Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“L.. understand. I will think about it carefully and figure out the answer in the deepest part of my heart before I ask for Grandpa’s support!”

Meng Xiaolang couldn’t help but say, “However, wow. Grandpa, you don’t know this, but when you said those words just now, your entire body was shining. It’s needless to say how handsome you are. Your grandson really admires you more and more. It’s like this is the first day he’s met you. He’s getting

more and more curious about you.”

“Since you are so close to ‘Vulture Li Yao’, I would very much like to know whether or not you have ever thought of living a life like Li Yao’s. Or, let’s put it this way. Let’s say that an omnipotent god gives you a chance to exchange your life with Li Yao’s. Will you trade?”

His grandson’s question put Meng Jiang in deep thought.

The depths of the old man’s eyes were dirty at first, before starry brilliance appeared in them. In the end, the starry brilliance condensed into a stream and gradually turned clear again.

“did. Of course I did. Who wouldn’t want to have a life as thrilling as Li Yao’s when they were young and frivolous? Besides, the fact that they were once in the same class as Li Yao easily gave people the illusion that Li Yao was merely lucky. If it were them, they would be just like him.”

Meng Jiang said, “However, as I grew older, I accumulated my life over the long years. After having countless beautiful memories, my thoughts gradually faded away.

“Think about it carefully. If I could exchange my life with Li Yao and possess his remarkable abilities, I would certainly be able to live an even more soul-stirring and dazzling life. But if that was the case, it would be impossible for me to meet your grandma, and it would be impossible for me to give birth

to your aunt and your father. Although your father makes people angry all day long, he was still very cute when he was a child. He was like a lump of soft jelly, rubbing against me all day long. Hahahaha. This dog.”

“Right. If so, I won’t be there, either!

Meng Xiaolang exclaimed, “If grandpa had become a powerful Cultivator, he wouldn’t have met grandma and fallen in love with her. There wouldn’t have been a father, nor would there have been me!”

“Yes. If that were the case, you and your sister wouldn’t have existed. The good and the bad days of the past hundred years would’ve been gone. The ‘Meng Jiang’ right now was dead. Gone. No. He never existed.

Staring at himself in the wine, Meng Jiang was silent for a long time, as if he had returned to a beautiful place in the distant past.

Acharming smile appeared on his face one moment, and a warm happiness the next. Even his eyes were glittering. He mumbled, “So, exchanging my life for Li Yao’s life with everything I have right now, and even becoming a legend of the federation? The price I have to pay is too high.”

“Grandpa…”

Meng Xiaolang felt that his nose was sour, as if he was brought back to his childhood when he buried himself in his grandfather’s arms like a jelly.

“No.”

‘Meng Jiang said in a low voice. He finished the wine in his cup in one gulp. There was a clicking sound in the depths of his throat. Every pore on his body was emitting a red glow. He shook his head and said, “No, no!”

“Grandpa?”

Meng Xiaolang pulled Meng Jiang’s sleeve.

“Don’t pull me. If I say I won’t trade, then I won’t trade. Let alone one Li Yao, I won’t trade even if a hundred Li Yao’s lives are traded.”

Meng Jiang was a bit drunk. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You want to trade for such a beautiful life and such a beautiful wife… Dream on!”

“No, Grandpa. I meant—”

Meng Xiaolang said, “Grandma is back. I was talking to you and forgot to watch the door. Look, look at the window.”

“Pa Da!”

Meng Jiang was not paying attention and fell off his rickety chair. The cold sand and frozen bamboo shoots as well as the wine that had hit the foam can were all over the floor. The small salon was immediately filled with the strong smell of alcohol and heat.

Meng Xiaolang and his grandparents had dinner together. After much persuasion, Meng Jiang was finally persuaded to go back and meet his son. Of course, the ‘doggie’ had to be invited to the dinner party.

Seeing that his grandfather was supporting him to go to the battlefield in the center of the sea of stars and that his relationship with his father could be repaired, Meng Xiaolang was greatly relieved. He bid farewell to his grandfather and went home to tell his father the good news.

“Wait. Don’t leave just yet. Help me check first.”

Meng Jiang, on the other hand, brought up a very complicated interface from his portable crystal processor. A delicate invitation card appeared on the 3D hologram. “This was given to me by your sister. Can you help me take a look? What is she doing right now?”

Meng Xiaolang had a sister named ‘Meng Lichuan’, who was much smarter and more promising than him. He was still a graduate of the Federation’s military school and had not been granted an official military rank yet. His sister was only seven years older than him, but she was already a famous ‘super

player’ and a professional player in the ‘Civilization’ game. It was the most popular, coolest, and trendy profession among the young people of the Federation. She was the idol of the entire nation!

“It’s sister’s battle live stream invitation code! Heavens, it’s actually the latest professional expansion pack of ‘Civilization’, the ‘Glorious Expedition”

Meng Xiaolang jumped to his feet as soon as he saw it. “T-t-t-this is the summit confrontation that has shaken the entire federation over the past few days. Two top professional teams of the ‘Civilization’ game, ‘Team Moon Fiend versus ‘Team Blood Shadow’. The outcome is very likely to affect the public

opinion of the entire society, and even the policy direction of the authorities. I didn’t expect that Sister would be promoted from “Team Moon Fiend’s Second Team’ to Team One so quickly and even be able to participate in such a once-in-a-century super competition. Impressive!”

“Grandpa, you are really… Do you know how rare the invitation code of this competition is outside? Ordinary people can’t get it even if they have money, okay? You have such a good thing, but you only took it out now. This… This competition has already started for an entire day and night. Aiya, aya!”

Meng Xiaolang was hopping mad.

He had been participating in the fully-enclosed matches in the military school, including the selection of the most confidential ‘Kunlun Fleet’. Naturally, he could not communicate with the outside world.

After the results of the selection of the ‘Kunlun Fleet’ were out, he finally got three days of vacation and rushed home without asking about his sister.

He had learned the news of the so-called “best confrontation that would determine the future of the federation” on the train. He also knew that Team Moon Fiend, which his sister belonged to, was one of the participants. But at that time, he had thought that his sister was just a member of Team Two and

was not qualified to participate.

He did not expect that his sister would be able to get the invitation code for the live stream. It meant that not only had she advanced to the first team, she was also the main force and even the core of the first team. She was truly awesome!

“Treally don’t understand. Why are you young people so excited? Have you gone mad after seeing the game?”

Meng Jiang frowned and said, “Don’t get me wrong. Your grandfather is not an old fogey who doesn’t know anything. When your grandfather was young, crystal processor games were already popular. Online matches were nothing unusual, including professional games and professional matches.

“Tjust don’t understand. A game is just a game. No matter how realistic it is, it is just a game. How come over the years, the games on the Spiritual Nexus have become more and more popular and can even stir public opinion and even interfere with the policies of the authorities? Your sister is a ‘super

player’. She is also known as the ‘crownless king’. She is even more awesome than the representatives of the parliament. What kind of name is that?”

“Grandpa, this is where you don’t understand. The current game has long gone out of the category of a simple game. Instead, it is a virtual world formed by collecting the big data of the entire society. The degree of professionalism of the various expansion packs is different. Of course, the vast majority of

the expansion packs are for ordinary players to enjoy and relax their body and mind. However, there is also a small portion of specialized expansion packs that employ 100% true data. It is equivalent to the military’s very serious military chess deduction. It is even higher than the military’s deduction.”

Meng Xiaolang explained, “As for ‘super players’ such as my sister, they are analyzing the real data with their wisdom and computational ability and inferring the situation of the war and the future so that the authorities can make policy choices and predictions.

“Super Player’ is just a name. It is very different from the gamers of your era, Grandpa. Every super team today has the shadow of the military, the major sects, and even the intelligence agencies behind them. For example, ‘Team Moon Fiend’, which my sister joined, is a professional team funded by the

Dark Moon Foundation. If you want to join Team Moon Fiend, not only will you have to go through ten times more rigorous tests and filtering than the military, you will also have to sign confidentiality agreements and accept strict management.

“Let’s put it this way. You can consider your sister to be a hybrid of the new generation of data analysts and intelligence personnel, but one that can be displayed in the sunlight.

“Of course, such matches between super teams are not for entertainment, but to predict the future.

“Let’s say that ‘Glorious Expedition’, the latest expansion pack of the ‘Civilization’ game that my sister is fighting in, was authorized by the Dark Moon Foundation and the authorities to send back detailed real data about the Imperium of True Human Beings in order to infer the changes of the federal army

in the center of the universe. Since the military hasn’t imported the latest data yet, it is not hard to imagine how confidential it is.

“Therefore, only super teams with backgrounds such as ‘Team Moon Fiend’ can get in touch with this expansion pack. Not to mention playing with it, even watching the live stream of the match has been edited and hidden. A lot of key data has been hidden, and only the general picture can be seen.

“The invitation code that my sister gave me allows me to see more details and data than the public Spiritual Nexus. It is definitely a priceless treasure!

“Hehe…”

Meng Jiang blushed and mumbled in a low voice, “At the end of the day, it’s just a game.. What’s the big deal? Tell me, how can the ‘crownless king’ change the direction of public opinion and even interfere with the strategical decisions of the authorities?”