Xu San looked ashamed and whispered in explanation, "The Ten Elders represent the most authoritative existence in the Inhuman World, and every single one of them possesses immense backing and strength."
He could see that this senior was very capable of fighting, but what the hell was the use of fighting ability in modern society? No matter how strong an Otherworlder was, could they fight a nuclear weapon? To make it in this world, one needed influence and backing!
The Ten Elders never existed independently; countless disciples and grand-disciples supported them from behind, and this represented immense united front value.
Unexpectedly, Lin Xian smiled slightly, clapped his hands, and said, "That's simple. I'll just go solo a few branches, won't I? Doesn't Na Ruhu rely on his fighting ability to enter the Ten Elders Council?"
It wasn't that fists were useless, but rather that your fists weren't big enough.
In the Shrouding the Heavens universe I act like a trembling coward, in the Under One Person World I throw heavy punches!
Covered in cold sweat, Xu San hurriedly explained, "Senior, this is a rule-of-law society nowadays, you cannot involve ordinary people."
"Rest assured, this old man is not some bloodthirsty killer." Lin Xian asked in surprise, "Do I look like the kind of demon who slaughters ordinary people?"
"Definitely not." Xu San gave a violent shudder and said with unshakeable conviction, "Regarding the matter of you becoming one of the Ten Elders, I will report it to the higher-ups when I get back."
"Is there anything else you need?"
"Help me get an Identity Card." Lin Xian thought for a moment, then slapped his hand against his palm: "Ah right, by the way, help me find a place to stay as well, somewhere close to you folks so I can find you at any time."
"That is no problem!"
Xu San heaved a long sigh of relief. Rather than letting a powerful Otherworlder run amok everywhere, keeping him right under his own nose was safer.
Judging from their current interactions, this powerful Otherworlder did not possess any antisocial personality; on the contrary, he was someone who could communicate and with whom cooperation was hopefully achievable.
"May I be so bold as to ask Senior's honorable name? Your immortal age in geometry? And your ancestral home?"
Xu San asked with a deadpan expression, "These are the details that need to be collected for an Identity Card."
"Lin Xian, twelve years old." Lin Xian looked at his own slender palms and said playfully, "With the way I look right now, even if you wrote a hundred and twenty years old, other people wouldn't believe it anyway."
"As for my ancestral home, I am an Earthling."
He really is an old monster who regained his youth, Xu San muttered inwardly. Being able to recognize Zhang Xilin meant he had to be at least a hundred years old upwards; there was no telling if he might genuinely be a hundred and twenty.
Nadutong, North China Division.
"Bao'er, are you saying his Qi is very special?"
Looking cynical and acting the spitting image of a hoodlum, Xu Si restrained his usual unrestrained demeanor at this moment, his expression somewhat solemn as he asked, "Did you see it wrong?"
Inside the internal employee base, Xu San, Xu Si, and Feng Baobao sat cross-legged on the ground, forming a circle.
"Correct."
The dainty young girl scratched her buttocks, deliberately wearing a hint of a solemn expression on her cute and clueless face, waving her arms about and gesturing wildly as she said, "His Qi is very strange. One moment it's very young, and the next moment it turns old again."
"It's just like the Monkey's Seventy-Two Transformations. He looks like a child in his teens, yet he's also like someone in his twenties, and when you look closer he doesn't look like anything at all, making him completely elusive."
"Changing Qi." Xu San pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up, his gaze turning sharp: "Anything else special?"
"There's more, there's more!"
The young girl instantly bounced to her feet, mimicked the motion of the old man pushing the cart, and stated word by word, "Old, peasant, tilling, fields..."
"Bao'er, stop messing around." Xu San covered his face and let out a long sigh: "Is there really no information regarding this old freak within your memories?"
"None!" Feng Baobao puffed out her cheeks and thought for a moment, then shook her head very simply. A trace of earnestness surfaced within her restrained, spirit-filled eyes, and she murmured in a low voice, "However, he knows Zhang Chulan and Zhang Xilin; perhaps he also knows my family."
"Damn it!" Xu Si crushed a soda can on the table in one grip, pulled a cigarette out from his bosom, bit down on it, and said angrily, "What kind of world is this? Didn't they say no becoming spirits allowed after the founding of the nation? The Eight Extraordinary Skills were bad enough, but now old freaks like this are jumping out too."
"No smoking in front of Bao'er!" Xu San ruthlessly delivered a heavy slap to the back of the head, knocking Xu Si sprawling to the ground.
"I won't smoke then!" Xu Si rubbed his swollen, red face, using the most cowardly tone to speak the bravest words, before abruptly changing the subject and muttering, "Those three Quanxing people you brought back?"
"They were all taken away by that Senior Lin." Xu San pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up, his tone flat.
"They were all taken away!" Xu Si's voice instantly spiked by more than a decibel, his eyes widening like copper bells as he put his hands on his hips and cursed, "San, how did you handle things? Letting someone just take them away like that just whenever—did you go through my approval? I'm the regional director!"
"I'm the one in charge of this immediate beat!" Xu San retorted out of nowhere, immediately rising to his feet and walking over to sit on the side of the sofa. Illuminated by the sunlight, his lenses caught a faint gleam, and he lowered his head, his tone carrying a lingering chill: "What else could be done? Were you going to dispatch a modern army, bringing along heavy weapons to suppress him?"
"This is a harmonious society; would the higher-ups allow you to do that?"
"How many times has President Zhao said it? Maintaining stability is the number one priority."
"The meaning of Nadutong's existence is not to support the righteous path, nor is it to wipe out Quanxing. The company's tenet is: maintain the balance and stability of the Inhuman World, and do not let Otherworlders interfere with society!"
"Give me a break." Xu Si sneered, hands shoved into his pockets in a mocking manner: "In terms of rank I'm higher than you, and in terms of ideological awareness I am certainly no worse than you either. These words are fine for fooling youngsters, but don't fool your own people."
"Not letting Otherworlders break the balance—let me ask you about Chancellor Zhuge, who was hailed as the greatest Otherworlder in the world. What's the story there?"
"Zhuge Kongming, who was only a single step away from the legendary Feathered Ascension, took hold of the nexus of a state and commanded the entire Shu Kingdom."
"That is why he died." Xu San said with a calm expression, not arguing with Xu Si, merely calmly narrating a matter: "Although there are debates in the Inhuman World, one thing is a consensus: if Zhugeliang could have let go of the obsession in his heart, he might not have been unable to achieve eclosion ascension just like Zhang Daoling and Lu Chunyang."
"However, he insisted on reviving the Han Dynasty for the third time, stubbornly resisting the grand momentum of the Heavenly Dao, and could only be crushed flat by the wheels of history."
"What Otherworlders pursue is the Inner Sage, ascending the Ascension Platform alone; what governing a state requires is the Outer King, walking alongside ten thousand times ten thousand people. These are two diametrically opposed directions; forcing them to merge destined them to collapse."
"A person's energy is limited. If all their thoughts are spent on governing a state, where would they find the time to cultivate their character and seek the Dao?"
"Chancellor Zhuge, Taiping Zhang Jiao—they were all the same."
"Wasn't Jiang Taigong's Immortal Dao difficult to accomplish precisely because he was dragged down by worldly riches and nobility?"
Xu Si fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked a question: "Does that old freak harbor any intentions of the Inner Sage and Outer King?"
"From the current perspective, no." Xu San shook his head and said, "He said he wants to become one of the Ten Elders and live near the company."
"Become one of the Ten Elders, huh." Xu Si thought for a moment, speaking in a lingering tone: "I'd rather he were a reckless brute than someone bold, resourceful, and plotting on a grand scale."
"The Inhuman World is about to face turmoil once again."
"Xu Si, what kind of joke are you telling." Xu San slowly stood up, walked over to the window, and reached out to catch a fraction of the sunlight, speaking in a low voice: "When has the wind in the Inhuman World ever stopped?"
"If the world were at peace, the company wouldn't even exist."
"Besides, he merely took the Quanxing people away; he hasn't hindered us from questioning Xia He, Lu Liang, and Liu Yanyan either."
"Xia He is there too?" A lecherous smile instantly appeared on Xu Si's face: "Bone-Scraping Knife Xia He—this senior really is young at heart despite his old age, heh heh heh..."