Chapter 993
Chapter 993 - 979: Anti-Fans
1,497 words
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8 min read
Life isn’t easy, Meow... Meow didn’t actually sigh, she was working overtime.
"Family, who understands, meow, my boss is inhuman, meow, picking on me every day, meow, despite me letting him stroke my tail, meow."
Complaints filled with an alarming amount of cat content were, as usual, completely ignored by Lu Ping’an.
But to be fair, it wasn’t entirely his fault, though saying it had nothing to do with him wasn’t entirely true either.
"...You want to lie down and give up at such a young age? When I was your age, I was cultivating for at least twenty hours a day. Get up, it’s time to work!"
These words sounded utterly nonsensical and super hardworking, if they came from a normal boss, they would have likely earned some backlash, even if not to their face, certainly behind their back.
But if they were said by Big Cat... well, it’s mostly likely true, and probably understated rather than exaggerated.
From the hints of the world Big Cat came from, peace seemed a far cry from reality.
The struggle wasn’t about being ambitious or not, it was about survival, about proving one’s worth to access core sources of sustenance.
In Big Cat’s case, rest really wasn’t a part of the routine.
Having such a boss, and one who solely relied on you to indirectly manage company affairs, Meow’s days were naturally very tough.
And this clearly had something to do with the so-called "chicken blood" Lu Ping’an was hyped up on...
"...First, let’s complete the Wolf King Plan, then Purchase more species of beasts. These things can be done in the Courtyard, but for communication and purchasing with other Beast Tamers, you’ll have to do it."
Big Cat’s enthusiasm was almost excessive.
Once intelligent creatures have expectations and hopes, you naturally become filled with energy, which is a completely different scenario from idly wasting away.
In Lu Ping’an’s view, "rules" are the lines that separate Order from Chaos, but for professionals, they are more akin to "molds" and "blueprints."
The previous aggressive "reason" of Big Cat was a blueprint taken to an extreme.
Following that blueprint to create a product... Big Cat knew that she would eventually become a devouring Monster, a life composite claiming to be the Life Mother Tree.
Was this a good thing? Looking back, it’s somewhat hard to say.
But back then, Big Cat didn’t just lack a way to turn back, she couldn’t even afford to hit the brakes or she’d quickly be devoured by her own "contamination."
She used her own "reason" and "rules" to craft a container to hold and transform that chaotic power into a part of herself... Managing its control system was actually managed by her reasoning.
If she herself invalidated her reason, self-destruction in an instant was the only outcome.
Even just doubting it could shake the foundation.
By embarking on such an extreme path so early, she faced issues early on, and beyond a certain point, there was no chance for course correction or turning back.
Once she had merged with her "reason" to that extent, any doubt cast upon it was like hammering at her very foundation... think of what happens to a skyscraper when you take out the load-bearing walls, that’s probably a good analogy.
When nurturing rules, it’s the Decree stage... actually, problems arise at the stage Lu Ping’an is in right now.
It was right of him to stop, otherwise, unless he was willing to discard his foundation, he would have had no choice but to keep going down that one path.
In fact, it’s the same with the people of the Blood Feast; their foundation is "food therapy," continuously looting more "life currency," eventually leading them down an extreme path as well.
"Others’ blueprints involve a Firebird that spans multiple universes, and yours, a giant tree of flesh and blood... tsk, embarrassing."
If someone dared to say Big Cat was embarrassing to her face in the past, she would have likely tested the quality of their skull.
But now, she felt no need to compare herself... Instead, she kept asking about the true nature of the "Firebird."
In Lu Ping’an’s vague descriptions, she also marveled at its strength and provided some rare intelligence.
"That daughter of the Church of the Lady of the Forest fooled me back then. We were taught by the same mentor, and early on, our paths were nearly identical. But when it mattered most, she took a completely different path from mine..."
The "name" of the Lady of the Forest actually reveals a lot.
’In the forest’ signifies Nature, and ’a lady of the forest’ refers to her as an individual... This means that apart from her, there are many other big and small creatures in the forest, and she lives in harmony with Nature.
As Big Cat described it, Lu Ping’an’s understanding of the Lady of the Forest’s uniqueness became even clearer.
"She sees the whole world as a forest, where every Life has its place. She exists within it, coexisting harmoniously with other Life forms, together building the ecosystem of the forest. She can divide herself, creating new ecological niches..."
The more Lu Ping’an listened, the more subtle the feeling became.
One splits oneself to form environments and ecosystems, while the other devours everything around to become the only one... Aren’t you two really sworn enemies, doing everything opposite?
"Were you really taught by the same master? Why are you doing everything the exact opposite?"
"... Aren’t you also doing the opposite of me? Divergences created by the same path inherently contain extreme contradictions; this is considered ’common sense.’
At this time, when Big Cat brought up the Lady of the Forest, whom she envied, was jealous of, and... cough, deeply resented, it certainly wasn’t to make herself unhappy.
"I suggest you go and secure a high-level Divine Position at the Church of the Lady of the Forest..."
Alright, that statement stunned Lu Ping’an.
He knew how much Big Cat hated that Deity; whenever She was mentioned, not a single dirty word escaped Big Cat’s mouth... But whenever She was mentioned, that was a different story.
"Your accumulation in the Gardener profession isn’t enough; the Life system is your foundation. I can’t manage the rest, but your current level as a Gardener won’t support a skyscraper. When the time comes, no matter how good the blueprint is, if the ground caves in, everything is ruined."
"Besides, I split from the same path as her. She took the ’win-win’ path of resonating with Nature. Her path should be highly relevant to you, who also aim for ’win-win’ situations. Even if you can’t learn it, it can serve as a reference for the final revision of your ’blueprint.’
With Lu Ping’an’s current skills, taking on a part-time job as a third-tier Gardener would be no trouble, but if it were fourth-tier, it would require a bit of effort, time, and resources.
However, according to Big Cat, being just a generic third or fourth-tier at the moment wouldn’t mean much to Lu Ping’an.
"It’s best to have a Divine Position granted by the god."
"...I won’t be discovered, will I?"
"Heh, considering how many Bishops and high-order professionals are under a Deity, She doesn’t have time to worry about you."
"To become a private professional of the Church, doesn’t that require a certain level of piety? In that respect..."
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"Nonsense, if She had that ability, She would have struck down those Bishops long ago. They are the ones who violate the teachings the most... The Lady of the Forest requires high-level clergy not to wear fine garments or enjoy luxury; they’re supposed to live in the forest, hunt for meat, and drink from streams. Do you see any of them doing that?"
Alright, the list now had a new item added to it.
But the more Lu Ping’an mulled it over, the more intriguing it seemed.
"Isn’t this a bit like having taken a disciple and realizing I can’t teach them, so throwing them to learn from my junior sister instead..."
"Shut up, are you learning or not? I have her full set of generic knowledge, and I possess over seventy percent of branches from first to third tiers."
"Learn, of course I’ll learn!"
Indeed, the one who understands you best, the one who collects your intelligence most meticulously, is your enemy.
Sensing the Codices in the Library, and hearing Big Cat personally describe the strengths and weaknesses of Gardeners, what it felt like to fight them, their strongest and weakest points... Lu Ping’an fully understood to what extent a passionate hater could go mad.
— End of Chapter 993 —