Within the Megacorporation, Fire Virtue Will Rise

Never mind whether someone at Embryonic Breathing like me would have had the nerve to speak up just now. Even if I had, did you give me a chance?

I just made it through a question that could have gotten me killed, and I still haven't caught my breath...

Though that was what he thought, Lü Yuan respectfully lowered his head.

He spoke exactly as Li Yelan wished: "This humble subject did not dare presume to guess your intentions and speak out of turn..."

"Now that you have made them clear, my lord, please... please instruct me."

In truth, there was no reason. Just as stated before, Li Yelan had agreed to see him simply because she wanted to see him sooner.

But she couldn't tell him the truth as he was now.

Otherwise, she might disrupt his future. After all, this was the stage when he was slowly growing.

But as a Purple Mansion Four-Dharma Great True Person, Li Yelan had naturally long since prepared a story to fool her Lü Yuan.

She softly asked, "Do you know, compared with ordinary pseudo spirit roots, a top-grade pseudo spirit root like yours, whose conditions of birth are closest to those of an innate spirit root-"

"Precisely what advantages does it have, and why does it guarantee you admission to junior college?"

Lü Yuan knew he couldn't spoil his patron's fun at a time like this, and besides, he was genuinely puzzled about it.

So he was willing to answer as though making a mistake, to give her a sense of accomplishment.

"Because cultivation is faster?" he answered, not quite understanding.

Li Yelan shook her head. "Imagine that other pseudo spirit roots opened their third spirit apertures just as you did..."

"Then, with only a few points' difference in spiritual Qi aptitude, how much faster do you think you could be than them?"

"Then is it because, after entering junior college, I would have a greater chance of reaching Purple Mansion than they would?" Lü Yuan guessed again.

"Over the years, not many pseudo spirit roots have been admitted to junior college, but there haven't been that few, either. And though most cannot pass the Divine Ability stage, proportionally speaking, there are still far more of them than top-grade pseudo spirit roots, which might not produce even one in a hundred years."

Li Yelan looked down and noticed that Lü Yuan wasn't looking at her. She reached out and raised his chin, then asked as he stared at her in alarm:

"Under those circumstances, do you think a slightly higher chance of reaching Purple Mansion would earn you far better treatment than all of them put together?"

She was definitely a lolicon!

Caw, unless she gave me enough Spirit Stone Vouchers, I'd rather die than submit.

Though he thought this in humiliation, Lü Yuan's face showed no ripple of emotion. "Then this humble subject cannot think of an answer..."

"This humble subject is ignorant and inexperienced. Please do not take offense, my lord."

"And what if I insist on taking offense?" Li Yelan suddenly asked, and her readiness to frighten him at every turn had nearly left Lü Yuan at a loss.

So he could only choose to grovel.

"Then that would also be this humble subject's honor-" he said. And although his body did not resist, in his heart he truly did not want to be defiled!

But disappointingly... ahem, fortunately, Li Yelan really did seem to have been merely trying to scare him.

After giving both sides of his chin a pinch, she said, "What an interesting child..."

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you."

"The reason for the vast difference between pseudo spirit roots and top-grade pseudo spirit roots is actually very simple. It all comes down to one thing."

Li Yelan raised a finger on her free left hand. "Under the same conditions, pseudo spirit roots cultivate at almost the same speed as top-grade pseudo spirit roots, yet fall far short of them in treatment and importance..."

"That's because pseudo spirit roots-"

"Can almost never transfer to a bachelor's program."

Can almost never transfer to a bachelor's program...

Did that mean a pseudo spirit root might graduate from junior college and attain a Purple Mansion Divine Ability, but could almost never transfer to a bachelor's program?

If I remembered correctly, the requirement for transferring was to attain Purple Mansion, Two Divine Abilities?

Pseudo spirit roots could almost never attain Purple Mansion, Two Divine Abilities?

Why was that?

"May I ask why, my lord?" Lü Yuan had more or less understood where his value lay by now.

But he still didn't understand why pseudo spirit roots could almost never transfer to a bachelor's program.

And he had another question, because he thought that even if he had a chance to transfer to a bachelor's program in the future,

that still shouldn't be enough for someone at Embryonic Breathing to receive the privilege of an audience with a Four-Dharma Great True Person.

But before he could think further about that question, Li Yelan's answer interrupted his thoughts.

"Why can't ordinary pseudo spirit roots transfer to a bachelor's program?"

"Because for a pseudo spirit root to attain Purple Mansion, it must have an artificial spirit root implanted after birth-"

"And the innate conditions of pseudo spirit roots can basically only support the implantation of the lowest-grade artificial spirit roots, which cannot reach Purple Mansion, Two Divine Abilities."

Lü Yuan understood. "So top-grade pseudo spirit roots can transfer to a bachelor's program because they can support the implantation of a higher-grade artificial spirit root, or is it because they can advance the lowest-grade artificial spirit root?"

Very perceptive, but Li Yelan wasn't surprised. No one knew better than he did just how sharp Lü Yuan was in these matters.

"The latter."

She answered patiently, then subconsciously added, "After having an artificial spirit root implanted, a top-grade pseudo spirit root can gradually turn it from acquired to innate through cultivation, advancing it."

"Thus, a top-grade pseudo spirit root could be said to naturally possess one of the most important conditions for transferring to a bachelor's program."

In fact, the present Li Yelan had made many mistakes. She was talking a little too much.

The last girl with a top-grade pseudo spirit root hadn't gotten her to say this much in over twenty years-

She was only getting away with it because Lü Yuan had never seen how other Purple Mansion cultivators behaved.

Otherwise, with Li Yelan showing flaws everywhere, he would have spotted the problem long ago.

Fortunately, Lü Yuan happened to be inexperienced right now, so at most he was surprised by her attitude.

For the time being, he couldn't detect anything wrong.

"I see. Then it makes sense why top-grade pseudo spirit roots are far more important than ordinary ones."

"After all, since you said 'almost,' even if an ordinary pseudo spirit root can transfer to a bachelor's program, one can imagine how many times greater the cost would be than for a top-grade pseudo spirit root-"

Lü Yuan finally understood the reason behind it, and now there was only one question lingering in his mind.

Why was she willing to lower herself to see him?

That was the only thing he couldn't understand.

At the beginning, he would never have dared to ask, but after the questions, answers, and little episodes along the way,

Lü Yuan was certain that his patron bore him no ill will at this moment and seemed quite happy to answer his questions.

So, for the first time, he took the initiative to speak.

"But... my lord, leaving aside whether I can ever reach that stage, even if I really do transfer to a bachelor's program-"

"With your cultivation, there doesn't seem to be any need for you to lower yourself to see me..."

Li Yelan had long since guessed that he would ask such a question. "You're still worried about what value you have that makes me regard you so highly, aren't you?"

Lü Yuan nodded slightly, letting Li Yelan's long hair brush against the side of his face.

Then, the next moment, he froze. It wasn't because the answer frightened him or left him incredulous.

Rather, it was because, at that moment, he finally understood the painstaking care the Immortal Book had taken that day.

"Don't overestimate others, and don't underestimate yourself. You're different from the predecessor who came before you..."

"By comparison, Lü Yuan, your value is more than just the possibility of transferring to a bachelor's program-"

Li Yelan reached out and touched his forehead with a fingertip, mixing truth and lies as she spoke:

"Simply put, it's because the Dao lineage you initially chose happened to be the fire of the Five Virtues..."

"That's why your value now is far greater than your predecessor's was in his time."

"Because before long, within the megacorporation, Fire Virtue will rise."