Chapter 654

Chapter 654: The Monster Race’s Family

Year 6122 in the Xia Calendar, Province of Kangxi

Kangxi Province is one of the poorest provinces in Huaxia, located inland with lots of mountains, poor land, and an economy that is nearly a hundred times worse than the Bianhai Province, which is the best in Huaxia.

Kangxi Province’s poverty is very well-known in Huaxia, but in recent years, Kangxi Province has improved a lot because Huaxia Official discovered many precious resources for cultivation in the province, leading to significant economic progress.

Today, the Kangxi Province No.1 Middle School is crowded with people. Not only are all the teachers and students gathered in the playground, but also people from other schools are continuously arriving, making the school very crowded.

"When did Senior Ning Li arrive? I saw some big officials from the province have already arrived."

"Senior Ning Li returned to Kangxi last night, even the provincial officials went to welcome him. He might still be sleeping."

"How is that possible? Senior Ning Li has reached the golden core stage, he no longer needs to eat or drink. I heard that golden core cultivators can go without food, drink, or sleep for ten years and still not die."

"I wish I could become a golden core cultivator. It must be amazing. Just think about Senior Ning Li, when he entered the cultivation academy, he was rewarded with a house. After reaching the Building Foundation stage, he was given a large flat, and after reaching golden core stage, he was rewarded with a villa. Just these houses alone are incredible."

"In the past, entering the cultivation academy would bring such rewards, but now it’s not the same. Even reaching the Building Foundation stage doesn’t bring as many rewards. Ah, we were born too late. If only we were born a few decades earlier."

The students in the audience were discussing enthusiastically about the main character of the day, a man named Ning Li who was a graduate of No.1 Middle School. He was not among the first group of cultivation students in Huaxia, but he managed to catch up rapidly, and now he is known as one of the top ten golden core cultivators in Huaxia.

Huaxia’s top ten golden core cultivators don’t have specific roles, they are part of the Military Department, but each of them has high honor. The Huaxia Official promotes them heavily, making them the most famous cultivators in Huaxia now.

Among the crowd’s discussions, a spacecraft slowly descended from the sky. The blue fluorescent spacecraft immediately caught everyone’s attention. This spacecraft was specially awarded by the Huaxia Official to them, allowing them to move freely in most areas and ignore airspace regulations without worrying about being shot down.

Ning Li stepped out of the spacecraft, countless eyes focused on him. Ning Li wasn’t shy, he was no longer the naive student from a farming background.

Walking to the center, Ning Li declined the microphone handed to him and confidently began his speech. His voice wasn’t loud, but it reached everyone precisely.

The content of the speech wasn’t extraordinary. He talked about his time at a certain school, how he seized opportunities in the early days of cultivation, worked harder than others, and shared some stories of slaying monsters in various places.

He mentioned the unfortunate situations in other countries, where ordinary people became prey to monsters, with incidents of entire cities losing tens of thousands to such creatures. He urged younger students to study hard, cultivate diligently, become scientists or cultivators, or both, in order to protect Huaxia and its people.

After his speech, Ning Li left the school under the gaze of the audience, taking the spacecraft to a mine in Kangxi Province. Speaking at the school was just a side task.

He came to exploit Kangxi Province’s rich mineral resources. He would stay in the southwest of Huaxia, tasked with eradicating monsters and managing the mines there.

"Sir, I have arrived at the Dingxi Spiritual Stone Mine in Kangxi."

After a while, he took out a communicator and a video appeared in front of his eyes, showing the face of Lin Jiang.

"How is the quality of Dingxi Spiritual Stone Mine?"

Lin Jiang explained that Dingxi Spiritual Stone Mine was discovered just last year, and production started only two months ago.

"The quality is very high, and it is an open-pit mine. I checked the information and found that high-quality spirit stones have already been found, and the proportion is not low."

"That’s good. Take good care of Dingxi Spiritual Stone Mine, and I will send someone to help you."

"Yes, sir. Also, there have been some movements from the demon tribe in the southwest. I’m afraid a fourth-grade demonic beast may appear."

"Don’t worry, there won’t be any fourth-grade demonic beasts appearing in Huaxia territory. And if they do appear, they will quickly be dealt with."

"That’s good, sir."

Ning Li discussed some business details and then ended the video call.

Ning Li looked at the distant mountains and couldn’t help but think of his past. He used to be a genius at Kangxi Province No. 1 High School, but when he entered the cultivation academy, he realized that his talent wasn’t as special as he thought. There were people there who were even more talented and hardworking, with better backgrounds than him.

No matter how hard he tried, he could only reach an average level until he faced the challenges of cultivation stages – the first one being Building Foundation and the second one being Core Formation.

Building Foundation went well as he worked hard and received a Building Foundation Pill. However, after that stage, the resource consumption doubled, and the resources provided by the school were simply not enough.

Then, a benefactor appeared and started supporting him, allowing him to keep up with those exceptional geniuses. As he progressed in the Building Foundation stage, he learned the reason behind the benefactor’s support – his family had been working for the benefactor for generations on a farm, giving him this opportunity.

To reach Core Formation, he had to show his loyalty. Ning Li chose without hesitation to be faithful to that benefactor, and in return, he received a valuable treasure for Core Formation, breaking through to become the tenth golden core cultivator in Huaxia.

After becoming a golden core cultivator, he felt quite proud for a while, thinking that those wealthy corporations in Huaxia were not that impressive. Luckily, he didn’t do anything out of line during that time. Later on, he learned some secrets about the benefactor and decided to focus on cultivation instead.

"Being a pawn isn’t bad. Others who want to be pawns aren’t qualified yet."

Up to now, Ning Li often comforts himself by thinking that the benefactor is generous as long as he remains loyal. Others who wish to be pawns of the benefactor aren’t qualified yet.

········

Endless Sea, South

The islands used to be a popular tourist destination, but now humans have mostly disappeared. Except for a few islands still in human hands, the rest have become a paradise for monsters.

"Bang"

On the sea, the water suddenly exploded, and a figure emerged. His hands transformed into monster claws, holding a sea dragon. He landed on an island and threw the sea dragon on the ground.

"What do you say? Convinced, Snake Dragon King?"

"Feng Thirteen, I’m convinced, but you are a member of the Phoenix clan, and I am the ruler of the sea. We are not the same…"

"In humans’ classification, the dragon is an amphibian creature, able to live in water, on land, and in the air."

"I, I, I am a sea snake turned dragon…"

"Well, since you refuse to obey my orders, I’ll have to skin you alive. As a sea snake turned dragon, you still have the bloodline of a dragon. I’ll go to the mainland and find some snake demons. They must be very interested in your essence."

"Don’t, can’t you just listen to me?"

As soon as Snake Dragon King heard this, his face changed drastically and he quickly changed his tune.

"That’s right, we are all one family in the demon clan. Why divide between land and water, right?"

"Yes, yes, Phoenix King, you are right."

Snake Dragon King smiled, being a clever demon and not wanting trouble, he accepted whatever was said.

"Since you agree, I won’t make you sign a master-servant contract, Snake Dragon King. I will pass on to you the secret techniques of the dragon clan. Once you have mastered them, you must quickly reclaim the many miles of demon beasts surrounding your territory."

"The secret techniques of the dragon clan, how could you…"

"Do you want it or not?"

"I want it, I want it."

Snake Dragon King quickly said that he was very surprised. Feng Thirteen, a Demon King from the Phoenix clan, how could he know the secret techniques of the Dragon clan? Aren’t monster beasts inherited through bloodlines? Could it be that the Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan have intermarried?

Feng Thirteen didn’t have time to explain. In the inheritance of the Demon God Temple, there are dozens of different and divine beast inheritances. He only learned up to sixteen of them, not all, but also the Dragon clan’s inheritance.

After teaching the secret techniques, Feng Thirteen advised Snake Dragon King on many things, such as being discreet in his actions, trying not to attack human merchant ships to avoid attracting human retaliation. There are also skilled individuals among the humans hidden, and Snake Dragon King’s initial fourth-level cultivation is not enough to protect himself.

Then Feng Thirteen left, flying very low to avoid being detected by radar from the human side, a skill he learned from them.

"Of the nine Demon Kings of Endless Sea, I have conquered six, don’t let the remaining three go."

Thinking of the information obtained from other Demon Kings, Feng Thirteen recalled that a few years ago, demons from various parts of the world almost simultaneously faced tribulations, attracting human attacks. Those demons who faced tribulations all died at the same time, none survived.

They then became smarter, knowing to lay low and to breakthrough only when there are storms and lightning, so humans couldn’t discover them.

With this tactic, within a few years, nine monster beasts in the Endless Sea successfully faced tribulations, reaching the fourth-level monster beast realm, each dominating their own sea area.

After leaving Zhou Liao’s Yunmeng Nature Reserve, Feng Thirteen came to lay out his plans in the Endless Sea because he found that the monster beasts on the Shen Continent were not only severely attacked but also surrounded and divided. Connecting them would not help. The monster clans in Ying Continent were united, but even if he unified them, it wouldn’t help. What he wanted was the territory of Zhou Liao, their ancestral home.