Chapter 874
Chapter 874 - 860: Small Gift
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11 min read
During Lu Ping’an’s "vacation," time did not stand still; the originally planned trajectory kept being pushed forward, whether smoothly or reluctantly.
But apparently, some matters were not going so well.
"Was the exhibition fair bombed?"
When Lu Ping’an received the news, he was also taken aback.
This was a mission he had taken on when he first arrived. The cities of Changping State used this opportunity to convene an exhibition fair, showcasing their city’s latest products as well as the spoils of war from the Foreign Domain.
Named an exhibition sale, but no one expected to receive many orders in such an environment—it was just a different way to display one’s city’s strength and heritage.
The Ancient City’s main displays were the "Flying Boats" and some spoils from the Exotic Realm. Lu Ping’an even went to make a stand and witnessed the "exhibition war"... Of course, he couldn’t actually join in the fray, or else it wouldn’t be competition but war indeed.
But honestly, among the many cities of Changping State, the Ancient City’s gains could only be considered average (the Green Planet incident also involved at least three others of the same caliber), not to mention comparing to Changping City itself.
They had Rule-level combat powers to dispatch, and these big bosses’ exotic gains were overwhelming in all aspects.
But if the competition was between Changping City and the rest of Changping State’s cities excluding Changping, that would be a different matter altogether.
Many cities had their own ideas and ambitions, naturally wanting to get one over Changping at such a time... In a certain sense, this was a form of alternative coercion.
"Tsk, they are all furious when talking about those short-sighted people who only care about their own small homes, but when it comes to ’infighting’ for their own city’s developmental rights, it seems completely fine. This is probably the double standard of the New Era," Lu Ping’an sighed helplessly. To be completely rational, abandoning the individual ego to start from the greater picture, and striving for the rise of all humanity... Well, that would probably make one a Sage.
But obviously, thieves are common, while Sages are rare... If the whole world were Sages, that might also be rather distressing.
The outcome of the exhibition fair was ultimately without a victor since, looking at the results, both sides lost.
"The Central Faction also entered the fray; it really is kind of...you know..."
The local tyrants who were fighting each other didn’t win against The Crossing River Dragon, but perhaps the others were simply passing by.
The Trade Union sent by the Central Faction displayed exotic finished products and spoils of war, also taking the opportunity to host an expo.
They, of course, weren’t there to sell goods but had their own objectives.
On one hand, it was to show off their strength, strengthening the central authority... Due to the existence of supernatural powers, this world still operated under a federated state system, which was different from the centralized government system in Lu Ping’an’s memory.
As such, strict hierarchy and personnel allocation did not exist, and the extent to which central policies and directives were implemented, depended more on the strength and authority of the Central Faction.
It needed to showcase its presence every so often, especially amid the current chaotic situation, it had to periodically assert its strength.
On the other hand, they were showcasing some imported goods from foreign species to indirectly advertise for the Seventh District’s plan.
"These are the exotic imports from the great civilization of the Exotic Realm," making the internal strife of the Changping cities look like a joke... The exotic goods attracted too much attention, with the other exhibition areas combined not even matching up to a fraction of its traffic.
And the reality that they were only for show and not for sale also concretely advertised the future "duty-free port"... At least Lu Ping’an was quite tempted looking at those standard armors displayed on the shelves.
"Damn. Power canned food, and it comes with a fully automatic survival system."
Thinking about the electric saw and heavy crossbow he had gotten before, Lu Ping’an felt a stirring in his DNA.
Clearly, those stellar creatures civilization had a very stable technology for mass-producing inter-world weapons.
Appearing at the same time were personal small spacecraft (capable of ascending and descending within the atmosphere) with sensitivity that dwarfed current technology, Supernatural Radar, backup body-level Regeneration Puppets (an extra life), and so on.
Most importantly, these equipments had generally low requirements for use, offering low-level professionals and even Mortals the chance to entertain additional thoughts.
The emergence of these "treasures" spelled disaster-level dominance for the exhibits of other cities.
The result was that all parties fought in this "cultural battle," then The Crossing River Dragon passed by and trampled everyone along the way.
"...This, is quite delicate."
On another note, the big sports event had also begun.
However, contrary to expectations, it did not receive much attention... The Abyss war hadn’t completely concluded, and now public opinion was focused instead on the casualty numbers that exceeded the threshold.
"Uncle, you’re so strong, why don’t you go fight the Abyss monsters?"
"I, I... don’t film me..."
In front of the TV interview, a competing athlete was directly broken by the question from a crying five-year-old child... The child’s father had died in the Abyss, and now the city was hosting friendly inter-city competitions.
Could this be someone’s arrangement? It wasn’t clear, but the effect was already there. Some media had pointed out that the current sports event and the exhibition fair were, in a sense, a form of "soft infighting," meaningless and only a waste of manpower resources and combat power... Hence, the previous break in defenses occurred.
Then, under the push of social mentality, the incident and the sports event itself had their heat actively suppressed by the local officials.
Clearly, the organizers of these events and activities had not expected that their arrangements would yield such results.
As for Lu Ping’an, who observed all this, he was relatively indifferent.
He could not really discuss such matters with his superiors, as some things have to be left to develop on their own.
Both major events, the exhibition and the sports meet, were a form of "internal strife" in some sense, but from the outcomes, it seemed as though none of the competing parties came out ahead, at least no clear winners were visible.
Was there a great force behind the scenes guiding all this? Lu Ping’an suspected it was highly likely, even more so if there truly was a backstage Black Hand, it would most probably be the Central Faction that hoped for "unity" the most.
It seemed that some were worried that they were truly fighting with deadly intent.
But he had no evidence, nor could he possibly find any. Just like many had guessed, in the end, one could only see the special commissioner from the center constantly emphasizing unity and the need to persevere through hardships together.
"...As long as you all are satisfied,"
After making contact with the Ancient city, and ensuring that the high levels there had no plans to stir up trouble, Lu Ping’an relaxed quite a bit.
The tasks in his hands were mostly complete, not necessarily well, but at least not poorly... He himself had made a name and earned a small amount of prestige for the Ancient city.
Although there were some regrets over not having the chance to go on a rampage at the sports meet, he wasn’t really interested in that kind of civil war where you were forced to pull punches and could easily create blood feuds if you weren’t careful.
He was aware of his "enforcer" role and would have followed through if the high levels of the Ancient city insisted, but since they had backed down, he was naturally more than happy to take it easy.
The sports meet continued on, albeit with a few adjustments to the schedule, and peace was much restored. Lu Ping’an even went to watch a few matches.
The competitions mainly featured relatively safe exhibitions of abnormal abilities, with some actual combat. But someone as tough as Lu Ping’an was eventually stopped, and instead, newcomers under 20 were thrown into the ring to showcase youthful vigor (Lu: Wait a minute, I’m not even 20 yet, why am I not allowed to participate?).
Lu Ping’an vaguely sensed that there might be a force guiding events, avoiding infighting on one hand and directing attention from various regions to external pressures on the other.
The media and public opinion were also exerting influence, with various reports on "Warriors against foreign threats" and "Exotic Realm Gold Diggers," denouncing internal strife as utterly despicable while glorifying battles on external fronts as sacred and inviolable.
Was it effective? Clearly, it was, especially for young people who were already eager for opportunities to construct achievements and make a name for themselves. Now, it seemed they had a clearer goal, and it was easy for them to shift direction.
"...This martial technique? It is somewhat interesting."
Lu Ping’an and his group were actually happy to take the opportunity to stay longer in Changping.
The legends of the "Trading Land" had spread on certain levels, and Lu Ping’an’s daily profits were quite steady... although still restricted to those with semi-official qualifications, there were far more big bosses here than in the Ancient city, and the Taboo Library feasted daily.
On the other hand, Lu Ping’an had plenty of additional social resources here.
For example, Kun Ba the Sword Saint, who felt indebted to Lu Ping’an, diligently trained Lu Ping’an in the "Decree Four Techniques" and helped him pass one hurdle after another.
Moreover, based on Lu Ping’an’s actual situation, he personally passed on an advanced swordsmanship he created to him... Uh, although Lu Ping’an didn’t fully master it, at least he remembered it all, and the level of his swordsmanship also increased quite a bit.
It seemed, even so, Kun Ba still felt he owed Lu Ping’an a lot and thought of ways to repay him... Consequently, Xia Qin suffered, being frequently dragged away for extra practice.
Of course, this might actually be a good thing for her.
After much waiting, Lu Ping’an also received the reward he had been anticipating.
"Three True Words, choose one?"
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Lu Ping’an’s achievements this time were significant, and after the settlement was complete, he was presented with the opportunity to choose first.
And this time, there were as many as three... these were not limited environment, self-destructive weapons like the Abyss True Words, but super strategic weapons that could be used all over Earth.
However, learning them did not go smoothly for Lu Ping’an this time.
His first choice ended in failure.
"Rain Falling Curse, I failed to learn it..."
This was the Rain Elder Huangyv Mountain’s signature skill, the legendary ability to summon wind and rain.
Not to speak of its strength, but merely its strategic capability to directly change the battlefield environment was exceptionally valuable.
"...At the very least, the minimum requirements to learn are Lower Gold Spiritual Power, along with a very high affinity for the wind, thunder, and water elements, ideally coupled with some similar Abnormal Ability..."
Lu Ping’an was very keen on this, because it wasn’t just a "True Word" but also a set of tactics and heritage associated with the Rain Elder Huangyv Mountain.
At least seventy-two classes, how much you can learn depends on your ability.
Of course, the prerequisite is that you can master this True Word...
"...Uh, transforming my own bloodline into a Water Elemental creature doesn’t seem likely for me."
"Give it a try, what if it works?"
Despite the mismatch in attributes, under the strong demands of Big Cat, Lu Ping’an still chose the most valuable option first.
But evidently, his compatibility was far too low to study it concurrently.
Likewise, within his own team, Mei Yuge might have the talent to learn it, if she could upgrade to the fifth-sixth tier... but Lu Ping’an couldn’t possibly make such a huge future investment in a newcomer who hadn’t even achieved 2-tier.
The most valuable option had to be reluctantly abandoned, to the delight of someone with the right attributes. Fortunately, the remaining two options were both something Lu Ping’an could try out.
— End of Chapter 874 —