchants and the media unlimited room for imagination. Everybody was racking their brains to infer how Li

Yao defeated Wu Yingqi. After repeated exaggeration, the battle had basically been upgraded to the battle between the Supreme Emperor and the Blood God ten thousand years ago.

Looking at the 3D light beams where the image of ‘Federation’s God of War, Federation’s Father, and Federation’s Miracle’ was condensed, Meng Xiaolang smiled, as if he were hiding a secret that only he knew.

“Brother, big brother!”

A few middle-school students noticed him, but they could not tell the difference between him and a serviceman. They crowded around him and asked in a friendly tone, “Are we going to march into the center of the sea of stars? We are going to win, aren’t we? We are going to beat the crap out of the big

bad guys of the imperium, just like we did to the Black Wind Fleet!”

Meng Xiaolang naturally knew that, even if the federation went on an expedition, it was not necessarily to fight against the ‘big bad guys of the imperium’. It was also possible that they would form an alliance with the ‘big bad guys of the imperium to fight against the ‘big bad guys of the imperial election’

and the ‘big bad guys of the Sanctuary Alliance’!

However, even his friends in the military school might not be able to explain the complicated political problems, let alone the hot-blooded kids!

Meng Xiaolang could only nod his head. He waved his fists and said confidently, “Of course. The federal army is invincible!”

It was also what Meng Xiaolang and most of his fellow students were thinking.

The Black Wind Fleet was already one of the toughest fleets of the Imperium of True Human Beings, but it had been wrecked by the federation.

Although there were more formidable enemies than the Black Wind Fleet, the federation today had made great progress compared with a few years ago, especially the Kunlun Fleet.

‘When he thought of ‘Kunlum Fleet’, Meng Xiaolang felt that his eyes and heart were burning.

Getting rid of the middle-school students, he sped up and turned into an old residential area.

The gray residential area was out of place for the splendid skyscrapers nearby. There had been plans to renovate or even rebuild the place, but most of the residents here were disabled veterans who had been living in the neighborhood for decades and were not willing to move away.

Ina corner of the old residential area, an inconspicuous barbershop was hidden. There was no sign, only half of the door. A three-colored light that had stopped rotating for a long time was hanging on the door. Beside the barbershop, two crooked lines of words were written: “Shaving Head 20, veteran

half price.”

It was an old-fashioned salon that could almost be called a hair salon.

Not to mention nowadays, all kinds of colorful, fancy “beauty centers” and “appearance-designing clubs” could be found everywhere. One could even change their face after having their hair cut. Even in the federation a century or two ago, it was rare to find such… rustic hairdressers.

The store seemed to have been sealed in the amber of time and transmigrated from a thousand years ago. It was full of vintage and stubbornness.

The customers who frequented the shop were the residents of the old residential area, the disabled veterans.

For some reason, the decoration and the craftsmanship of the owner of the small shop were very suitable for the taste of the veterans. The veterans all said that not only was the price reasonable, but the master’s skills were also extraordinary. There were also many unique skills such as ‘phoenix picking

ears’ that had been lost for hundreds of years. Other than this place, it was impossible to find it anywhere else. Even Floating Spear City’s largest ‘wave image design center’ could not be found.

Some people even claimed that the owner of the ‘Tidal Image Design Center’ was willing to pay a high salary to hire a master to manage the place. He even waited at the gate for three days and three nights, only to be ignored by the master. There was no other explanation for his arrogance!

Just like that, word spread like wildfire. The hair-shaving shop without a name became a place that many veterans of Floating Spear City visited every few days. Not just the residents nearby, even the veterans living in the new development zone liked to come to this place without any trouble. Even if they

didn’t need to cut their hair, just pluck their ears, massage their heads, and talk to their brothers, they would still feel happy.

Meng Xiaolang walked to the entrance of the nameless salon. He stood on his tiptoes and looked inside through the window. Fortunately, there were not many people today. There was only one customer lying on a barber chair, comfortably enjoying the ear-picking skills of the owner, who was also the

only master of the salon.

As for the barber, he was not very tall. His hair was white, indicating that he was quite old. But there were not many wrinkles on his face, and he was extremely focused. His eyes that looked like those of a falcon reminded Meng Xiaolang of the snipers in military schools. His hands were so still that he

would not hesitate to pick up a scalpel. If he were wearing a white coat instead of a white one, he would look exactly like a surgeon!

‘The barber who looked like a surgeon was Meng Jiang, Meng Xiaolang’s grandfather.

Meng Xiaolang had been closest to his grandfather since he was a child. He loved watching his grandfather play with the shaver the most. When he was not even able to talk, he would often stare blankly at his grandfather’s white blade flying and dancing above the customer’s head. One look and he could

watch it for an entire day.

Meng Xiaolang often boasted to the students of the military school that he had learned his marvelous saber skills from his grandfather when he was little.

“Grandpa!”

Meng Xiaolang knew that his grandfather hated to be disturbed when he was working. His grandfather often said that he was like a painter who had picked up a paintbrush when he picked up a razor and that he had to finish it in one go. Therefore, he leaned against the window and waited patiently until

the customer left in satisfaction. Then he threw off his military backpack and jumped into his grandfather’s arms.

“Little Lang, why are you back?”

Meng Jiang beamed with joy. He pinched his grandson and looked at him again and again. “You’re taller, darker, and stronger. Good, good, good. However, it’s not the new year or the holiday. Why did you come back? Were you kicked out of the military school?”

“What is it?”

Meng Xiaolang sniffed. He didn’t know when he had stolen the shaver from Meng Jiang’s hand, but he played with it beautifully and let the shaver flow between his fingers like mercury. “Even if you don’t believe me, you must believe in your excellent genes, okay? It’s not an exaggeration to say that your

grandson is the only one who can pick the fleets. Why would anyone kick me out? I took leave in broad daylight and came to Grandpa as soon as | got off the train!”

“Yes. Sneaky. Something’s wrong.”

Meng Jiang’s smile grew even more intense. “What’s wrong? You haven’t even met your parents, and you want to meet your grandfather first?”

“Of course. Grandpa is the eternal idol in my grandson’s heart. How can I not come and see you first? Come, Grandpa, try it. This is a can of ‘Sand Bamboo Shoots Frozen’ that our dormitory’s second strongest student brought back from the Crystal Sector. It is said to be a specialty of the Crystal Sector’s

desert and is the most fresh and tender. I fought with these few animals until my nose was swollen and my face was swollen. Only then was I able to snatch back a can. I didn’t even leave it for my father, so I’m giving it to you!”

‘Meng Xiaolang held the can with both hands and paused for a moment. He observed Li Yao’s expression and said cautiously, “Well, besides, I was thinking of going home with you to see my parents

In the beginning, Meng Jiang was still beaming with joy as he enjoyed his grandson’s filial respect. But when he heard his grandson mention his son, his old face suddenly sank. The age spots on his face condensed like dark clouds as he said, “Why did you bring him up all of a sudden? This soul-stirring

thing is all about money. Last time I came here, he was already beaten out. You want me to meet him? In your dreams!”

“Hey—”

Meng Xiaolang was dumbfounded, but since he had already spoken, he could only force himself to continue. “Don’t—don’t be angry, Grandpa. How did my father offend you?”

“And what about it?”

Meng Jiang angrily said, “Isn’t the crap he’s done enough? You say, come come come. You say. You be the judge. I entrusted the entire ‘Tidal Image Design Center’ that I’d painstakingly worked on for my entire life to him. I thought with all my heart that he would be able to bring my life’s work to greater

heights. In the end, this bastard did what he had to do. He dismissed all my old friends who had been fighting under the heavens with me for my entire life. He came up with an ‘automatic’ design. When the guests came, he would lock them in the so-called ‘Model Cabin’ that he had been fiddling with. Pa!

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! He’s done whatever he wanted in the blink of an eye. The entire process was controlled by a crystal processor. Over a hundred spirit prosthetics were completed. There was simply no need to do anything manually.

“It doesn’t need to be man-made. Listen to it. This is the specialty of our ‘Tidal Image Design Center’. Does such a design have a soul? Does it have a life? Does it have a ‘belief? With just this, he dares to double the price? Isn’t he just digging into money? What is this?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Meng Xiaolang had no choice but to nod. “I think so, too. Well, what my father is doing right now has no soul, no life, and no… belief. It’s all about money.”

“There’s something even more outrageous. That so-called ‘A Hundred Changes Paper’ as long as you stick it to your forehead and connect it to your portable crystal processor, you can change your appearance with a single thought. Your hair can change into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue, and

purple at your will, but it’s not real. It’s just a 3D phantom. It’s just an illusion! I hated this kind of thing the most back in the day. Your father never refused it, either. He became their… ‘strategic partner’ and promoted it in all the stores under the name of ‘Tide Flag’.”

Meng Jiang slapped his thigh: “Isn’t this deceiving the consumers!?”