Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

In Great Xia’s imperial palace, the Xia Emperor was reviewing the court documents. To his right were proposals to amend the law governing cultivators’ exploration of the outer world.

Aside from the White Horse Dynasty, cultivators had discovered several other life-bearing planets during their exploration, all at a similar level of development. These expeditions had raised many unforeseen issues, and new regulations were required to address the loopholes.

Three figures stepped through the door to the Grand Brilliance Hall, bathed in sunlight. “Paying respects to Your Majesty.”

The Xia Emperor looked up, unsurprised by Lu Yang's arrival. Dai Bufan had already informed him beforehand that Lu Yang had returned with great gains and that the representatives of other major factions would convene in the Grand Brilliance Hall.

“Is he the extraterrestrial visitor Lu Yang invited?” The Xia Emperor walked down the steps and ordered that seats be provided. Though he noticed Dean Gao’s peculiar body structure, he refrained from asking upon their first meeting.

“I am Gao Huanyu, the Chief Scientist of the Interstellar Alliance and the Dean of the Institute of Science and Technology. I pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

“So it's Fellow Daoist Gao—oh, no, perhaps it's more appropriate to call you Dean Gao. It must have been tough on you to travel this far.”

“And me too. I'm Ether,” the metal case Lu Yang was carrying shouted.

“Who might this be?” The Xia Emperor didn't even realize Ether was alive until it had spoken.

“The Interstellar Alliance’s Ether computer, also an innate living being,” Lu Yang introduced.

“Someone, bring a seat for this Ether... Fellow Daoist Ether."

A young eunuch soon brought a chair and placed the Ether avatar on it.

The Xia Emperor noticed that Ether's exceptionally complex structure far surpassed mortal craftsmanship, yet it was indeed the work of mortals. This piqued his curiosity. “Quick, tell me. What is the Interstellar Alliance actually like?”

“It’s difficult to describe it directly. Please look here, Your Majesty,” Dean Gao said.

The Ether avatar projected a holographic star chart depicting the entirety of the universe the Interstellar Alliance had explored.

Dean Gao drew a circle, demarcating a region. “These galaxies form the Interstellar Alliance’s territory. There are altogether eight hundred primary planets and three thousand secondary planets. Our capital is here—the Eternal Planet in the Eternal Galaxy.”

“What are these?” The Xia Emperor pointed at small dots moving back and forth near the Eternal Planet.

“Spaceships. They allow us to navigate through outer space.” Dean Gao signaled the Ether avatar to zoom in on the densest cluster of spaceships.

The map zoomed in repeatedly, and soon, a projection of the spaceport appeared before the Xia Emperor. Seeing those colossal vessels, he felt a deep respect for the Interstellar Alliance. The merchant guild could modify flying vessels for space travel, but that required cultivators.

He had heard that everyone in the Interstellar Alliance was mortal, yet these mortals had achieved the feat of traveling through space. Countless individuals and generations must have poured their efforts into making it possible.

Next, the map focused on the Eternal Planet, zooming in to reveal its streets.

The streets were bustling with traffic and crowds. Skyscrapers lined both sides of the road, with colorful billboards atop their roofs. Everything was the epitome of prosperity. The Cultivation World had never experienced anything like this.

“Who is he talking to?” The Xia Emperor pointed at a pedestrian who appeared to be speaking as he walked. He looks like he’s talking to himself.

“He’s probably conducting business with someone in another galaxy. This uses quantum communication technology, which allows instantaneous transmission regardless of spatial distance.” Dean Gao smiled, proud of his invention.

“What about these?” The Xia Emperor pointed at the large metal boxes that appeared most frequently. They are suspended in the air like Lu Yang’s flying carriages. But the Interstellar Alliance certainly doesn’t rely on flying swords for propulsion.

“Solar-powered cars.”

“And this?”

“AI caregivers.”

“And this?”

“Memory chip factories, entirely automated by AI.”

“Mortals can actually live this well?!” The more the Xia Emperor learned, the more rapid his breathing became. He stood up excitedly and paced around the Grand Brilliance Hall.

Lu Yang has brought back quite the harvest, far beyond my expectations. And these are merely the creations of mortals. If they were to be combined with the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, who knows what heights they could reach?

“Establish a Ministry of Heavenly Works. We must gather all artifact refiners, array masters, and inscriptionists to form a Ministry of Heavenly Works! Dean Gao, would you be willing to join Great Xia’s Ministry of Heavenly Works?”

“Join your Ministry of Heavenly Works? Let me hear about it, too,” Zhu Tian said, swaggering into the Grand Brilliance Hall.

“Looks like I’m the first to arrive.” He grinned. “Big Brother Lu Yang is back?”

Looking around, he spotted an empty chair. He set the Ether avatar on the floor and sat down. “Pretty thoughtful. You remembered to save me a seat.”

“Hey, hey, hey! That’s my chair!” The Ether avatar fumed. If not for the limitations of its body, it would have jumped on the spot.

“This little thing can talk. Interesting.” Zhu Tian chuckled and flicked its “head,” sending the Ether avatar spinning.

“Mr. Lu, he’s bullying me! You have to stand up for me!” the Ether avatar complained to Lu Yang, startling Zhu Tian.

Zhu Tian wondered, What’s this little thing? An iron case innate living being that has gained sentience and become a demon spirit?

Lu Yang reminded him, “Monarch Zhu, this is the Ether avatar, a guest who traveled all the way from the Interstellar Alliance.”

“So it’s a guest. My apologies.” Zhu Tian cheerfully patted the Ether avatar. “Though it’s partly your fault, too. Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Ether frantically searched its database, trying to come up with a verbal counterattack.

Soon after, the Old Dragon Emperor, the Snow Emperor, and Abbot Mingyu arrived. Upon learning of the Interstellar Alliance, they also recognized this as a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for development.

Zhu Tian finally understood the situation and felt indignant. “So that’s where your Great Xia’s Ministry of Heavenly Works came from. You even tried to recruit Dean Gao. Old Jiang, can’t you have a little shame? You’re snatching him up and tricking him into joining Great Xia while we’re not around!”

The Xia Emperor knew that he was in the wrong and stayed silent.

Zhu Tian changed the subject and complimented Lu Yang. “But we truly have Big Brother Lu Yang to thank. He brought back so much from one trip. Once everything is internalized, the cultivation world will surely take a significant leap forward!”

“Indeed, indeed, it’s all thanks to Young Friend Lu Yang.” The Old Dragon Emperor and the others praised him profusely not out of politeness, but because they genuinely meant it. Among so many cultivators exploring the outer world, whose haul could compare to Lu Yang’s?

Dai Bufan secretly chuckled. Junior Brother Lu has finally done me proud.

“Bad news, the alliance is in danger!” the Ether avatar suddenly cried out, turning the atmosphere grave.

“What’s going on?! What happened in the alliance?!” Dean Gao’s expression turned solemn. How could the alliance be in danger? But the Ether avatar wouldn’t lie. It can stay synchronized with the mainframe via quantum communication technology.

The Ether avatar dropped another bombshell. “An unknown faction has attacked the alliance. It’s extremely powerful. The alliance doesn’t stand a chance!”

“An unknown faction?” Dean Gao’s face was filled with disbelief. The Interstellar Alliance had grown by absorbing neighboring civilizations and had never encountered a formidable enemy. If not for the Cultivation World, he would have continued believing that the alliance was the most powerful faction in the universe. Yet an unknown faction has appeared, and the alliance is utterly outmatched?

The Ether avatar projected the battle situation at the Interstellar Alliance.

The alliance was enveloped in the flames of war. The unknown faction’s spaceships rampaged across the battlefield, while the alliance’s warships crumbled at the slightest contact.

The alliance was in imminent danger!

Lu Yang wore a peculiar expression. Why do the unknown faction’s spaceships look like those from the Zhutian Civilization?

Soon, the Ether Avatar confirmed his suspicion. “The unknown faction has announced that they are from the Zhutian Civilization—the hegemon of the universe. Under their Heavenly Emperor’s command, they have come to conquer the cosmos.”

Suddenly, the projection vanished, and the Ether avatar stopped responding.

“Dean Gao, what’s happening with Ether?”

Dean Gao frowned. “The battle must be too intense, so Ether has diverted all its processing power to the mainframe.”

Lu Yang rose slowly and swept his gaze across everyone present. “Everyone, I believe we should mobilize our forces and rush to aid the Interstellar Alliance!”

“Well said! I agree!” Zhu Tian immediately responded.

“I agree too!” The Xia Emperor followed.

“I agree.”

“Agree.”

The representatives of the five major factions didn’t hesitate long, quickly agreeing to send forces to aid the Interstellar Alliance.

“Everyone...” Dean Gao was moved. He hadn’t expected them to offer help so readily.

Bzzt...

The Ether avatar crackled and reconnected to the mainframe. Its tone was strange, as though it was hesitating to speak. “Umm, it seems that Mr. Lu and the rest of you don’t need to aid our Interstellar Alliance anymore.”

“What do you mean by that?” Lu Yang was perplexed. Isn’t the alliance on the brink of collapse? How is it suddenly fine?

“The Zhutian Civilization discovered the top-grade spirit stones you gifted us, Mr. Lu. They changed their mind and decided to conquer your Cultivation World instead.”

Dai Bufan clutched his chest and nearly passed out. I thought Lu Yang was finally well behaved this time. I was so pleased, praising the kid in my mind. Who would have thought the real bombshell was waiting just around the corner?!

Lu Yang noticed Dai Bufan’s abnormal behavior and hastily explained, “Senior Brother Dai, hear me out! This has nothing to do with me; I just gave a few spirit stones out of courtesy; the Zhutian Civilization is too greedy; they saw the money and lost all restraint...”[1]

“Senior Brother Dai, wake up!”

1. The original sentence uses no comma at all, so I tried to achieve a similar effect with semicolons. ☜