Succession

"Grand Chief, what you said just now was way too convoluted. You claim he isn't from my path, yet you say he's my disciple—I honestly can't make heads or tails of that. I created electric cultivation myself, and all my disciples are Electric Cultivators. What other tricks could I possibly pull?" Yuan Miaoping looked at Li Banfeng with an innocent expression, as if his line of reasoning suffered from glaring logical flaws. Li Banfeng didn't think there were any flaws at all. "Are all your disciples Electric Cultivators? None of them are Disease Cultivators?" Yuan Miaoping denied it vehemently. "Where would I get Disease Cultivator disciples? I'm from the Outer States. Before coming to Puluo Province, I didn't even know what disease cultivation was! I'd never even heard of its founder, Lühuazi!" Jiu'er caught on to something and quickly stepped in to back Li Banfeng up. "Miss Yuan makes a good point. People who have never been to Puluo Province have rarely heard the name Lühuazi. And since you have heard of him, this must not be your first time in Puluo Province." "Yes, it's not my first—" Yuan Miaoping caught herself, then turned her eyes to Jiu'er. "Sister Jiu'er, back when General Hong bullied you, didn't I help you out plenty of times? Framing me at a time like this hardly seems appropriate, does it?" Jiu'er feigned grievance. "Miss Yuan, I was speaking in your favor. Back when you founded electric cultivation, if it had been your first time in Puluo Province, you certainly wouldn't have known Lühuazi." "I really didn't know him!" Yuan Miaoping tossed her bangs. "Even after I heard his name later on, I never met the man in person! What I pursue is modern art and individuality. I've never had anything to do with that begging tramp!" Li Banfeng nodded. "You didn't need to cross paths with Lühuazi. You only needed to cross paths with the previous Disease Cultivator." Yuan Miaoping furrowed her brows. "Grand Chief, how can you be so certain I'm a Disease Cultivator?" "A guess," Li Banfeng replied. "Back at Wuyouping, I found it strange. Jiu'er and my wife poured immense effort into making extensive preparations in advance just to pin down one wing of the enemy forces. Yet you, taking Ah Ji along without much preparation at all, managed to pin down the enemy just as easily. That struck me as odd." Yuan Miaoping smiled. "What's so strange about that? That's the art of vision!" With that, Yuan Miaoping glanced at Projector and pointedly winked. Projector voiced its agreement. "The allure of visual art is limitless. I thoroughly enjoy researching art with Miss Yuan—" *Thump!* Fifth Miss punched Projector. "Whose side are you on? Do you even know what we're discussing here? Can't you see our master has serious business to handle? Go squat in the corner and reflect on yourself!" Projector genuinely hadn't realized what Li Banfeng was getting at, while Yuan Miaoping felt deeply wronged. "Grand Chief, there's a misunderstanding here. In fact, that day we were forced into a tight spot; seeing that you were in trouble, we put our lives on the line in that battle against the enemy. If you think I did wrong, then I won't lift a finger in future battles." Li Banfeng shook his head. "I never thought you did wrong. You weren't wrong about the battle, nor were you wrong about Critic." "Critic? Did I do something to him?" Yuan Miaoping chewed on her finger, pondering for a long time. "I heard that foreigner is quite impressive, but I don't think I know him!" Li Banfeng nodded slightly. "It doesn't matter if you don't know him. Are the radio stations in Inner Amikan still operating?" "There are radio stations in Inner Amikan?" Yuan Miaoping said, dumbfounded. "There's actually such a thing?" Fifth Miss gave a cold sneer. "Girl, being stubborn right now is your mistake. The situation in Inner Amikan is similar to Puluo Province—radio signals all depend on electric cultivation techniques to transmit. Those stations were definitely founded by Electric Cultivators. And if an Electric Cultivator wanted to start a radio station, they would definitely need your approval. For you to say you don't even know about radio stations in Amikan is getting a bit ridiculous." Yuan Miaoping shook her head. "How could there be Electric Cultivators in Inner Amikan? My guess is they used some kind of witchcraft to produce an effect similar to electric cultivation." Fifth Miss squatted before Yuan Miaoping. "I've seen the witchcraft of Inner Amikan, but I've never seen witchcraft that mimics electric cultivation techniques." Yuan Miaoping sneered. "That's just your lack of experience. Do you even know how many kinds of witchcraft exist in Inner Amikan?" Fifth Miss didn't back down in the slightest. "There are over one thousand one hundred types of witchcraft in Inner Amikan. I lived in Inner Amikan for a long time, and I've seen all of them!" Heavenly Maiden looked at Fifth Miss in surprise. "You went to Inner Amikan too?" Fifth Miss rolled her eyes at Heavenly Maiden. "Not everyone is like you—loving to stay home all day and forcing everyone else to stay home with you. Yuan Miaoping, mark my words today: if there are radio stations in Inner Amikan, you were definitely the one who built them!" Yuan Miaoping glared at Fifth Miss and spat her bubblegum to the side. "Lai Wuju, are you deliberately trying to pick a fight with me today?" Fifth Miss nodded. "That's right. I've wanted to pick a fight with you for a long time! Back then, if you hadn't come up with that idea, Heavenly Maiden wouldn't have taken the last bit of my flesh and blood to make a fake Red Lotus!" Yuan Miaoping frowned. "You didn't get the short end of the stick on that, did you? If the fake Red Lotus hadn't gone out, how would your soul have gotten out?" Dropping her usual gentle demeanor, Fifth Miss reached out and grabbed Yuan Miaoping's antenna. "Once my soul got out, I was captured by the peddler! You two planned that all along!" A surge of electric current pulsed through the antenna, forcing Fifth Miss to let go. Yuan Miaoping sneered, "Who is the peddler? Why would he dance to my tune? You're just useless yourself! The moment you stepped outside, you walked right into the peddler's hands—how can you blame me for that?" Tang Dao jumped into the middle and shouted to the crowd, "We're all one family! Don't damage our harmony! As the saying goes, a lamp won't shine without trimming the wick, and truth won't show without debate! For my sake, everyone, no matter how many years of old scores have piled up, let's lay them all out today and settle them properly! Don't keep them bottled up and let yourselves suffer grievances!" Jiu'er praised, "Ah Dao makes sense! Speak your minds, and we'll listen closely!" Bloodstained Pendulum brought over candied fruit, preserves, melon seeds, and pastries. Wine Gourd and Old Teapot filled the cups with wine and tea. The whole family watched Yuan Miaoping and Fifth Miss. Fifth Miss had a ferocious expression, while Yuan Miaoping was filled with resentment. "Grand Chief, why is everyone targeting me? What did I actually do wrong?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just want to know: are you a Disease Cultivator disciple or not?" Fifth Miss said, "I suspect she is. I've seen her methods for siphoning people's vitality. Stone statues often appear on television, and indeed no one inquires into where those statues come from. When people see the statues, they naturally feel a measure of awe—but some of that awe is clearly excessive. I once saw people shouting and howling hysterically before the television screen. It wasn't just one person shouting, but a whole crowd shouting together. And once it was over, they forgot why they had shouted, and even forgot what they had seen. Their condition at that time was clearly an infection of some kind of disease!" Yuan Miaoping popped another piece of bubblegum into her mouth. "Sister, are you behind the times? Have you ever watched a ball game? Tons of people yell at the screen. Do you think they're all sick?" Fifth Miss shook her head. "It wasn't just ball games. There were plenty of other programs where they shouted when they shouldn't have. And during that battle at Wuyouping, among more than ten thousand Totem troops, how many Peeping Cultivators were there? Even if Illusory Inconstancy showed up, he might not have fooled them. Why did your illusions work so well? Back then, they were clearly infected with some visually transmitted disease." Visually transmitted diseases were one of the major research subjects Critic had studied, as well as one of his hallmark achievements. It seemed this subject was indeed connected to Yuan Miaoping. Yuan Miaoping's tears were on the verge of falling. "Grand Chief, you hear her—she's bringing this up again! I performed great service. Did I really do something wrong back then?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I never said you did wrong. In fact, I still owe you a reward for that, a very large one. What I'm about to say comes from my own deductions. If I've guessed wrong, you can ignore me. If I've guessed right, please tell me the truth." Yuan Miaoping pouted. "Grand Chief, say whatever you wish. I believe you won't wrong me." Li Banfeng said, "You are the sole successor of the Disease Cultivators, aren't you?" Yuan Miaoping said nothing. Li Banfeng continued, "You aren't from the Outer States at all. While you were cultivating disease cultivation in Puluo Province, your physical body was eaten by your disciple. That is the Disease Cultivators' tradition. Your soul survived and was transferred into this television set through some method. In the days that followed, you created the cultivation path of electric cultivation and propagated it beyond Puluo Province. Am I right?" Yuan Miaoping looked left and right, still silent. There were things she didn't want to say in public. "Old Master!" Li Banfeng called to the companion dwelling. "Give us another place to talk." Li Banfeng and Yuan Miaoping vanished instantly. This threw Tang Dao into a frenzy. "Old Master! We were just adjudicating family matters! If you don't let us hear the ins and outs, how can our judgment be fair? How can the household stay harmonious in the future?" Fifth Miss agreed, "Exactly. Only when things are explained clearly can the family be at peace. Old Master, if it's inconvenient for you to show yourself, just tell me which room they're in. I'll go open a window for them." Projector flashed its lens. "Opening a window is entirely necessary! A lone man and a lone woman in the same room without supervision—it's inevitable that some very artistic actions will occur! Such actions ought to be documented!" Tang Dao led Fifth Miss and Projector on a search room by room. Just as they reached Room Seven, a bookcase toppled over, crashing squarely onto Projector and Tang Dao. Seeing this, Fifth Miss immediately pressed herself flat against the wall, not daring to utter a peep. Glove sneered, "Did you really think the Old Master couldn't stop you? A bunch of reckless fools—you just haven't been beaten enough!" In Room Twenty-Eight, Yuan Miaoping looked at Li Banfeng and said, "Grand Chief, you're impressive. Your deductions were very accurate; it seems you've already uncovered some clues. But you were wrong about one thing. I didn't create electric cultivation after I was eaten. Before I was eaten, electric cultivation had already achieved some success—far greater success than my disease cultivation. Puluo Province has no history. Over time, the concept of time blurs. Everyone remembers electric cultivation as a new path, but hardly anyone knows which era it was actually born in. The era when electric cultivation truly arose was much earlier than most people in Puluo Province realize—much, much earlier." To be honest, whenever Li Banfeng thought about Puluo Province's past, his sense of time was also murky; for some events, he couldn't even find a baseline reference. "Did you become a Disease Cultivator first, or create electric cultivation first?" Yuan Miaoping blew a bubble. "I became a Disease Cultivator first, and then utilized the perception and control abilities of disease cultivation to create electric cultivation. Although I entered disease cultivation earlier, my progress in electric cultivation was exceptionally swift. While my disease cultivation was still at ground level, my electric cultivation had already reached above the clouds. This caused a severe problem: my disciple didn't have as long a lifespan as I did." Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Does that count as a severe problem?" Yuan Miaoping nodded. "It does. For a Disease Cultivator, it's an extremely severe problem. Disease cultivation is passed down to a single disciple per generation. I ate my master and became the successor. But my disciple couldn't possibly eat me, because he wouldn't outlive me, and he certainly couldn't beat me in a fight. If I kept living, the path of disease cultivation would have halted in my hands. I wouldn't bring any development to disease cultivation because my talent wasn't good enough, and for the next century or more, disease cultivation would have no successor and see no further progress. So I found an opportune moment, moved my soul into a new vessel, and left my physical body to my disciple—my Disease Cultivator disciple. That way, the path of disease cultivation could continue its succession." Li Banfeng nodded. "Judging by that decision alone, one can see you truly loved disease cultivation." "Yes, I do!" Yuan Miaoping said with utter solemnity. "I've always believed disease cultivation is the most formidable path in Puluo Province. I'm even convinced that one day, disease cultivation will be the key to saving Puluo Province. And facts have proven my thinking correct. Sacrificing myself back then for the continuation of disease cultivation was the right choice. Grand Chief, I admire you deeply. You deduced so many hidden truths from back then that nobody knew. You're the smartest person I've ever met! Heavenly Maiden, A'yu, Lai Wuju—when it comes to wisdom, none of them possess even a ten-thousandth of yours!" Li Banfeng waved his hand repeatedly. "Don't flatter me. Me, smart? I still have plenty to learn from you. Those radio stations in Inner Amikan really were established by you, weren't they?" "They were!" Yuan Miaoping didn't deny it. "If electric cultivation wants to spread, relying solely on Puluo Province is far too difficult. In an environment where electrical power is restricted, I had to expand the scope of propagation for the path's development. I even made a specialized plan for it. The specific contents of the plan were—" "Leave the plan aside for now!" Li Banfeng cut her off. "Besides Inner Amikan, where else did you promote electric cultivation?" "The State of Ten Thousand Lives, the Land of Slumber, Forheim, the Land of Warm Sunshine... Anywhere I could reach, I found ways to bring disciples there. In the future, I even plan to spread radio stations to the eleven planets of the Inland State." Yuan Miaoping's achievements astonished Li Banfeng. "In other words, you have a complete grasp of the precise movements in all those regions?" Yuan Miaoping gave it some thought. "I know their movements, but it's hard to say how valuable they are. Just like in Puluo Province, the radio stations don't know much about high-level secrets, though they pay plenty of attention to everyday trivialities. Still, you can't say everyday trivialities are entirely useless; watching and listening closely always yields insights. For instance, everyone says that across the eleven states and three thousand nations, tier for tier, Puluo Province boasts the strongest individual combat prowess. But given the right place and time, where every technique can be brought to bear, the individual combat strength of some other regions can rival Puluo Province's. And certain places have very peculiar customs; observe and learn enough, and you become just like the locals." Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly. "Not only like the locals—you could even become a deity who protects them." Yuan Miaoping replied with false modesty, "You must be referring to Critic's hometown, Grand Chief. That hollow reputation was gained by chance, not worth mentioning. Besides, I truly gave them a great deal of help. Whether there was too much rain or too little, an insect plague or a forest fire, I gave them forewarnings about all of it. Their hailing me as a deity was entirely voluntary. It's just that some things they did were far too vile. What happened to Critic was something I simply couldn't tolerate. Through certain means, I passed on the fundamentals of disease cultivation to him so he'd have a chance at vengeance." "Hold on!" Li Banfeng had been waiting for this. "What means did you use to pass on the fundamentals of disease cultivation to Critic? The succession of disease cultivation relies on devouring the flesh and blood of the previous generation!" Yuan Miaoping nodded. "Yes, there was flesh and blood there. I buried a piece of flesh on that mountain beforehand, waiting for someone fated to come and eat it." Li Banfeng stared expressionlessly at Yuan Miaoping. The room remained dead silent for over a minute. Yuan Miaoping looked cautiously at Li Banfeng. "Grand Chief, you don't believe me?" Li Banfeng said, "In a nation as vast as Amikan, you just happened to choose that mountain? And the fated person went nowhere else, but just happened to go up that mountain? Isn't that a little too coincidental?" Yuan Miaoping let out a long breath. "Oh, that's what you're suspicious of! Let me tell you: back when I went to Amikan, I specifically chose that village to promote the radio station. But as you know, radio signals can normally only spread between Electric Cultivators. That village had no Electric Cultivators, nor any electric cultivation artifacts. I wanted to promote radio stations, but didn't have sufficient hardware facilities, so I carved a piece of flesh off my own body and buried it on that mountain. With that flesh, it was equivalent to having hardware, and the village could receive the radio broadcasts. Later, when Critic was trapped on the mountain, I told him to dig up that flesh and eat it. That was how he became a Disease Cultivator." Li Banfeng thought about it. "You built radio stations in so many places. If you had to chop off a piece of flesh everywhere you went, how much flesh did you have to keep carving pieces off?" Yuan Miaoping swung her arms. "Back when I still had my physical body, I was actually quite burly!" Li Banfeng still didn't believe it. "How large a piece of flesh did you leave behind that it was enough to turn Critic into a Disease Cultivator?" Yuan Miaoping gestured with her hands. "Not small at all! At least two jin! He ate every bite—not a scrap left." "Ate all of it?" "All of it!" Li Banfeng said, "I heard that when Critic returned to the village, people were still listening to the broadcast. If all the flesh was eaten, where did the broadcast come from?" Yuan Miaoping bit her lip and said with a smile, "Perhaps he left a little bit behind—" *Bang!* Li Banfeng struck the table with a feather duster, pointing it at Yuan Miaoping. "Reorganize your words." Yuan Miaoping composed herself for a moment. "Actually, I stored an extra piece of flesh back then—" Li Banfeng shook the feather duster and smiled at her. "I already told you that you didn't have enough flesh to carve, yet you saved an extra piece?" Yuan Miaoping finally told the truth. "Actually, passing down disease cultivation doesn't necessarily require flesh and blood. That was an insight I gained after losing my physical body..." Li Banfeng set the feather duster aside. "If not flesh and blood, then what does it rely on?" "The pathogenic focus," Yuan Miaoping explained. "Consuming the pathogenic focus within the previous Disease Cultivator's body establishes the conditions for the path's transmission. However, the infection rate of this pathogenic focus is extremely low, which is why the predecessor's body had to be eaten in its entirety to guarantee a successful infection. After losing my physical body, through years of research, I discovered that this pathogenic focus doesn't necessarily have to be transmitted through flesh and blood. I refined the pathogenic focus through another method and delivered it to Critic, successfully turning him into a Disease Cultivator." "Refined from where, and delivered to Critic how?" "I refined it from my Disease Cultivator disciple and had my Electric Cultivator disciples deliver it. My Electric Cultivator disciples are scattered across Puluo Province, and there are plenty in Inner Amikan as well. They made a special trip on my behalf to hand the pathogenic focus to Critic, thereby making him a Disease Cultivator disciple." Li Banfeng was astonished. "You mobilized so much manpower just for Critic?" Yuan Miaoping declared solemnly, "Critic was the most promising successor I chose for disease cultivation!" Li Banfeng was even more amazed. "He was only in his teens back then. How could you tell he was so promising?" "Of course I could tell!" Yuan Miaoping said with complete earnestness. "He was exceptionally gifted, hardworking, ambitious, and down-to-earth. He had a gentle disposition, respected teachers, honored traditions, and was polite and courteous. The word 'promising' was practically written across his face—" "Hehehe!" Li Banfeng chuckled merrily, picking up the feather duster once again. "Why is getting a single word of truth out of you so difficult?" "I am telling the truth—" "I'll ask you one more time: how was the pathogenic focus delivered to Critic?" Li Banfeng smiled even more warmly. "Calm your fury, Grand Chief!" Yuan Miaoping gritted her teeth. "I did leave something on that mountain, but it wasn't flesh and blood." "What did you leave?" Li Banfeng asked, still smiling. "I left a television set," Yuan Miaoping said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Grand Chief, I truly didn't intend to tell anyone this. I left dozens of television sets across Inner Amikan. Wherever there's a television, radio broadcasts can be received. That was my method for promoting the stations." "Don't change the subject. How could you transmit a pathogenic focus using a television?" Li Banfeng continuously caressed the feather duster. Yuan Miaoping stopped trying to hide it. "Just like Lai Wuju said, some pathogenic foci can be transmitted visually. The succession method of disease cultivation can actually be transmitted visually as well. I had Critic watch television programs for several consecutive days, and he became infected with the pathogenic focus. After that, he became a Disease Cultivator." Li Banfeng's mouth hung open, his eyes blinking. "In other words... you could actually turn anyone into a Disease Cultivator." Yuan Miaoping sniffled and shook her head. "I never thought of doing such a thing—" Li Banfeng picked up the feather duster. Yuan Miaoping squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the beating. Li Banfeng didn't strike her. Instead, he meticulously used the feather duster to wipe the dust off Yuan Miaoping. Yuan Miaoping felt deeply ill at ease. "Grand Chief, w-what... what are you doing? I can't possibly accept this—" "You can. You're a senior, so it's only right that I look after you." These words came straight from the depths of Li Banfeng's heart. Beads of sweat trickled slowly down his cheeks. In his ear came a sigh from the companion dwelling. "A'qi, just how many ruthless figures do we already have in this house? And now you've brought in another great deity like this... Are we even going to be able to keep them under control?" PS: Perhaps someone ought to ask the peddler how he managed to keep this bunch under control back then.