My Daoist partner helps me cultivate immortality

Lin Ye quickly waved his hand.

"I am just a weapon refiner; I don't possess the exquisite offensive techniques you all have."

"I'm not good at fighting, and I'm injured... Fellow Daoist Chen, your invitation has really startled me!"

Chen Yan sighed, "What a pity..."

What a shame...

"If I perform exceptionally well in front of City Lord Xia and gain his favor, I might be able to be exempted from corvée labor after entering the Nascent Soul stage!"

Chen Yan couldn't help but send another telepathic message of advice.

Lin Ye calmly said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, I wish you success."

Seeing that he really wouldn't go, Chen Yan said helplessly, "Alright, Fellow Daoist Lin, just watch how I perform."

......

surface.

Thick clouds covered the sky, and the giant's body had not yet appeared.

The open-air meeting place was bustling with activity. The city lord of Wanshu City had not yet arrived, but the local big bosses had already gathered.

Lin Ye held his wine glass, lost in thought.

From what Chen Yan just said in his telepathic message, it's clear that... at least some cultivators are actually unwilling to go to places where Nascent Soul stage cultivators gather.

This is information that cannot be obtained through public channels, and a lot can be inferred from it.

They even discerned the complete operational logic of the Covenant during the Colossus era.

First of all, everyone is smart enough to know that when fighting against the giant god, these Nascent Soul cultivators, who are the main force, may have to sacrifice their lives in some way.

After all, the Nascent Soul stage is the highest level.

It is also the only power that is even slightly closer to the giant god.

If not their lives, then who? There are far more low-level cultivators, but the quality of their spiritual energy is far, far inferior to that of the giants...

However, who can force Nascent Soul Ancestors to sacrifice their lives?

Clearly, the Star Alliance can; they possess the means to kill a peak Nascent Soul cultivator! If they can't even kill a Nascent Soul cultivator, how can they fight a giant god...?

However, it is impossible to rely entirely on coercion. The Star Alliance will persistently promote this idea so that most cultivators will voluntarily offer their lives.

They are capable of doing so because they have a monopoly on education and media.

Or rather, during the struggle against the Giant Enterprise Alliance a thousand years ago, the Star Alliance had already developed a tradition of cultivators protecting the weak.

Currently, this tradition has only been forcibly incorporated into military service at the Nascent Soul stage.

Since the Nascent Soul Ancestors have become sacrifices, and the rulers are no longer the strongest cultivators, then who are the rulers...?

Lin Ye thought to himself, 'They must be descendants of Nascent Soul cultivators; this is some kind of compensation.'

'And those [Sword Bearers], those at the very top who possess the methods to annihilate Nascent Soul Ancestors, should be the earliest batch of powerful individuals.'

'People who have been suppressed back to the Nascent Soul stage from above.'

The age of the giants has lasted for nearly a thousand years, and their lifespans are nearing their end.

'Therefore, they are born with a firm commitment to war, and it seems only they are capable of wielding the sword.'

'But this group stood too high, and unlike the later Nascent Soul Ancestors who underwent the kind of education typical of the Age of Giants.'

'They'll definitely try to survive, and cheating in the Titan eradication campaign is something the Covenant cannot tolerate; they themselves are a significant force!'

'If you want them to do your work, you have to get them to hand over their swords...'

'The Star Alliance has been operating under the logic of the Colossus era for nine hundred years. I highly suspect that the Swordholders are no longer the original group of powerful beings.'

'It's estimated that the sword fell into the hands of their descendants during either their attempt to enter the hibernation pods or some other coup d'état involving the young Nascent Soul elders.'

Led by Boss Ye, Lin Ye met with two other peak Golden Core cultivators at the table.

After downing a glass of wine, Lin Ye lowered his head slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

'For the Star Alliance, the Nascent Soul Ancestor must sacrifice his life.'

'The sword cannot be in their hands.'

'I'm afraid that the sword wielders who currently possess weapons capable of destroying Nascent Soul cultivators are either descendants of the early sword-wielding ancestors or descendants of the younger ancestors...'

'The sons have taken their father hostage.'

'Just like this era, where a low-level cultivator incredibly managed to kidnap a high-level cultivator.'

Lin Ye's eyes shone brightly as he made a conclusion in his mind.

The Covenant may perish along with the Titans.

Despite its immense power, everything it possesses is based on the threat posed by the giant god.

Although the Covenant had already unified the mortal realm before the Colossus Crisis, it has now become deformed.

The great war to annihilate the Titans is imminent, and the social structure that the Covenant has been painstakingly maintaining is nearing its end.

'After the war, if victorious, the long-suppressed desires of the strong will be ignited...'

'It might cause the Star Alliance to fall apart, or it might completely burn away the noble tradition of helping the weak, ushering in a new era where the strong disregard human life.'

'However, I suspect that the new era might be called the Endless Fire Domain.'

Anyone with eyes to see understands the current situation, and everyone has their own agenda.

'There must be many ambitious people hiding beneath the surface right now, which is good news for me!'

Lin Ye decided to verify his hypothesis and patted Boss Ye on the shoulder.

"Boss Ye."

Lin Ye asked via telepathy, "What is the family background of City Lord Xia of our Ten Thousand Trees City? Has he been protected by a Nascent Soul expert?"

Boss Ye paused for a moment, then smiled and replied telepathically, "Fellow Daoist Lin, I assumed you weren't concerned about current affairs..."

"I didn't expect you to see so clearly!"

"Yes, most high-ranking officials are like this because they have a Nascent Soul Grandmaster as their parent."

Lin Ye thought to himself, "As expected," and nodded.

Boss Ye said seriously, "But City Lord Xia is different. Her parents are indeed Nascent Soul Ancestors, but it is said that they made some great contributions before they died."

"Even though other elders may still take care of you to some extent, once you're gone, the relationship cools down, you know that."

"So, as an orphan, I think at least half of Lord Xia's current status is due to his exceptional personal abilities. I've witnessed it before, back then..."

The words haven't been finished yet.

Tuk-tuk-tuk...

A pink-haired girl disembarked from the airship and walked towards the venue. Her brisk footsteps were like wedges embedded in the heart. Her smile was bright, gentle and charming, and sweet, as if she had no ulterior motives.

The wealthy and powerful figures in the hall all bowed in greeting.

"The city lord has arrived!"

Chapter 181 Hehehe, what a great body! (5k)

"This isn't the military base." The city lord's smile faded as he looked at the neatly saluted crowd.

“You are all well-known entrepreneurs.”

“I’m worried that making such a big fuss will have a negative impact on the cadre group and cause unnecessary reactions in society.”

Lord Xia said slowly and deliberately.

Unexpectedly, she described the situation as so serious that the wealthy merchants present broke out in a cold sweat, and the accompanying cultivators also became anxious.

"You flatter me, Lord City Lord!"

The solemn atmosphere was broken by the noise; the city lord raised his hand, and everyone fell completely silent.

Her tone softened slightly as she said, "I'm just here to chat with everyone. Please have a seat."

Many people breathed a sigh of relief and found seats.

On the platform, City Lord Xia smiled and said, "I miss the vibrant and thriving scene of Wanshu City when I was young."

"Those were good times... Back then, I had Wanbaolou's guest token, which allowed me to enjoy discounts at Ye's Trading Company. It was very cheap."

Upon hearing this, Boss Ye's expression changed slightly.

Lin Ye was sitting with Boss Ye in the first row, on the side.

His lecherous gaze swept over Xia Chengzhu's prominent breasts before she could react.

Lin Ye closed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself: You can't judge a book by its cover...

The sea is immeasurable!

This city lord looks like a naive and innocent young lady.

I originally thought that at her age, she was just a child who knew how to scheme and plot.

Unexpectedly, her seasoned demeanor in conversation gave her the air of someone who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom, and she could basically be seen as an old man transformed into a beautiful young girl.

His words were very sharp.

She just cited Wanbaolou and Ye's Trading Company as examples, mentioning that in the past, the merchants of Wanshu City had harmonious relationships...

When a high-ranking leader looks back on the past, it means they are dissatisfied with the present.

"You're not united!" This was the clearest message, a subtle warning to the merchants present.

However, it can also be interpreted as a call for unity.

At the same time, mentioning that he used to be a guest of Wanbaolou is also a way of building a closer relationship.

Lin Ye couldn't help but secretly admire him.

'She's quite eloquent! What's wrong with her looking at me... *slurp*.

Everyone here is a shrewd person.

Calling for "unity" at this time is clearly driven by grand ambitions...

Apart from the few Golden Core Peak cultivators who had previously spoken with Lin Ye, most of the attendees immediately understood the topic of the meeting.

It's "that thing from before"!

Chen Yan blinked, puzzled.

Among the group of old men, some scoundrels had mixed in.

Boss Ye smiled and nodded: "Lord Xia is absolutely right, I also miss those days..."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Liu has been busy with Wanbaolou's affairs and hasn't had a proper talk with me in person for a long time."

The final battle against the giants is at most a few decades away.

Amidst unprecedented changes, competition among various parties has naturally intensified. For example, the Wanbaolou branch in Wanshu City and the Ye Family Trading Company have clashed quite a bit, both openly and covertly.

Especially recently, in order to seize the resources that Lin Ye needs, Boss Ye has also become really angry.

However, in front of his superiors, Boss Ye first used this sentence to shift the blame.

Liu, the landlord, frowned slightly and quickly said, "Boss Ye, if you want to talk business, we can find an opportunity to talk about it soon. Why bother making trouble in front of the city lord?"

Sitting in the middle of the first row, Director Ji said in a hoarse voice, "Since City Lord Xia took office, Wanshu City has indeed changed a lot."

Lin Ye thought to himself:

This is a veiled criticism of the city lord...

High-ranking officials from other places are really bold!

Mr. Ye retorted, "It's time for Wanbaolou to have a good chat with us local businesses. Would Director Ji be willing to attend as well?"

Liu Fenlou cleared his throat and said, "Director Ji is from Wanshu City. He is returning to his hometown with his family and a large-scale intercity airship rail project. He plans to stay here for a long time."

Everyone looked sideways.

This outsider was actually one of our own?