Lu An looked at Kong Yan, noticing her expression growing increasingly somber, and realized that Starfire City was probably not as simple as it seemed.
"How so?" Lu An asked.
Kong Yan glanced at Lu An, took a deep breath, and frowned as she said, "As you said, the official road should be controlled by the City Lord's Mansion and accessible to everyone. But Starfire City is different. Wang Zhenggang's father was once a capable subordinate of the City Lord. After he established his own Family, the City Lord contracted him to develop the official roads around Starfire City."
"Later, after the official road was completed, the two of them, through some means, actually turned the official road into something Wang Zhenggang developed himself, making it the Wang Family's road. So, a fee must be paid to use it. And from what I know, at least three-tenths of the five-tenths profit we give to the Wang Family goes to the City Lord's Mansion. Do you think the City Lord's Mansion will care?"
"..." Lu An frowned. This was a classic case of collusion between officials and merchants.
"Because the Wang Family controls all the official roads around Starfire City, their influence in Starfire City is enormous, especially for a Family like mine, where they hold the power of life and death. That Wang Zhenggang, for some reason, is interested in me, and I'm afraid my Family might..." Kong Yan's brows furrowed deeper as she spoke, and her eyes held an undisguised worry.
Lu An fell silent upon hearing this. He didn't know what to say, because such a world was still very distant for him; he simply wasn't qualified to participate.
"Is there a way to change it?" Lu An asked softly.
"Yes, but it's extremely difficult," Kong Yan leaned gently against the cold, damp earthen wall and said, "This is a world where the strong reign supreme. As long as your strength is great enough, powerful enough to make the City Lord's Mansion revere you, or even powerful enough to replace the City Lord's Mansion, then what is a mere Wang Family?"
Lu An nodded slightly upon hearing this, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "What level of strength can make the City Lord's Mansion revere one?"
"Second-Level Celestial Master," Kong Yan said directly, "As far as I know, the City Lord is only a Second-Level Celestial Master. If one were a Third Grade Celestial Master, one could go to a larger city. So, I am also working towards that goal."
Speaking, Kong Yan looked up at the cave entrance and said, "I strive desperately, firstly to break the shackles of my Family, and secondly to change my own destiny. As long as I can reach Second-Level Celestial Master, I will be able to control my own destiny."
Lu An saw Kong Yan's clenched fists, frowned slightly, and gently lowered his head.
Second-Level Celestial Master, can that really change one's destiny?
"But... how easy is it to reach Second-Level Celestial Master?" Suddenly, Kong Yan laughed, but her voice held an indescribable bitterness. "This year, Wang Zhenggang will become a First-Level Celestial Master. At that time, he will definitely come to my home to propose marriage. Knowing my father, if losing a daughter can preserve the Family business, or even allow them to climb up the Wang Family's high branches, he would be very willing."
"..."
Lu An frowned, remaining silent. Looking at Kong Yan's dejected appearance, he also felt a bit distressed.
"I'll help you," Lu An said softly.
"What?" Kong Yan was startled, not quite reacting, and looked up at Lu An.
"I said, I'll help you," Lu An took a light breath, his gaze calm and firm, his voice without a trace of wavering.
Kong Yan looked at Lu An, her heart stirred, but then she smiled and shook her head, saying, "I'll remember your kindness, but if even I can't do anything, what can you do?"
"There will be a way," Lu An said softly.
Looking at Lu An's calm demeanor, for some reason, Kong Yan's heart skipped a beat. Then she took a deep breath and said, as if joking, "If you can truly prevent me from marrying Wang Zhenggang, how about I marry you instead?"
Lu An's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he shook his head like a rattle drum, quickly waving his hands and saying, "No need, no need."
"What, do you think I'm not good enough for you?" Kong Yan raised an eyebrow, leaning forward and gradually moving closer to Lu An.
Immediately, much of Kong Yan's cleavage was exposed, making Lu An feel a surge of desire. He quickly averted his gaze, swallowed, and said, "I'm not good enough for you."
"If I say you're good enough, then you are. Sister will ask you one more time, are you willing?" Kong Yan had already pushed Lu An against the wall, their faces less than an inch apart, practically touching.
Gulp.
Lu An involuntarily swallowed, looking at her skin, still flawless at such close range, and feeling her warm breath, his heart pounded fiercely.
"No," Lu An said.
Kong Yan was startled. She looked into Lu An's eyes and saw that they were so clear, without a hint of deceit. She stopped her teasing and asked calmly, "Why?"
Lu An looked at Kong Yan, who was so close, feeling very nervous, but still said, "My mother told me that two people together need love."
"Love?" Kong Yan smiled upon hearing this, raising an eyebrow and asking, "Do you know what love is?"
"No," Lu An shook his head slightly, truthfully saying, "But my mother said, love doesn't require you to understand it. When I meet someone for the first time and can't stop thinking about them, that means I've fallen in love with her."
"This is just love that exists in fantasy," Kong Yan's smile gradually turned cold as she said, "Where is there any love in this world? It's always because of some specific quality in the other person that one likes them. And where is there any pure marriage in this world? With parental consent and matchmakers' arrangements, where is the power of choice?"
Kong Yan moved away, and Lu An breathed a sigh of relief, but then he frowned at Kong Yan's increasingly cold expression. He thought for a moment and said, "So, that's why we choose to Cultivate to change our destiny."
"We?" Kong Yan looked at Lu An, asking with interest, "What do you want to change?"
"I..."
Lu An paused, ultimately not speaking.
Ever since Fu Yu asked him two days ago, he had been pondering this question. He thought for a very long time before realizing why his parents died—because they were slaves.
As long as there are slaves in this world, destiny can never be changed. So he wants to change the entire world, to make the term 'slave' disappear completely from the Eight Ancient Continent!
But he absolutely dared not voice that thought now.
Kong Yan saw Lu An lower his head and remain silent, and didn't press further. In this world, everyone has their own secrets. She softly said, "You've lost a lot of blood. Sleep and rest for a while. I'll call you when my Tian Yuan Power has recovered enough."
Lu An was indeed a bit tired, his head feeling heavy, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
With that, he leaned against the earthen wall and fell asleep.
In the vast cave, only Kong Yan remained, her beautiful eyes never leaving the sleeping Lu An.
A pitch-black Sea of Consciousness.
Lu An once again entered his Sea of Consciousness, looking at the surrounding black mist and searching everywhere for that figure.
Soon, a black mist slowly rose in front of Lu An, then gathered into a human shape. Who else could it be but the Black Mist Person?
"You've come," the Black Mist Person's voice was still full of vicissitude and hoarseness, with an extremely rich sense of age, as if he had lived for thousands of years.
"Mm," Lu An nodded, looking at the figure in front of him. After several meetings, he was no longer so afraid of this person. He thought for a moment and asked, "How was my previous battle? Please give me some pointers."
"Battle?" The Black Mist Person's voice paused. He asked, "When?"
"Half an hour ago," Lu An was startled, asking somewhat strangely, "You live in my Sea of Consciousness, aren't you able to see everything?"
"I don't have a habit of peeping. I've been in a deep slumber. I only wake up if your life is truly in danger; otherwise, each awakening consumes my essence," the Black Mist Person said indifferently. "At that rate, I might be gone before the guidance is even over."
Lu An nodded upon hearing this, then saw the Black Mist Person wave his hand, and instantly countless fragments appeared in the black space. The Black Mist Person effortlessly grabbed the battle from half an hour ago, from beginning to end.
Immediately, a vast screen appeared between Lu An and the Black Mist Person, showing everything Lu An's eyes had seen during the battle.
Lu An watched everything he had seen at the time, reviewing the battle. In his opinion, he had done his best, choosing the optimal route for both the timing of the sneak attack and the method of escape.
After watching, the images in the space disappeared. Lu An was satisfied, showing a rather pleased smile as he looked at the Black Mist Person and asked, "How was it?"
The Black Mist Person glanced at Lu An, his face not showing the praise Lu An had expected. He slowly opened his mouth, his hoarse voice saying, "If viewed from the standards of the Sky Realm, you did perfectly."
Lu An's heart filled with joy upon hearing this, but then he paused and asked, "Then what if viewed from your perspective?"
The Black Mist Person's eyes darkened upon hearing this, and he said indifferently, "Utterly foolish!"