Evolution - Chapter 164
Chapter 164
The dispirited group was actually spurred on by her. They pulled themselves together and began to seriously discuss the possibility.
He Yi, who was observing the entire scene from the side, wished she could pull out a notebook and jot everything down. She marveled inwardly, I’m learning so much!
No wonder she was President Yu!
Of course, Chu Ci had no intention of making them sit on Yunbao’s back and ride the waves all the way to Blue Star. That would be too cruel, both to Yunbao and to everyone else.
She had only let them stay out as long as they wanted because she saw how fanatical they were, how addicted they were to that up-close-and-personal embrace of the starry sky. Now that they were all worn out, she felt a faint sense of regret—time to burn more spirit stones!
The Seven Realms Cultivation Alliance had truly made a momentous decision this time, providing a starship capable of interstellar travel specifically for this project.
Yes, the Star Alliance was also fully supportive, and arranging for a fleet escort would have been no problem. But what if a dispute over the distribution of benefits arose later? They couldn't rely entirely on the Alliance's fleet, lest they find themselves with their hands tied if they ever needed to argue or flip the table.
The Seven Realms Cultivation Alliance possessed three such starships. Normally, no one needed them. Each realm had cross-domain teleportation arrays, which were convenient, fast, and less costly. Who would want to use a starship that was slow and expensive in comparison?
After much consideration, the project initiated and organized by Chu Ci was the only one that had a slight need for it, so it was handed over to her for use.
Chu Ci yawned. Starting up this starship cost tens of thousands of spirit stones, and they all had to be high-grade.
Naturally, she wasn't so noble as to use her personal savings. All these expenses were meticulously recorded and charged to the project!
Now that no one wanted to stay exposed on Yunbao's back any longer, it was time to board the starship!
The few people from the Academy of Sciences looked at Chu Ci with tearful gratitude as she brought out the starship. A comfortable, spacious environment—here they came!
Although they still couldn't connect to the star-net aboard the ship, in other respects it was no different from living on a starfleet vessel, and was even more comfortable. The group of tech specialists once again became engrossed in studying various cultivation techniques, attempting to deconstruct them to deeply understand their systematic theories, and to see what they had in common with their current scientific theories, as well as what was so mystical about them.
High-grade materials were certainly not provided for them to mess with, but low-grade ones were fair game.
For a time, those who needed to cultivate did so, and those who needed to research did so. Everyone found their place. In any case, the daily meals were kept perpetually warm and fresh, so they could just go eat whenever they were hungry.
He Yi and Shen Guiqing rekindled their friendship. Although they hadn't truly grown up together, He Yi genuinely cared for this virtual best friend, Shen Guiqing, and was overjoyed to see her grow into a powerhouse. Previously, one was busy teaching the people sent from the various sects of the Seven Realms, while the other was busy nursing Ji Changqing and Yu Zhiyao back to health, so they didn't have much time to spend together.
Now, on the way to Blue Star, they were together day and night. One wanted to learn more about the various arts of the cultivation world and ask questions about cultivation, while the other wanted to learn more about Blue Star and was full of curious questions. Slowly, they began to connect each other with their counterparts from the instance, and they still felt that the other person's temperament was a perfect match for their own.
Ji Changqing had now become Yu Zhiyao's personal life assistant.
Her daily routine was as regular as Big Sister's. She would wake up in the morning, listen to Big Sister's teachings, practice her spear techniques, get beaten up in sparring, and complete a full physique training regimen. After her morning lessons, she would bring breakfast back and coax Yu Zhiyao out of bed.
After they finished breakfast together, they would go to class. Big Sister, Gu Jiawen, and Shen Guiqing took turns lecturing on topics including alchemy, talismans, artifact refinement, and formations.
Originally, the only students were Ji Changqing and the other two, but the six from the Academy of Sciences wanted to audit the classes. No one minded. If they wanted to listen, they could. Even Yunbao came to join the fun every day.
The afternoons were for everyone to review their work and complete the day's assignments. If they were in a sect, this would be the time to complete sect missions to earn contribution points. But since they didn't need to do that now, they had much more free time.
During this time, Yu Zhiyao would usually cultivate for a few cycles before delving into her research projects. Ji Changqing would work on the tasks assigned by Big Sister, deconstructing the spear techniques move by move, practicing each one until she could execute it flawlessly at will.
In the evening, the two underachievers, Ji Changqing and He Yi, would attend Big Sister's evening class together. The star student, Yu Zhiyao, was exempt from morning and evening classes due to her excellent aptitude. These two poor students, however, had no choice but to take a roundabout path to salvation through physique cultivation.
Dual cultivating in both magic and physique meant their homework was super-sized!
Ji Changqing and He Yi had already experienced this once in the instance. This time was merely a recurring nightmare, and they were quite used to it. After all, they weren't unruly children who didn't know what was good for them. Holding onto the simple belief that more skills couldn't hurt, they spent every day trying to survive Big Sister's beatings.
Among them, Ji Changqing was still the one who took the heaviest hits. After all, one was a pure tech nerd, and the other was a soldier who walked on the razor's edge. There was no comparison in this regard.
The starship was faster, safer, and more comfortable than a starfleet vessel. They reached Blue Star in less than three months. Chu Ci had no intention of applying for landing clearance. She simply activated the starship's concealment formation, using the "no one can see me" technique to bypass military surveillance and silently park above their chosen base on Blue Star.
To rebuild Lingyun Peak, Chu Ci had chosen a location in a remote, deep mountain range.
It wouldn't disturb the public, required no demolitions, covered a vast area, and was convenient and fast!
As for construction difficulties and material transport being a major problem? With so many cultivators from the cultivation world as laborers, was that even a concern?
Not in the slightest!
She could even have this group of laborers build the Blue Star branch of the Academy of Sciences at the same time!
They arrived at dawn, just as the sun was about to rise.
Looking down from above, the mist was ethereal and dreamlike, drifting among three thousand majestic peaks covered in dense, verdant forests.
A moment later, the first light of dawn appeared. The sun burst forth, its morning rays like ten thousand sharp swords piercing the rising mist, vanquishing it in a single blow. As the mist dissipated, the vast mountain range and its rolling peaks were unveiled, revealing their magnificent, awe-inspiring, and masterfully crafted appearance.
The peaks had sheer cliffs, green pines and cypresses, strange mountains and steep ridges, each peak standing alone.
Everyone let out a collective "Wow," and a single thought rose from the bottom of their hearts: this was meant to be Lingyun Peak!
The seven thousand laborers from the cultivation world were very effective. Luo Mingsheng and Luo Gengjiu, who had been sent ahead to supervise construction, were also very capable. The basic structure was already taking shape.
Currently, buildings had been mainly constructed on nine peaks, mostly adapted to the terrain and developed according to the local conditions. The structures were specially designed and built without destroying the original landscape. There were endless stretches of pavilions and courtyards, some being spacious, single-family compounds that looked very high-class, and others being small, exquisite dormitory courtyards suitable for communal living…
There were also several large, circular buildings with high halls and spacious courtyards. At first glance, they each looked like a lecture platform with circular tiers of seating below.
Only the main peak was different. Its summit had been almost completely flattened. The first thing one saw was an impossibly large plaza, probably bigger than dozens of soccer fields combined. At the front of the plaza stood a platform over ten meters high, flanked by high-definition screens for projections, clearly intended for martial arts demonstrations.
Behind the plaza was a massive complex of grand and imposing halls, built as if suspended in the air.
Li Bai once said, "Without seeing the grandeur of the imperial palace, one cannot know the majesty of the Son of Heaven." Here, it was: the main peak was majestic, its weighty presence awing all in its vicinity.
This would serve as the public face of the rebuilt Lingyun Peak.
Even for construction fiends, to have built something like this in less than two years was truly staggering to behold.
Moreover, scattered between the peaks, arranged in a pleasingly haphazard manner like pieces of a puzzle, were numerous spirit fields.
The sight was gratifying; it was the season of harvest.
The area designated for the Blue Star branch of the Academy of Sciences was very thoughtfully placed. At first glance, it seemed to be on the periphery. But if one were to draw a circle connecting the nine peaks that had already taken shape, it would be located right inside this circle, subtly embraced and protected by the nine peaks, yet with an unobstructed small plain in front of it.
The nine peaks served as the nine major bases for the mountain's protective formation, with the main formation eye on the main peak. Due to the formation, the energies of the nine peaks were interconnected, giving them a sense of being a single, harmonious whole.
The location of the Academy of Sciences' Blue Star branch was within the range of the protective formation, but it was independent of the other nine peaks, its energy not interconnected with theirs.
This way, Lingyun Peak could include the Academy's branch within its protective perimeter while also keeping it separate from Lingyun Peak's confidential areas, considering that it was, after all, an institution under the Star Alliance's ABO system and would have various external needs.
Chu Ci hovered the starship in front of the plaza, waved her hand to gently deliver everyone onto the ground, and then put the ship away.
This was no joke. The ship was a spirit-stone guzzler. Every extra moment it was active, it consumed more spirit stones.
As the members of the Academy of Sciences landed, they ignored the frantic beeping of messages and calls on their comms now that they finally had a signal. They looked around in a daze, trying to find any usable means of transportation. From the starship, they had seen where the Academy's Blue Star branch was, but they hadn't seen any roads!
That's right, no roads!
These people had only built paths for walking within each peak. Between the peaks, there were no roads.
After all, for cultivators, once they reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they could fly on swords. Before that, they were expected to have cultivation-specific flying beasts for transport.
If you can fly, who needs a bicycle!
They hesitated, looking expectantly at Big Sister, but Big Sister was busy surveying her future domain!
They then looked at Yu Zhiyao, only to find her automatically standing with her girlfriend and the people of Lingyun Peak.
Then they looked at He Yi. Oh, right. She was part of Lingyun Peak herself and was standing arm-in-arm with her friend Shen Guiqing.
A streak of sword light flew over from the distance. In a flash, Luo Gengjiu landed before them, cupping her hands and bowing. "Big Sister!"
Chu Ci flicked her sleeve, gently lifting her up, and said with approval, "You and Mingsheng have managed this place very well. Excellent!"
She pointed to Gu Jiawen and Shen Guiqing. "You take them. Each of you take two and send the people from the Academy of Sciences over first."
The six isolated members of the Academy were moved to tears. Big Sister was the reliable one after all! As for Yu Zhiyao and He Yi, they could just be thrown away!
Lingyun Peak now had only seven disciples, plus one prospective disciple who had yet to formally undergo the initiation ceremony. Naturally, they would all live on the same peak.
The main peak was planned for martial practice, meetings, official business, and maintaining appearances, so no residential areas were planned there. They lived on a peak to the right and rear of the main peak, which was the highest in altitude, perilous and isolated, but with breathtaking scenery.
On the entire peak, only eight luxurious, single-family mountain courtyard homes were built.
Ji Changqing felt something was off. Why eight houses? They only needed seven!
But in Big Sister's eyes, her opinion didn't matter. Moreover, the design of this peak was something Yu Zhiyao had discussed with her. Since Yu Zhiyao also thought they should each have their own house, did it matter that Ji Changqing thought the two of them should share one?
If one were to imagine these eight courtyard homes as being on the same street, starting from one end, the order was: Luo Gengjiu, Luo Mingsheng, He Yi, Yu Zhiyao, Big Sister, Shen Guiqing, Gu Jiawen, and Ji Changqing.
According to Chu Ci's thinking, she would be in the center to coordinate, flanked by the strongest combatants. This way, even if Lingyun Peak faced a major crisis, their safety would be guaranteed.
As it stood, Luo Gengjiu on the left was fine, but Ji Changqing on the far right was not yet up to par.
However, considering that on Blue Star, everyone's cultivation was currently suppressed to the Core Formation level, and taking into account her particular profession, Ji Changqing was barely acceptable.
Ji Changqing was heartbroken, weeping internally. With Yu Zhiyao living next door to Big Sister, she didn't dare sneak over to Yu Zhiyao's place for the night under Big Sister's nose. She could only wait for Yu Zhiyao to come and grace her with a visit!
How tragic!
She had completely forgotten that she wasn't a free agent and couldn't just stay here long-term. She still had a job!
Xingchen learned they had arrived on Blue Star from the Academy of Sciences. He perplexedly made a call to Ji Changqing, his tone lackadaisical. "I know you went off to be a hero and save the damsel, but even with a beauty in your arms, you can't forget to report back to the unit, right, Colonel Ji Changqing?"
Ji Changqing scratched her face, her focus uniquely her own. She asked in surprise, "Why is it you?"
Since when did the great Captain Xingchen need to personally make calls to urge a team member to return?
Xingchen raised an eyebrow and said lazily, "Who else could it be, now that Blue Star has become such a hot commodity? That Xie'er fellow can't get away, so I had to come."
Everyone was keeping a close eye on that big fish and his faction. They couldn't let anyone unreliable get involved in Blue Star's affairs. After all, it had transformed from a primary civilization tech planet into a planet aiming to become a hub for the exchange of all systems, where a hundred schools of thought could contend and a hundred flowers bloom.
It was as if the former laggard had suddenly become the engine for a new round of high-speed development. The higher-ups were taking it very seriously.
Ji Changqing roughly understood what was going on. "I've been transferred to Blue Star too?"
"What else?" Xingchen had a "you're only just figuring this out?" look on his face. He pointed to his own insignia. "Me, Lieutenant General. You, Colonel. We've both been assigned to the Blue Star garrison. I'll make a trip to the Academy of Sciences branch tomorrow and pick you up to report for duty, my aide-de-camp!"
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