Chapter 10 - A year worth of scheming (4/10)
Author note: Hi guys, I'm sorry for the wait; I had some problems IRL. I hope you like the story so far. At the moment, it'll be a little slow-paced as I'm trying to give more depth to the characters in this flashback. But, it'll become fast-paced at the end of it. I wish you happy reading.
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Seeing their reactions, Fang Yuan couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
"Yes, I am." He stood up and walked toward uncle Wu shaking him to wake him up.
"Yuan'er I had this strange dream where I... Huh, where am I?"
Ying Wu turned to look around, and his gaze fell on all of the present people. "Don't tell me..."
Fang Yuan shook his head as he returned to the seat near his fiancée.
"It wasn't a dream, uncle Wu. I found the mine a few weeks ago, when I was hunting alone in the mountains."
Xiao Lingxi was staring at the young man in a daze, and when he sat next to her again, she unconsciously held his hand as before. The young girl's action left Fang Yuan a little startled before he smirked at her. Xiao Lingxi didn't know why, but she felt at ease doing so. Seeing his smirk, she reciprocated, showing a breathtaking cute smile would have made any man want to take her home and pamper her.
Whereas the adults' trio were in contemplation, trying to process such important information.
"What do you think will happen if other nations find out?"
The adults were taken aback, and Xiao Lingxi waited for his explanation.
"T-This..."
"That can't be possible..."
"Don't tell me… No! We've always had a good relationship with the nearby nations!"
Fang Yuan sneered inside, knowing what would have happened. Naturally, he'll never tell anybody about his future knowledge.
"The only possibility is war. If we don't take those resources, not only Floating Cloud City but the whole Blue Wind Empire will face a great calamity."
His words resounded like thunder in their minds. What they just learned could lead to a nation's demise.
"We have to mine all the Purple Veined Divine Crystal and then take it down to not leave any evidence."
Thinking about their current predicament, the adults nodded in agreement because it was the best solution. Fang Yuan, seeing their agreement, smiled inwardly.
'And with this I secured one of the best resources that this planet could offer me, hehehe.'
"What we'll be doing isn't only for our own benefit, but also for the greater good."
«．．．☾ Nine months prior to Xiao Che's death ☾ ．．．»
The creation of the Ancient Moon clan caused a sensation in Floating Cloud City. Of course, the local power will always target a new one, but many didn't dare to cause trouble as the Xia Clan joined it. Especially since the leader of the said clan was someone who had connection with the Black Merchant Moon Guild, not counting his invention and agricultural achievements, which made him a well-known and appreciated figure of the city. Moreover, his status of junior at which many would have scoffed at didn't even come to mind.
No one knew that even the strongest expert in the area, Xiao Lie, joined them. Fang Yuan advised his father-in-law to continue living with the Xiao Clan to gather intelligence and avoid letting them become interested in the Ancient Moon's movements.
Well, that was not the main reason, but the one Fang Yuan gave the others.
The real main one was that Xiao Che couldn't leave the clan since he must be killed by poison in the Xiao manor, or Fang Yuan wouldn't be able to take the fucker's benefits. So in the following months, Fang Yuan, with the help of his new clan, mined in secrecy the Purple Veined Divine Crystal, and all the workers were of the Xia Clan.
The young man had urged to speed up the mining operations because he knew that the Purple mine would be discovered in a year or so.
Without his intervention, the mine would have been the spark that would have sprung the Divine Phoenix Empire's invasion.
This timeline will probably not happen since taking out their true reason and soon the fake one caused by Yun Che. Fang Yuan has basically saved millions of lives.
Naturally, the young man didn't give a damn about some strangers' lives. He isn't a hypocrite bastard, just a selfish one. How could he have let go of such benefits? It goes without saying that Fang Yuan took precautions by tampering all the workers' memory with his soul path knowledge.
As time passed, Fang Yuan developed a routine of training in the morning with Brother Ox, going to the mine to supervise the work in the midday, or hunting with Xia Yuanba.
And then spend the evening with Xiao Lingxi or going to visit Xia Qingyue, his little sister Ying Yue wasn't out yet of her closed-door cultivation.
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The day he achieved the first level for both the [Ox Demon's Fist of Great Strength] and [Tiger Demon's Fist of Bone Forging], when he was training with the guidance of Brother Ox, the latter told him that with his current resources, he would have to train hard before reaching the next level for both of them.
Furthermore, the black ox explained to him that acquiring a Demonic Body came with a price. His cultivation's demonic power will influence his mind and enhance his primitive instincts in a devilish fashion. The young man facepalmed, thinking about the implications of such revelations.
'Don't tell me... Killing, debauchery and what else? That could be troublesome and surely will affect my schemes.'
"By unlocking the 5th Transformation of [The Nine Transformation of Demonic and Divine], you will be able to keep in check your demonic side by controlling the shape of your soul."
Fang Yuan sighed in relief. 'Huh? Well, and here I was about to fret.'
"However, this is only a temporary means. The only method to fully control your demonic impulses is to cultivate the 3rd Transformation, otherwise if you continue training the 1st and 2nd one, you will eventually go berserk, literally transforming into a demon."
A vein popped up on the young man's forehead. For the first time since he came into this reality, he was vexed.
Logically speaking, he could stop training in the demonic path and wait for Jasmine to take the plot armor of Scum Che, also known as Heretic God Legacy. But he won't part with such a trump card like that.
"How will I be able to unlock the 3rd Transformation?"
Brother Ox chuckled, seeing him like this.
"Hehehe, you will have to reach the cultivation limit of this little planet within one year or maybe two, otherwise..."
'FUCK! How will I be able to attain the Divine Origin Realm in such a short time?!'
Learning about his fucked up potential future, Fang Yuan's mind was set in motion at incredible speed running through several possibilities, formulating schemes for each of them, narrowing to the best choice.
'In five months Jasmine will descend on the Blue Pole Star, so I will have only seven months in the worst case, but maybe if I go to...'
"...you will have to—Nah, I don't think you will be able to achieve this option."
When he heard about another possibility, Fang Yuan urged the black ox. "Speak!"
The latter seemed amused by the young man's predicament, and it was trying to stifle laughter.
"Pff, you will have to gain absolute compatibility with the water element, a thing I think is impossible on this little planet." Fang Yuan's eyes widened before starting laughing to his heart's content, leaving Brother Ox dumbstruck.
"HAHAHAHA! That's perfect!"
"Little brother Yuan, have you lost your mind?"
The young man, after several minutes, answered as he was catching his breath.
"Sorry, sorry... The second option you told me isn't impossible for me."
"Huh? How..?"
Brother Ox didn't pursue the matter since it hardly found something to his surprise, and knowing beforehand could only spoil it.
"Eheheh, I can't wait to see how you'll cope on your own!"
From then on, Fang Yuan started to train with even more dedication in the 5th Transformation unlocking its name, [Soul Demon's Reverend Insanity]. However, lacking test subjects on which to practice dangerous movements, he just trained in controlling the shape of his soul.
'Doing so, I'll not only steer clear of my demonification, but theoretically, by having the ability to reform the shape of my own soul, healing any kind of injuries sustained in battle will be a piece of cake.'
Fang Yuan couldn't help but laugh to himself.
'If enemies will not use soul type attacks I shall be an undying bastard protagonist, HAHAHA!!!'
Consequently, he decided to train something else, not wanting to waste time; the way of the sword. Brother Ox transmitted numerous sword techniques to his mind and many more regarding other kinds of weapons and even cultivation.
When it occurred, Fang Yuan felt his head was about to explode. Receiving this great influx of information at once brought a colossal headache, while the black ox laughed at him before blocking the access the young man's had on them.
"Those techniques and cultivation will be of great help for you in the future. I locked most of them in your soul, as currently, your mind cannot contain them. They will be available as you get stronger or if in the future you'll encounter someone compatible with them. I will not always be there to cover you, so I have given you a foundation. It will be up to you to conquer this world and move quickly on the upper realm."
The young man already knew he couldn't always count on his support, so he nodded in understanding. Then the black ox told him to take off a branch from a three and to swing it until exhaustion, in such a manner he could gain a solid foundation.
Brother Ox pointed out any minimal flaws, especially his body posture.
"Don't cut off the trajectory of your swing!"
"Don't divide each attack; you have to connect them!"
"Body posture is critical!"
Fang Yuan's basics were refined to a great extent within a day to his teacher's surprise that let him switch to an ordinary sword. As Fang Yuan took it, his aura slightly changed.
That subtle change didn't escape Brother Ox's gaze, which made it chuckled.
'I knew it! With him, I'm sure we'll succeed.'
The young man was perplexed because as he took the sword, he felt connected with it, like it wasn't the first he wielded one. Fang Yuan sensed something he had lost long ago, finally returning to him.
'Why do I have such a sense of déjà vu...?'
Alternative titles: 'For The Greater Good', 'Cockroach Protagonist'