Inner Sage, Outer King

Xu San broke out in a cold sweat and explained softly, "The Ten Elders represent the most authoritative figures in the outlander world. Every one of them has a powerful background and formidable strength."

He could tell that this senior was a capable fighter, but what the hell use was fighting ability in modern society? No matter how strong an outlander was, could he beat nuclear weapons? To make it in the world, one needed influence and backing!

The Ten Elders had never existed independently. Countless disciples and followers stood behind them, making them enormously valuable for united front work.

Lin Xian smiled faintly and clapped his hands. "That's easy. I'll just challenge a few branches one-on-one. Didn't Na Ruhu enter the Ten Elders Council because he could fight?"

It wasn't that fists were useless. Your fists simply weren't big enough.

In the Shrouding the Heavens universe, I cowered meekly. In the world of The Outcast, I struck with heavy fists!

Xu San sweated profusely and hurriedly explained, "Senior, this is a society governed by law. Ordinary people cannot be dragged into this."

"Don't worry. This old man isn't some bloodthirsty killer." Lin Xian looked surprised. "Do I look like the kind of demon who massacres ordinary people?"

"Definitely not." Xu San jolted upright and said decisively, "As for your becoming one of the Ten Elders, I'll report it to the higher-ups when I return."

"Other than that, is there anything else you need?"

"Help me get an Identity Card." Lin Xian thought for a moment, then clapped his hands. "Right, and find me somewhere to live while you're at it. Somewhere closer to you, so I can find you anytime."

"That won't be a problem!"

Xu San let out a long breath. Rather than let a powerful outlander roam freely, it was safer to keep him under their watch.

From their interactions so far, this powerful outlander did not seem antisocial. On the contrary, he was someone they could communicate with and possibly cooperate with.

"May I ask your name, your age, and your ancestral home?"

Xu San asked seriously, "Those are all details required for the Identity Card."

"Lin Xian, twelve years old." Lin Xian looked at his slender palm and said teasingly, "Looking like this, even if you wrote one hundred and twenty, no one would believe it."

"As for my ancestral home, I'm from Earth."

He really is some old monster who had regained his youth. Xu San muttered inwardly. If he knew Zhang Xilin, then he had to be at least over a hundred. He might really have been one hundred and twenty.

Nadutong, North China Division.

"Bao'er, you're saying his qi is very unusual?"

Xu Si, who looked like nothing more than a hoodlum, reined in his usual carefree manner and asked with a grave expression, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

Inside the employee base, Xu San, Xu Si, and Feng Baobao sat cross-legged on the floor in a circle.

"That's right."

The delicate-looking girl scratched her butt. Her vacant little face deliberately took on a trace of seriousness as she waved her arms and gestured wildly. "His qi was strange. Sometimes it was very young, and sometimes it got old again."

"It was like the Monkey King's Seventy-Two Transformations. He looked like a teenager, but also like someone in his twenties. Then when you looked closer, he didn't resemble anything at all. He was impossible to pin down."

"Changing qi." Xu San pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze sharpening. "Was there anything else unusual?"

"There was, there was!"

The girl instantly hopped to her feet, mimicked an old man pushing a cart, and enunciated each word. "Old, farmer, planting, fields..."

"Baobao, stop playing around." Xu San covered his face and sighed deeply. "Is there really nothing in your memories about this old monster?"

"No!" Feng Baobao pouted and thought for a while before shaking her head simply. A trace of seriousness surfaced in her deep, clear eyes as she murmured, "But he knows Zhang Chulan and Zhang Xilin. Maybe he knows my family too."

"Damn it!" Xu Si crushed the can on the table in one hand, pulled out a cigarette, and put it between his lips. "What kind of world is this? Didn't they say no one was allowed to become a spirit after the founding of the country? The Eight Extraordinary Skills were one thing, but now even old monsters like this were crawling out."

"No smoking in front of Bao'er!" Xu San mercilessly slapped him across the face, knocking Xu Si to the floor.

"Fine, I won't smoke!" Xu Si covered his swollen red face, saying the most cowardly words in the fiercest tone. Then he changed the subject and muttered, "What about those three Quanxing members you brought back?"

"They were all taken away by Senior Lin." Xu San pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone calm.

"They were all taken away?!" Xu Si's voice instantly rose several octaves. His eyes widened like bells as he put his hands on his hips and cursed, "San, how do you do your job? You just let someone take them away? Did you get my permission? I'm the one in charge of this division!"

"I'm the acting one," Xu San shot back coolly. Then he stood and walked over to sit beside the sofa. Under the sunlight, his lenses glimmered faintly. Lowering his head, he said in an eerie tone, "What else could we do? Mobilize a modern army and bring heavy weapons to suppress him?"

"In a harmonious society, do you think the higher-ups would allow that?"

"How many times has President Zhao said it? Maintaining stability is the top priority."

"The purpose of Nadutong isn't to support the righteous path, nor is it to wipe out Quanxing. The company's mission is to maintain balance and stability in the outlander world, and prevent outlanders from interfering with society!"

"Give me a break." Xu Si snorted, shoving both hands into his pockets. "My rank is higher than yours, and my ideological awareness isn't any worse. Those words might fool young people, but don't fool your own people too."

"Outlanders aren't supposed to disrupt the balance? Then tell me, what about Chancellor Zhuge, hailed as the greatest outlander in the world?"

"Zhuge Kongming, who was only one step away from ascending as an immortal, controlled the core of a nation and commanded the entire Shu Kingdom."

"So he died." Xu San remained calm. He did not argue with Xu Si, merely stated a fact. "Although there is debate in the outlander world, one thing is universally agreed upon: if Zhuge Liang had been able to let go of the obsession in his heart, he might have ascended just as Zhang Daoling and Lu Chunyang had."

"But he insisted on reviving the Han dynasty for a third time and stood against the great tide of Heaven's will. He could only be crushed beneath the wheels of history."

"What outlanders pursue is inner sagehood: one person ascending to immortality. What governing a nation requires is outer kingship: countless people moving forward together. They are two completely opposite paths. Force them together, and collapse is inevitable."

"A person's energy is limited. If all one's thoughts are devoted to governing a nation, where would there be time to cultivate oneself and seek the Dao?"

"Chancellor Zhuge and Taiping Zhang Jiao were the same."

"Wasn't Jiang Taigong's path to immortality difficult precisely because worldly glory and wealth held him back?"

Xu Si fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Does that old monster intend to pursue both inner sagehood and outer kingship?"

"Not at the moment." Xu San shook his head. "He said he wants to become one of the Ten Elders and live near the company."

"Become one of the Ten Elders..." Xu Si pondered for a moment, then said darkly, "I'd rather he were just a brute. Someone both wise and brave, with ambitions far too great."

"The outlander world is about to stir up another storm."

"Xu Si, what kind of joke is that?" Xu San slowly stood and walked to the window. He reached out to catch a little sunlight and murmured, "When has the wind in the outlander world ever stopped?"

"If the world were truly at peace, the company wouldn't exist."

"Besides, he only took away the Quanxing members. That doesn't stop us from questioning Xia He, Lu Liang, and Liu Yanyan."

"Xia He is there too?" A lewd smile immediately appeared on Xu Si's face. "Bone-Scraping Knife Xia He... This senior really was old but still full of vigor. Hehehe..."