Fearing his grand plans of ten thousand years would dissipate into smoke due to Xu Lai’s abrupt appearance, the Moon King did not hesitate to cooperate with his eldest son, Ji Gui, to stage an "assassination" to help this incompetent Crown Prince grow. The reason was simple—he felt insecure.
The Moon King needed a sharp knife to deal with his terrifying enemy, Xu Lai. This knife could be his son, or it could be his daughter. Even his wife, who seed to have erged from the forbidden Sea of the Moon, was a knife ant for killing. To the Moon King, anyone could be this knife. The only one who couldn’t be the knife was himself.
Because knives break.
The Moon King wanted to be the one holding the knife, not the disposable blade itself, which could be broken or discarded at a whim.
He wanted to live.
It was as simple as that.
* * *
Sotis, being too exceptional was a helpless burden. Xu Lai felt this keenly as he pushed open the door to Dongli University’s dical clinic.
It was not yet nine in the morning.
Inside the clinic, he saw a group of old n and won seated on the floor, including Li Shouzhong, Yan Gui, and others. The significance of this group to the dical community of Hua Country was unquestionable. If one were to write a book about the history of dicine in Hua Country, these elders would undoubtedly be featured, with entire sections dedicated to them.
Furthermore, Xu Lai’s advanced dical theories had opened a new world to these dical fanatics, allowing their knowledge and horizons to grow exponentially.
"You’re all here so early. Have you had breakfast?"
Xu Lai noticed the deep, dark circles under their eyes, a clear sign they hadn’t slept all night. Coupled with the worry in their expressions, he knew they must have encountered serious trouble.
As he expected, Li Shouzhong spoke with a look of sha, "Director Xu, we’ve caused a disaster."
RUSTLE.
The group of elders scrambled to their feet, their heads hanging in guilt. They looked like misbehaving children awaiting punishnt from their parents or teachers.
"Tell about it," Xu Lai said, not seeming overly concerned.
Li Shouzhong pointed to a middle-aged doctor standing at the very back. "This is Song Ming, a doctor from the northernmost part of the country. He’s the one who blew up the lab."
"Hmm?"
Xu Lai raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, his gaze shifted toward a laboratory in the farthest corner of Dongli University. This was the dical laboratory belonging to Li Shouzhong and the others. It was located about ten kiloters from the main campus, in a spot that should have been quiet, but was now swarming with students taking pictures.
A twenty-ter-tall tree had burst through the laboratory’s roof, not only tearing the ceiling open but also enveloping the entire building with its massive canopy. The surrounding poplar trees, which hadn’t been planted long, were only thirteen or fourteen ters tall. This giant tree stood out like a crane among chickens, attracting countless stares.
"A Vajra Tree," Xu Lai muttered, stunned for a mont.
Vajra Wood grew under stringent conditions; it had to be near a Dragon Vein. Its trunk, branches, and leaves were all as hard as iron, which was how it earned the na Vajra Tree. This type of tree was incredibly important for cultivators below the Venerable Realm, as it could be used for both Alchemy and Artifact Refining, making it a rare and precious resource.
But... where did that doctor get the seed? And how did he make it sprout and grow to twenty ters overnight?
After all, Vajra Wood grew slowly, at most a ter per year.
Xu Lai glanced hesitantly at the instigator. The middle-aged man was about forty-five, with so little hair on his head that one could easily count the strands—no more than twenty in total.
Song Ming, wearing glasses, knew he couldn’t escape a scolding. After a mont of hesitation, he looked at Xu Lai and declared, "Director Xu, this was all my doing. It has nothing to do with the others. If you must punish soone, punish alone!"
He adopted a deanor of tragic heroism, as if he were a warrior marching to his doom, never to return. He looked especially tragic, yet incredibly debonair. Of course, he would have looked even more dashing if the wind weren’t blowing in through the window, causing his sparse hair to sway from side to side.
"No, no, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not going to bla you," Xu Lai said, waving his hand.
"...But the lab is destroyed," Song Ming said numbly. "The high-end equipnt we imported, worth tens of millions, is ruined. Vital research data has been lost."
He suddenly seed to realize sothing and gave a wry smile. "Director Xu, that tree is just an ordinary poplar. It was an accident that it grew to twenty ters, so it has no special research value. Don’t go getting any ideas about it."
"That’s a Vajra Tree," Xu Lai said earnestly. "It camouflages itself according to the trees around it. It’s very rare. I’ll have Su Daiyi build you an exact replica of the lab. Then, you can show how you did it. I want to know."
Song Ming was stunned.
This was a major laboratory accident that caused a huge loss! Shouldn’t Director Xu be kicking him off the team? Why isn’t he following the script?
Pressing down the few rebellious hairs on his head, Song Ming whispered, "Director Xu, isn’t that a bit much?"
"It’s fine."
Since Xu Lai insisted, Song Ming could only brace himself. "In that case, how about we just do the demonstration here? It would be a sha to destroy another lab."
"That works," Xu Lai agreed, not pressing the issue.
The large group of them made their way to the laboratory. Song Ming retrieved a sandalwood box from the ruins, scratched his head, and pointed to an artificial lake about a hundred ters away.
"My wife fished these seeds out of the artificial lake when she visited at school a couple of days ago," he explained. "I tried planting one and, unexpectedly..."
He trailed off, but Xu Lai understood what had happened without him needing to say another word. These seeds were not from Earth. They had been soaked in a Spiritual Spring for many years before sohow ending up at the bottom of the university’s artificial lake. Initially sealed in the sandalwood box, the Vajra Tree seeds were unable to germinate. But once Song Ming planted one in the soil, it had grown wildly overnight, and that’s what had destroyed the laboratory.
"You keep them," Xu Lai said nonchalantly. "Treat them as a family heirloom. Don’t sell them lightly." A twenty-ter-tall Vajra Tree could fetch a sky-high price of ten high-grade Spirit Stones at auction. There were about a hundred seeds in the sandalwood box, enough to ensure that Song Ming’s lineage would have no worries about food or clothing for the next ten thousand years, regardless of how Earth changed.
"About the lab..." Song Ming looked on eagerly. He didn’t think the seeds were that valuable; he cared more about the lab. It held all their work from the past few months!
"Forget it, let’s not wait for Su Daiyi."
Xu Lai gestured. The Vajra Tree was instantly uprooted, and the ruined laboratory was restored in a flash.
The group of elders stared, dumbstruck by this miraculous feat. They blinked again and again, until finally, Song Ming managed to squeeze out a question, "Director Xu, are you an alien?"
"What do you think?" Xu Lai replied with a smile.
The dical fanatics didn’t bother guessing. They rushed into the lab to see if their research data had also been restored.
Suddenly, Xu Lai frowned and looked toward the distant artificial lake.
Sothing about this place... wasn’t right.
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