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墨書 Inktalez
This dull topic was not something Cui Ming was particularly interested in, but when Vlad spoke about it, he brought a different flavor to the conversation, making it far less tedious. Regardless of the internal strife within the Dawn Empire, its economic and military strength still positioned it as the dominant power over Eternity. Particularly, the Navy's control over the Buoy, coupled with advancements in mobile communication, had made it an invaluable tool for generating commercial interests and transmitting information. In the short term, no other country, including Nordo City, could replace it. Moreover, both the Elder Council and the President did not wish to see the Dawn Empire decline, which allowed it to remain resilient.
Upon arriving at a high-end restaurant, after everyone ordered their meals and exchanged a few casual remarks, Vlad inquired about Cui Ming and Beiyue's purpose for this trip. Cui Ming answered honestly, explaining how he had been tricked by a witch on Antarctic Witch Island and was now plotting his revenge. He mentioned plans to travel to Twilight City, then West Lake City, before returning to Dawn City from Purple Moon City. Beiyue would be taking a boat back to Hero City from Twilight City. However, he did not reveal this last part truthfully.
As they ate and chatted, Vlad took the initiative to discuss the Fire Cult. He expressed concern regarding the Fire Cult Practitioners and raised a question that puzzled him: "Why have Fire Cult Practitioners suddenly risen to prominence after being so obscure for so long?"
This question was one that the alliance had been pondering as well. In previous wars, there had been practitioners of the Fire Cult, but they were all human and generally weak. They refrained from participating in battles due to fears of intervention from the Ye Family's practitioners because they were at a disadvantage. So why had they suddenly emerged, especially as Half-Beasts?
It was known that there were Half-Beasts among the Fire Cult Practitioners; this had been discussed privately by professors and Wandering ten years ago without any evidence. Now it seemed that the professor's research was validated. Countless questions arose from this revelation, particularly regarding reproduction—how did these Half-Beasts come into existence? Could they reproduce through normal means? If so, why were they eager to emerge now? Why not wait until their numbers were greater before revealing themselves?
In Vlad's mind, Twilight City was never considered an enemy. The Dawn Empire also viewed Twilight City not as an adversary but as a competitor. To maintain its status as a dominant power, the rise of Twilight City would be particularly alarming for the Dawn Empire. Cui Ming suggested that there was a possibility that the Dawn Empire might be aiding the Fire Cult in hopes of instigating another conflict between them and Twilight City. From the perspective of the practitioner world, it was likely that Ding Family was behind this maneuvering. Ding Nuo had risen through family connections to become head of the family—was there assistance from the Dawn Empire? Yes; Eva and Raefus's situation indicated that Ding Nuo likely played a role in orchestrating the assassination of Ding Family's former head. Previously, Ding Nuo had established ties with both the Dawn Empire and the Elder Council.
The reason for this involvement differed from that of the Ye Family; Ding Family's ancestral teachings did not include a duty to protect the Dawn Empire. They could assist but were not obligated to do so. The Ding Family and Dawn Empire could not be tied together on one chariot.
Then there was Ding Lan—a beautiful and mature woman who was quite talkative and expressed admiration for Cui Ming in her words. She even directly asked about his relationship with Beiyue and whether he had someone special in mind. This left Cui Ming somewhat flustered; such conversations were not his forte, as they conveyed signals too directly without allowing him to clarify that he wasn't interested.
Vlad joked, "If Ding Family has you as their son-in-law, Cui Ming, that would definitely be a good thing! Haha! Ding Lan, go for it! If you win over Cui Ming, I owe you one!"
Ding Lan responded gracefully, "Director, please don’t joke around! However, I would love to become friends with Cui Ming. From our conversation, it's clear that he has quite an extensive background and is very intelligent. There are many things I would like to ask him; I just wonder if he would be willing to spare some time for casual chats."
Cui Ming could only reply, "Of course! But I don't have any special talents; I hope I won't end up being a laughingstock."
After lunch, Vlad had the driver take Cui Ming and Beiyue directly to the ferry terminal. After bidding farewell, Vlad asked Ding Lan, "Do you really like her?"
"It doesn't matter if it's true or not. Just looking at Beiyue's expression makes me want to laugh. But Cui Ming is indeed talented and worthy of me; I quite like her."
Vlad chuckled, "Beiyue? Heh, it's hard to say about these two. Beiyue is still searching for her father's whereabouts. As long as there's no news, she will be tangled up and afraid to let go of her feelings. If Cui Ming stays by Beiyue's side, they might end up together. But if they separate... You see, what I said earlier is true. If Cui Ming could become a son-in-law of the Ding Family, even if Ding Nuo holds a grudge against him, he would still be very pleased."
"Because Ding Nuo at least understands one thing: someone who can defeat him must possess strengths greater than his own," Ding Lan replied. "I appeared too suddenly and too quickly; I should take it slow."
"There's no rush; you're still young," Vlad said. "This is something that should be criticized about Ding Nuo. A person as outstanding as you, if it weren't for my strong recommendation, he would probably still see you as just a combatant rather than a manager."
Ding Lan replied calmly, "Sometimes, living as someone who just follows orders makes life much simpler."
Vlad could only offer comfort: "You've worked hard. Ding Nuo is a tyrant and will never become a true ruler. However, he is currently the leader of the Ding Family. For some trivial decisions, don't confront him too much."
"I understand."
Ding Lan could say that Vlad was the only ally in the Ding Family; only they were loyal to the Ding Family while being disloyal to Ding Nuo. Others might be loyal to the Ding Family but were simultaneously loyal to Ding Nuo. Ding Nuo was not a brilliant talent; they needed to do things to compensate for his shortcomings. Simply put, today the Ding Family needed someone to host Beiyue and Cui Ming.
Beiyue spoke little today, perhaps because the driver was from the Ding Family. Cui Ming was in good spirits, chatting with the driver about everything from the customs and culture of the Dawn Empire to its political structure. After spending a night in a small town, they continued their journey and arrived at the ferry terminal by the next evening.
The strait was quite narrow, only about ten kilometers wide. Because of this, it had been a significant military location during the cold weapon era. Now it was peaceful; the ferry across the strait served as a means of transporting commercial goods and passengers. The strait belonged to a City-State that had a good relationship with Twilight City; however, Twilight City did not station troops here to guard against the Dawn Empire. On the contrary, during every national holiday speech, Twilight City would mention how the Dawn Empire had helped them during the First and Second World Wars and express gratitude in return. Was it because Twilight City was righteous? Cui Ming knew that politics had nothing to do with righteousness.
The neighboring country of this City-State practiced Fire Cult beliefs, which required taking a detour; otherwise, some procedures would need to be handled. The coastal City-States were all non-Fire Cult nations, so Cui Ming and his companions took the coastal route. Throughout the Eastern Continent, Twilight City lay in the center, surrounded by Fire Religion Nations, while on the outermost layer were non-Fire Cult City-States with relatively weaker powers.
These non-Fire Cult coastal City-States were very open-minded; their common characteristics included weak military power, prosperous economies, stable livelihoods for their citizens, high taxes, and generous welfare systems. The scenery was beautiful and the streets were clean. This five-day coastal journey made Cui Ming and Beiyue feel as though they were on a vacation.
Upon arriving at Twilight City, they took a boat to the city, remaining silent throughout the journey. After checking into a hotel, Cui Ming attempted to contact the Ye Family. He had initially planned to visit Yellen, but learned that Yellen had become a council member and was currently on duty in Hero City. Cui Ming sought out Ye Xin, but she was busy with work, so he reluctantly turned to Ye Shi. Unfortunately, even Ye Ying was out in the wilderness and could not be reached at the moment. What frustrated Cui Ming was that while Ye Shi had decent strength, he lacked experience; after chatting for a bit with Beiyue, he suggested meeting Beiyue in West Lake City to go shopping together. Just as Beiyue was trying to figure out how to respond, Ye Wen answered the phone, inquired about the hotel, and then stated he would personally pick them up tomorrow.
"They must have something going on," Ye Wen said after hanging up, addressing Ye Shi. "In the future, whenever there are cultivators contacting you, especially those who are relatively well-known, you should meet them in person. Don't treat them like friends; treat them like guests."
...
Time reveals a person's true character. When Cui Ming first met Ye Wen, it seemed that Ye Wen was more enthusiastic about Liu Meier and rather indifferent towards others. However, within that indifference lay different levels of attention. After some understanding and interaction, Cui Ming realized that choosing Ye Wen as the head of the family might not have been a mistake.
Ye Wen's most notable trait was his tendency to assess others based on their strength first. When your power or influence caught his eye, he would regard you differently. Was he snobbish? Cui Ming didn't think so; rather, Ye Wen simply didn't want to waste his time on trivial socializing and preferred to invest his time and energy only in those who were valuable. In contrast, Yellen was quite the opposite; he mingled with all sorts of people and did not shy away from superficial interactions. Compared to Ye Wen, Yellen resembled a politician more. A family needs politicians for management but cannot rely solely on them. Thus, Cui Ming increasingly believed that choosing Ye Wen over Yellen as the family head was a relatively correct decision.
During this meeting, Ye Wen did not engage in much pleasantry. He arrived at the guesthouse with an ordinary cultivator to meet Beiyue and Cui Ming; his assistant had already made contact beforehand. Ye Wen knocked on the door punctually and entered the room. He wasn't skilled in small talk, and coincidentally, neither was Beiyue. They shook hands briefly before introducing Ye Wen's companion and then sat down in the living room.
"Head of the Ye Family..."
"Call me Ye Wen; we are all young people here." Ye Wen disliked being referred to as 'head of the family' and expressed his feelings openly. Aware of this trait, he knew he wasn't the best person to host Cui Ming and his companions at this moment; however, they needed someone of high caliber to receive them.
Cui Ming did not mind Ye Wen's attitude; in fact, he preferred it this way. He spoke up: "Ye Wen, we have come with one purpose: to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Fire Cult."
Ye Wen asked, "What’s the reason?"
Cui Ming replied, "Due to certain matters, we may have some minor conflicts with people from the Fire Cult. To put it simply, we are looking for someone important related to the Fire Cult who is currently within Eastern Continent's Fire Cult Nation. We know nothing about Fire Religion Nation; hence we need to gather intelligence first before considering whether to delve deeper into Fire Cult Nation." (To be continued.)
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