Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Yao did not know that so many things had happened to Helian Lie’s daughter or that the stories even had amazing connections with the choices that he had made in the past.

He recalled Ding Lingdang’s speech in the morning again. Most of the content of her speech was naturally modified and polished by someone else, but there was one line that Ding Lingdang insisted on keeping.

“Nobody is an island entirely of itself; the fate of everyone is connected in a wonderful way.”

Shen Wenyin’s eyes were nonchalant at the beginning, but right now, they became soft and warm, like a frozen lake that was being melted by the spring breeze. With happiness glowing on her face, she softly said, “When I saw sunlight illuminating that little hairy head for the first time, I reconciled with my fate.

“I still hate Helian Lie, but I don’t hate anybody else anymore. I don’t hate myself, my mother, or you.

“When I was a teenager, I had a lot of crazy thoughts about how we would meet someday. At that time, I swore that I would spit at you right in the face to show my disdain and resistance for Vulture Li Yao. But right now, I don’t want to do that anymore, especially when I’m faced with such a Li Yao that is utterly different from my imagination.

“There are so many precious things for me to love, cherish, and protect. How could I have the time and energy to continue my hatred?”

Hearing that, Li Yao took a deep breath in great relief. He felt as if a heavy burden in his heart had just been removed.

Shen Wenyin smiled. “President Li, is there anything else? If that is all, we have to leave now. We need to catch the last public carrier home. Thank you for your notification again. This is perhaps the best conclusion for my relationship with Helian Lie.”

Li Yao thought of something and said, “Major Helian Lie died a valiant death perhaps partly in order to protect you. Would you hate him less because of that?”

Shen Wenyin shook her head. “I know him too well. I dare say that at the last moment of his life, he might’ve thought of you, but he certainly did not think of me and my mother.

“I will hate him forever, as vehemently as he hated you.

“However, I remember that when I was a child, whenever he roared crazily like an ignorant animal because of over-training and mental meltdown, he would shout that he would do something extraordinary that would make my mother and me view him in a different way and make the whole federation proud of him.

“At that time, I couldn’t have hated such a loser’s crazy talk more. I trembled in fear and nearly threw up.

“I didn’t expect that he would eventually make it. He has indeed fulfilled his promise and… reversed his fate.

“I still hate him, but I have to admit that I was wrong about him. He was not a loser. At the very least, at the last moment of his life, he was a real hero. I came today to apologize to him. Perhaps, a long, long time ago, when nobody believed in him, as his daughter, I should’ve trusted him more, at least once.”

After saying that, Shen Wenyin bowed to Li Yao deeply again and turned around to walk to her husband and her son.

Thinking for a moment, Li Yao raised his voice and said, “Mrs. Shen, this is my number. I’m told that your son is quite gifted at training. If there is anything that I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to come to me.”

Shen Wenyin paused, but she did not turn around or pick up Li Yao’s number. Waving her hands, she replied, “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m afraid that I’ll have to turn you down. Although neither me nor my son carry the surname of ‘Helian’, the blood of the Helian family does flow in our veins. People of the Helian family will live a good life even without the help of Vulture Li Yao.”

Shen Wenyin and her family supported each other and walked away, disappearing into the hazy drizzles outside of the war museum.

…

At night, on a cross-continent floating airship, most of the passengers were sound asleep.

Shen Wenyin was touching a not-so-clear photo. In the photo, Helian Lie was wearing a tiny, trimmed uniform. Even his face had been modified carefully, and few traces of injury and madness could be found. Right next to him were two females who looked very similar to each other. It was the beginning of their fate. Both the woman and the girl were smiling brilliantly, as if they were frozen in the moment of happiness.

Shen Wenyin stared at the photo in a daze, and her eyes gradually filled with tears.

Right then, her son, who had not fallen asleep yet and was watching a live stream in secret, touched her and said, “Mom, look. It is the uncle who talked to you in the day!”

Shen Wenyin was slightly dazed. She noticed that her son’s crystal processor was playing a late-night show that was quite popular within the federation. It was best known for its straightforward criticism, real-time interaction, and big-shot guests. Not only were the leaders of the top five hundred sects of the federation often invited onto the show, even the Speaker of the Federation had once appeared on the show to demonstrate a different side of the highest leader to all the audience.

At this moment, the guest sitting opposite the witty and smart host with gray hair was Li Yao.

He was wearing a gray robe. He did not have a high, condescending aura, but he was not too casual, either, making everybody feel very relieved as if he were just a common member among them.

When Shen Wenyin watched, the host had already asked a certain question that she did not catch. Li Yao leaned forward and answered genuinely.

“Perhaps people have placed too many impractical fantasies and perfect personalities on me. I am considered a certain brilliant, glorious symbol, a hope that will never be destroyed.

“You asked me just now, what does it feel like to save the day at the most critical moment?

“But that is not the truth. I do not feel anything special because I was not the only one who saved the day at the most critical moment.

“If I had to describe my feelings, I would say that I realized unmistakably once again that a war cannot be won by an individual and that a civilization could not be raised by a single person.

“The ‘Vulture’ Li Yao, the dominator of three Sectors who has become a stereotype in everybody’s head, does not exist. I am a person that is entirely the opposite of the propaganda.

“But the hope, belief, and strength that the dominator of three Sectors represents are real. They are not just inside me but also inside all the soldiers and Cultivators of the federal army as well as everyone who was brave enough to face their destiny for their homeland and family. They are right in the deepest part of the soul of each and every one of you.

“That’s why I was willing to come to this show today and demonstrate the power of such strength.

“A half-hour show is certainly far from enough. So, in the future, the Glorious Sunlight Group will publish a new biography about me, where I will be talking to everyone sincerely about the real Li Yao and the world in his eyes. This is also some sort of advertisement in advance.

“However, instead of my own story, I am more tempted to tell you somebody else’s stories, the legends of the real heroes who fought against the fates that once suppressed them.

“I want to tell you the story of the real Jin Tuyi, who was once an infamous war criminal.

“I want to tell you the story of Boss Bai, who was the Pirate Potentate on Spider Den in the old days.

“I also want to tell you the stories of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the federation such as Major Helian Lie…

“Those stories are not necessarily as staggering and extraordinary as the stories you’ve heard in the past. A lot of gray areas and even black areas may be involved, which can be difficult to accept and will stain the glorious image of the Star Glory Federation.

“But I still want to tell the stories exactly as they happened, because those stories are real.

“I think that the real rise of a country or a civilization consists not in the many victorious battles it has, not the fleets and experts that it boasts, not the worlds that it has vanquished, but in whether its government is confident and brave enough to publicize the whole truth and whether its people are rational enough to accept them.

“Today, after a hundred years, the Star Glory Federation has risen. I have no doubt about that!”

While she was watching, the tears inside Shen Wenyin’s eyes finally flowed out quietly.

The boy immediately noticed that. He put down the crystal processor and shook her arm anxiously. “Mom, what’s the matter? Dad!”

“It’s fine. Don’t wake your dad up. He’s exhausted after the long day.”

Shen Wenyin hushed her son. Touching her son’s big, warm head, she softly said, “Little Hui, do you want to hear your grandfather’s story?”

The boy was slightly dazed. Then he nodded in ecstasy. “Of course, I do! I asked you in the war museum during the day, but you were reluctant to tell me. I want to know more about him!

“Right. Even such a great hero as Vulture Li Yao came to talk to you in the day. Did he come for grandpa, too? Were they good friends?

“I understand it now. Grandpa must have been his old comrade. The two of them once fought side by side to slay evil and defend the federation, didn’t they?”

Shen Wenyin smiled. Leaning back in the chair, she closed her eyes and softly mumbled, “It’s a story from a long, long, long time ago, but it doesn’t matter. Your mother has lots of time to tell you all about him.”

“Okay.”

The vigorous little man crouched on his mother’s legs. He drew a tissue for his mother to wipe her eyes before he solemnly said, “You can stop crying now, Mom. Although grandpa is gone, Dad and I are still here. Whatever happens, my dad and I will certainly be there for you!”

Shen Wenyin felt that her nose was stuffed. She could not help but open her eyes, only to be distracted by the starry reflections on the window, because they were flying past the sky of a metropolis that was ablaze with lights.

“Ah!” The little boy’s eyes widened. “Are we home?”

“Not yet.” Holding her son with both arms, Shen Wenyin smiled from the bottom of her heart. “But it is not far away now. Home… is right ahead of us.”

[End of Volume V: Rise]

[Prelude of Volume VI: Imperium]

Boss Bai: “The Imperium is right ahead of us. The treasures are right ahead of us. The heritages are right ahead of us. Strike, the Big Bai Pirate Gang!”

Li Yao: “I am going to the Imperium. All the secrets are there!”

Long Yangjun: “The Imperium… How interesting.”

Ding Lingdang: “Li Yao, wait for me. I’m going to the Imperium to blow up the head of the emperor!”

Wen Wen, Xiao Ming: “Rain and snow may be in our way, but dad we will find in the Imperium!”

The experts from the federation, the Ancient Sages Sector, the Covenant Alliance, the extraterrestrial devils, and so on: “The Imperium! The Imperium!”

The Imperium of True Human Beings: “[Sweats.] I am feeling a lot of pressure…”

Hi, guys. Welcome to the end of Volume V. Volume V differs from the previous volumes in the detailed descriptions (although not always satisfactory) on universal battles. In the previous volumes, most of the plots are Li Yao’s personal adventures (sometimes with teammates). After the supervillains are dead, the crises will be resolved. But in Volume V, it is impossible for Li Yao to take care of the head-on clash of two major fleets on his own. He has to count on the help of his friends and compatriots. Also, if Forty Millenniums of Cultivation is divided into two parts, Volume V marks the end of the first part, which means that most of the important characters in the previous volumes must have a recurrence. But of course, it is impossible to allow all the important characters to show up again. So, if you are interested in the ending of a particular character that is not described by the author, the author’s suggestion is to use your imagination xD. Anyways, as Li Yao has neatly summarized, the Star Glory Federation has risen. The main stories in the next volume will happen in the Imperium of True Human Beings. More secrets about the Pangu Clan, the Nuwa Clan, the Earth and the extraterrestrial devils are to be revealed. Stay tuned. 🙂