Chapter 885

Chapter 885: Homecoming in Glory

In the year 8880 of the Blue Star Xia calendar, Blue Star

The five alliance countries officially joined the rule of Huaxia after decades of preparation. The five alliance countries were originally immigrants from the Alliance of Three Countries, sharing the same roots and deep historical ties, so the process of assimilation was not very difficult. The vested interests within them could not change this grand trend.

Today, the grand trend of Blue Star is to move toward the universe and the stars. It is pointless to struggle only within Blue Star. After hundreds of years of cultural education and promotion, this idea has taken deep root in people’s hearts.

After the merger, the population of Blue Star Huaxia exceeded 35 billion, not including the nearly one billion people from continuous immigration over the past few decades.

The populations of Jiang Star and Lingjing Star are also constantly breaking records, and the significant increase in population has resulted in an endless stream of talents.

In recent years, Lin Jiang and high-ranking officials like Cao Ying have been actively promoting the education of cultivation, continuously tackling internal issues and discovering more and more talents. The number of Tao Achieving cultivators in Huaxia has once again surpassed seventy.

Huaxia, Haigang City

In Lin Jiang’s villa, a large round table was filled with people. The staff brought out one lavish dish after another, but everyone’s faces did not look good. Even in front of delicious food, it seemed they had no appetite.

"Cao Ying, Little Oriole, say something to lighten the mood."

Lin Jiang said to Cao Ying and Lin Ying. Among those present, Lin Jiang, Cao Ying, and Lin Ying were from the same era and were quite close in age. The others, although they also came from the era of cultivation, were several generations younger and thousands of years apart in age.

"Let me speak. I know everyone is feeling down. I was going to say something cheerful, but as cultivators, if we can’t see through this, then we might as well give up on cultivation."

"In the age of cultivation, Five Elements Sect, Zhonghang Sect, Wangxian Sect, Four Sages Sect, and the Lin family together had over ten thousand awakened cultivators waiting for spiritual energy recovery, but only one hundred seventy woke up."

It has been two thousand seven hundred years since spiritual energy recovery began. During these two thousand years, some died on the battlefield against the demon race, some died in the starry sky, and some passed away in Huaxia.

"Only the twenty-seven of us are still alive today. It hasn’t been easy, very hard indeed, but we must also…"

Cao Ying stood up to summarize. Tonight, there were only twenty-seven people, and some had come as projections because they were needed to guard their locations.

Among the survivors, there were very few pure fighters. Most were technical personnel dealing with Pills, Talismans, Items, and Formations, such as Cao Wang, Zhu Bin, and Lin Huafei. There were also managers like Qiu Weidao and Ye Chen, who was stationed in Jiang Star. Then there were Lin Ying, Big Shadiao, and Small Shadiao, who were well protected by Lin Jiang. They did not participate in the hardest battles, which is why they survived; otherwise, they would have died long ago.

Lin Jiang and Cao Ying faced many dangerous battles, and surviving was mostly luck; those wars were very cruel.

"Let’s raise a toast, my brothers!"

Lin Huafei lifted his glass and said to Lin Jiang, feeling very emotional. The Lin family used to have many members, but now there are hardly any left, and it is thanks to Lin Jiang’s care for them.

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses and drank the fine wine.

"Everyone, I didn’t gather you here to be sad. Surviving is our greatest victory. You will live many more years, and there is a good chance you will achieve great things. Remember my words today…"

Lin Jiang added another statement, and everyone felt a stir in their hearts. Lin Jiang’s words were very clear; they all understood what he meant.

Lin Jiang is a person who values old friendships deeply. They are all old brothers of Lin Jiang, and now only a few remain. The feelings are different now. They can foresee that Lin Jiang won’t easily send them to battle again, and he will definitely hold a high position, someone who controls many aspects of Huaxia.

This way, better days are coming for them; they won’t have to fight on the battlefield anymore.

········

"Lin Huafei and the others have all changed positions. Most people are now in the spotlight, while your few apprentices are still hidden in the background. What do you think of this arrangement?"

Less than a month after the gathering, Cao Ying showed Lin Jiang a list of personnel changes. Before, Lin Huafei and the others didn’t have very public identities, but now they are all open and clearly control the economic lifeblood of Huaxia, holding very important positions.

"This is good. Ye Chen and the others can be semi-public. We should support the old brothers, but also keep them in check. They can have wealth and honor, but not too much."

"Okay, got it. If we bring up the younger generation, things will be stable, right?"

Cao Ying said, already knowing Lin Jiang’s thoughts. In the end, it still revolves around their few families’ powers, firmly controlling all of Huaxia.

"Yes, the talents from each family cannot compare to the hundreds of billions of people in Huaxia. I want to give chances to those talented commoners while ensuring our own position. It’s hard to find that balance; it puts me in a tough spot."

"Actually, it doesn’t have to be so difficult. With over twenty people belonging to five major powers, only you at the center can unite them all. Liang Long has the chance to challenge your position, but he is all alone and won’t succeed."

"Liang Long is a smart person; he never forms cliques for personal gain, which is why I can accept him. Alright, let’s not talk about that. You should keep being the principal of the academy and promote more talented people. In these years, there has been a surge of geniuses, and we can’t let that go to waste. We still have too few experts."

Lin Jiang said, and Cao Ying nodded. After seeing the strong fighters from Canglan Star, she felt that Blue Star had too few experts — only a little over seventy was nothing compared to the hundreds in the Transmigration Stage.

After discussing with Cao Ying, she continued to be the head of the training academy. She would personally select talented people, and only by being deeply involved could she understand where the education system had problems.

Lin Jiang was serious about the importance of the education system. Once he discovered an issue, he would fix it immediately, and no one could change his mind. This was one of the main reasons why so many geniuses had emerged in Huaxia over the years.

Busy and bustling, time flew by quickly. One day, Xia Qingshan appeared before Lin Jiang once again.

"It seems that your battles have made you much stronger."

"Yes, it’s thanks to you."

Xia Qingshan answered directly. In the recent battles, the number of masters from the Buddhist side who died or were injured exceeded a thousand. Adding in those from Blue Star and the Heavenly Court, the total was about fifteen or sixteen hundred. Although he only gathered part of the essence, his strength had still grown a lot.

"So, what brings you here today?"

"I want to return home in glory."

"Back to your hometown?"

"Yes, returning rich and successful is like wearing fancy clothes in the dark. I escaped back then, and now I want to go back in glory."

"Xia Qingshan, we are old friends, why pretend? Isn’t it true that the fairy in your hometown is also an independent cultivator, not part of the Heavenly Court? You want to get there first, right?"

Lin Jiang rolled his eyes; did he need to hide such a small thought? He saw right through it.

Xia Qingshan was not angry and said, "That’s true. A planet occupied by an independent cultivator is like a piece of delicious meat. If I don’t take it, someone else will. Don’t you agree?"

"The logic is correct, but have you thought about it? Blue Star just regained some strength and is fighting an interstellar war. We can’t handle it."

"This battle won’t be hard. According to my memory, in my hometown, there are no more than ten at the Transmigration Stage and no more than fifty at the Tao Achieving Stage. They don’t even know about the fairy’s existence. The fairy deliberately makes them fight among themselves, constantly reaping the rewards. So with our current strength, defeating them will be easy."

"We’re worn out; everyone is tired. Think about how many people have died…"

"Once the plan succeeds, I can help Cao Ying and the others overcome their tribulations, and I will provide the strongest support. Then Cao Ying and the others can go to the Heavenly Court and become immortals, living for hundreds of thousands of years, just like eternal life. You can also become an immortal. You can break free from my control and live freely. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? I can help you. What do you think?"

"Do you think I can trust you?"

"Why can’t you trust me? I am now part of the Heavenly Court. The situation in the Heavenly Court is complicated, and I need help to gather information there. I remember telling you this, why don’t you trust me?"

"I trust you now. I will take care of this."

Lin Jiang suddenly smiled, shining brightly. You are coming home in glory, right? I will make it happen for you.