Let's Leave the Holy Land as a Family

Blond Pops' bedchamber.

When Hoffman and Sullivan returned, Lu Ye was happily grilling meat with everyone.

Before Sullivan had even found his footing, Lu Ye cut off two pieces of meat and handed them over under Rosy's resentful gaze.

Sullivan pressed his lips together as he looked at the sizzling, dripping roast meat, warmth welling up inside him.

Boohoo, the young master really was the warmest Celestial Dragon.

The next second, Lu Ye casually asked:

"What did Uncle suddenly call you over to talk about?"

Sullivan nearly shuddered his way to his knees and looked to Hoffman for help.

Hoffman sighed helplessly. Sure enough, there wasn't a trace of arrogance to be seen!

"Saint Garling has already given his orders. I won't interfere with you..."

"Oh..."

Hunching his shoulders, Sullivan repeated what Garling had said.

"Path of the Strong?"

Lu Ye tilted his head and mumbled around the roast meat in his mouth, "That's a tacky name. What the heck is it?"

Hoffman bowed and said frankly:

"The Knights have a comprehensive training system for Celestial Dragons with potential. This process is called the Path of the Strong.

"Usually, the current commander of the Knights selects younger Celestial Dragons with suitable talent and puts together a training plan.

"It includes instruction in physical combat, swordsmanship, temperament and various fields of knowledge, supplemented at the end with an appropriate amount of pressure."

Lu Ye waved a hand. "I understand everything before that, but what do you mean by pressure?"

Hoffman said mildly:

"The Knights will deliberately support your peers in opposing and competing with you. Even members of the Knights may step forward to suppress you on the grounds that they dislike you.

"If you leave the Holy Land, you may face attacks from powerful pirates at sea, or happen upon rebels on land."

Rosy stood up indignantly. "Having agents pretend to be pirates and rebels is cheating!"

Hoffman bowed slightly. "Saint Rosinante, they are not all pretending.

"The Holy Land will sometimes deliberately reveal the trainee's whereabouts, allowing those lawless pirates to come and attack of their own accord.

"They may even make special arrangements for agents who have infiltrated their ranks to incite them, or buy them off with promises of great rewards.

"So death is a real possibility."

Rosy froze. "You can really die?"

Hoffman said seriously:

"Five people in total once set out on the Path of the Strong alongside Saint Garling.

"Today, only Saint Garling and one other remain active in the Holy Knights. The other three...

"Have all perished at sea!"

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. "So what part do you play in all this, Hoffman...?"

Hoffman held a hand over his chest:

"I was once a child who accompanied Saint Garling along the Path of the Strong. Now I am the guide leading Saint Longinus onto that path.

"With the exception of Conqueror's Haki, the Hoffman Squad can teach you every combat skill you need and serve as your last line of defense when danger arises."

Lu Ye rubbed his chin, somewhat skeptical. "Did Uncle tell you to tell me all this?"

Hoffman's mouth twitched. "Saint Garling said... if you asked, I was to tell you everything."

Lu Ye sucked in a breath. "I can't see through him. Doesn't this plan need to be kept from me? Uncle really is unfathomable!"

At the side, Homing, who had slapped himself three times and was still questioning his life, abruptly stood up and said urgently:

"Why does my little Longinus have to take part in something so dangerous?

"He's only three years old. I'm going to find Garling, and I'm going to protest to the Five Elders!"

Liana, too, abandoned her usual serenity. Her pretty face was stern, and her delicate brows were tightly furrowed:

"This is too much!

"Even the Holy Knights can't put our child in danger without asking us how we feel about it."

Lu Ye hurriedly stopped his ready-made parents:

"Don't listen to Hoffman's nonsense. What danger could I possibly be in here in the Holy Land?"

Blond Pops' mustache trembled. He pondered for a long time, then, as though he had made a momentous decision, said solemnly:

"Let's leave the Holy Land as a family!"

As soon as he said it, silence fell over the gathering.

Doffy and Rosy froze as if struck by lightning.

Sullivan, Hoffman and the others exchanged looks, utterly bewildered.

Lu Ye slapped himself hard twice.

That'll teach you to say there's no danger!

That'll teach you to say there's no danger!

Here comes the danger! Off to eat garbage with us!

Lu Ye rubbed his brow. "Pops, calm down. Things haven't gotten that bad."

"This isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, Longinus."

Homing put an arm around Liana's shoulders. The two gazed lovingly at each other as he said seriously:

"Your mother and I have long planned to give up our Celestial Dragon status and leave the Holy Land.

"We only stayed because we had no choice, given your previous condition.

"Now that your condition has stabilized, your mother and I can take care of you. As for the Knights, we can't accept a plan that disregards your safety like this.

"Doffy, Rosy, for Longinus' safety, leaving the Holy Land as a family may be the best choice!"

Doffy and Rosy muttered:

"Longinus wouldn't be in danger on the Path of the Strong. You have no idea how mighty he is..."

Lu Ye wanted to say more, but Homing strode forward and gripped his shoulders, his eyes shining as he said:

"Silly child, don't try to shoulder everything alone!

"The Donquixote family won't sit here and wait for death. Let's return to the earth and live happy lives as ordinary people!"

A little scene played out in Lu Ye's head:

Doctor: The patient has a patch of ringworm on his hand.

Family: Can it be cured by amputation?

Doctor: It can, but I suggest trying medication first...

Family: Cut it off! We can do without everything below the neck!

The doctor fell silent: We call that fucking beheading!

Lu Ye: Beep-beep-

Earth swear words!

Lu Ye grabbed Blond Pops' hand and forcibly pushed him back into the wicker chair.

"Compared to the Path of the Strong Uncle talked about, the plan you're suggesting is obviously much riskier, Pops!"

"How could that be? You've obviously got it backward!"

Homing waved a hand and said with a smile:

"Longinus, you don't like geography or history, so you don't know how wonderful ordinary people's lives are, or how hollow the lives of Celestial Dragons are...

"Once we return to the earth, you'll see merchant ships trading amid snow-white waves, bustling marketplaces, beaches with seabirds by the sea, romantic wandering poets and string players making music in the glow of sunset..."

Pop-

Lu Ye grabbed a meaty bone and stuffed it into Blond Pops' mouth.

"Stop joking! Everything you know about ordinary people's lives comes from books. You don't know what they're going through, and you don't know what you'll face when you leave the Holy Land."

Lu Ye helped his ready-made mother back into her seat as well.

It was time. To keep the crystal in the rear from self-destructing, he had to correct these two's unrealistic rightism today.

Lu Ye raised a charcoal-roasted beast leg and lectured them:

"Pops, Mom, please listen to the question:

"Above the clouds, there is a special race of people with feathered wings on their backs. Because they are holy and beautiful, they are called angels, and they have established a heavenly kingdom.

"The princess of the heavenly kingdom has the most beautiful wings of all the angels. Her flight is like a dance, her body gives off a strange fragrance, and she has the kindest heart. Under the protection of the heavenly kingdom's church, she often bestows holy water that cures diseases.

"The humans on the ground worship the princess and regard her as a sign of good fortune.

"Question: If the innocent princess of the heavenly kingdom goes alone into a human town and unintentionally reveals her snow-white wings, what happens next?"

Liana's pretty face reddened, and she said bashfully, "Um... a moving love story, I suppose?"

Homing looked at his beloved wife in confusion, and Liana hurriedly waved her hands.

"That's the plot of the novel Lost Princess, I Came from the Sky. The male lead is a brave stablehand."

Lu Ye froze. No wonder I made it up so smoothly. I'd accidentally wandered into one of my romance-obsessed mom's love stories.

Homing stroked his mustache and shook his head.

"The princess should marry a prince. How could she end up with a stablehand? The author is probably a stablehand himself...

"I hate authors who write novels based on their own subjective fantasies. Like Muscle Bat King, who wrote about Cook Street. An underground emperor who controls a single street? His shallow imagination can't even make it out of a small town."

That's got nothing to do with the question!

No wonder you two got married!

"Wrong!"

Lu Ye slammed the table and sprang to his feet, startling Homing and Liana. Putting on a stern face, he said ominously:

"The humans will cut off the heavenly princess's wings to unravel the secret of reaching the sky, and everyone who sees her will get a feather.

"They'll boil her flesh into soup for a feast. Those who want beauty will take her skin, those who want strength will take her heart, those who want health will take her muscles, and those who want wisdom will take her head!"

Homing felt queasy and hurriedly raised a hand to stop him. "Little Longinus, stop saying such scary things. You're making my hair stand on end!"

Lu Ye smiled and said calmly:

"The heavenly kingdom searched everywhere for the princess, but couldn't find so much as a strand of hair.

"Until one day, the church found the golden pot in which the princess kept her holy water, in the hands of a filthy, ugly stablehand.

"The king of the heavenly kingdom came to question him, and the stablehand grinned with a mouthful of yellow teeth and said honestly:

"'I haven't seen the princess. I found the pot in a haystack.'

"Everyone believed the simple stablehand. Only the king of the heavenly kingdom wept bitterly...

"Because on the filthy stablehand-

"He smelled the princess's fragrance!"

Lu Ye lowered his voice and whispered in Homing's ear, "He smelled the princess's fragrance... all over the town!"

Homing swallowed audibly, and Liana's face turned deathly pale.

Doffy sniffed and said oddly, "I think I smell pee..."

Beside him, Rosy scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Um... sorry, I really did get scared."

Liana covered her mouth and screamed, then hurriedly called the muscular maid Aila over to take Rosy to change his pants.

Lu Ye patted Homing on the shoulder.

"Pops, don't assume you can fit in with commoners, and don't underestimate the malice of your own kind.

"You can't really pretend you don't know what other Celestial Dragons have done to commoners, can you?

"Even if you say you never did any of it, no one will believe you.

"That hatred will spread to our family. The moment we give up our Celestial Dragon status, a countdown starts on all our lives."

Doffy also said seriously, "On this point, I agree with Longinus."

When he thought Garling had executed their third brother, he had already planned to ambush Garling's son-a red-haired brat-and knock him on the head.

Even though there had been no grudge between the two of them before.

Homing said dejectedly, "Sorry. If you're all against it, I'll think it over some more...

"But Longinus, won't the Path of the Strong really be dangerous?"

"No, because I'm a great fighter!"

After saying that, Lu Ye put an arm around Homing's shoulders and comforted him:

"Pops, if you really want to become a commoner again, just wait a few more years. These seas will be peaceful soon."

That evening.

Lu Ye declined Blond Pops' eager invitation to read together that night and solemnly told him he wouldn't need it anymore.

Homing's forlorn back looked like that of an old father whose children no longer needed him.

Jinbao curled his lip and remarked, "Well, there's no need for a simile here. He really is an old father you've grown tired of."

Lu Ye felt a little sorry for Blond Pops too, and reflected seriously:

"Then next time a girl confesses to me, I won't turn her down, so I don't hurt her feelings. I can ask if she minds a short relationship.

"Like... one night?"

First, he would rule Shalria out. He really couldn't handle a sweet girl whose sadistic side was maxed out.

After sending Sullivan and the others away,

Lu Ye pulled Jinbao over and began to study the background of the Pirate King world in detail.

Although reading the various novels Liana had collected had already given him some idea of how expansive this world was,

after Lu Ye finished reading the information Jinbao had compiled, he still couldn't help marveling:

Well, well, well! What a peculiar half-feudal, half-slaveholding world!

The Celestial Dragons controlled the World Government, with 170 Affiliated Nations under them.

Every nation was a monarchy, with its own king and nobles. They relied on paying a hefty Heavenly Tribute each year to obtain the World Government's protection.

The Affiliated Nations were already suffering terribly under the World Government's exploitation, while life was worse than death for the non-affiliated nations that couldn't pay the Heavenly Tribute!

Without the protection of the Navy, every non-affiliated nation was a pirate's paradise.

Slave ships also frequently captured people at will in non-Affiliated Nations and sold them openly as slaves. The Sabaody Archipelago was known for its slave trade.

Even ordinary people could keep slaves, as long as they had enough Beli.

This world had an Enies Lobby, yet Lu Ye had never seen any laws laid down in writing.

That made sense. A single word from a Celestial Dragon or a kingdom noble could decide whether a group of people lived or died.

Rather than justice, it was the slavish enforcement of orders handed down from above.

Lawless pirates gathered into massive pirate crews, plundering merchant ships and towns and growing fat off the spoils.

In short:

The Celestial Dragons held power over everyone's life and death, kingdom nobles held power over every ordinary person's life and death, and anyone held power over the lives of their own slaves.

For those at the bottom to take control of their own destinies, their only path was to go to sea as pirates and challenge authority with weapons.

But most pirates simply turned their weapons on civilians instead.

It was now Sea Circle Calendar 1488. According to the story, the child of the world, Monkey D. Luffy, would officially set sail in thirty-two years, in Sea Circle Calendar 1520.

In just a few years after that, Luffy would grow into one of the strongest people on the seas, gather a band of reliable and powerful companions, sound the Drums of Liberation, and overthrow the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

Lu Ye frowned and counted on his fingers. "So if I do nothing, I'll probably live for only thirty-six years this time, exactly as long as I lived in my last life!"

Guan Yu, and you still say you didn't have a hand in this?

Jinbao smiled ingratiatingly. "Well, I've been meaning to remind you..."

"Thanks a lot!"

Lu Ye reached out and gave Jinbao a hard rap on the head.

"I thought Huang Chao, whose name the King of Hell had called, was already invincible, but you didn't tell me Joy Boy was a monkey playing the role of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

Jinbao rolled around on the bed for a good while, then asked with tears welling up, "Well, little Lu Ye, what are you going to do? Wait thirty-two years and help Luffy? That silly kid's pretty easy to talk to."

Lu Ye scoffed disdainfully. "Overthrowing the Celestial Dragons will bring about a better world?

"If Sir Lu believed that, my political education teacher would probably break my legs.

"If everything is the World Government's fault, the non-Affiliated Nations should be paradises.

"Once you've killed a tiger, how do you know it won't be replaced by a pack of wolves?

"Destruction and construction have always been two different things. The former can be achieved with optimism and courage, but the latter takes wisdom. You want me to trust a monkey with that?

"Besides, I don't intend to count on being saved thirty-two years from now. Why can't I do it myself?

"Anyone who has studied the revivals of dynasties in Huaguo's history should understand that, as long as one holds enough power to sweep away all opposition, a dynasty has never truly reached a dead end. It's only bad players who create a crisis, one move at a time.

"There's no need to destroy it. I'll carve the existing World Government into my own image and use institutions to achieve true liberation!"

"Then what are you going to do?" Jinbao asked.

The corners of Lu Ye's mouth rose slightly. "First, of course, I'll put power in a cage..."

Jinbao rubbed their nose. "Well, I don't really understand. What exactly are you going to do? Do you need me to do anything?"

"Can you cheer me on?"

Lu Ye clenched his fist. "Starting tomorrow, watch me outwork them all!"