Chapter 139 – Save One and Abandon Ten Thousand, or Save Ten Thousand and Abandon One?

Three days later, Luocheng, Peace Noodle Shop.

“Uncle Tian, hello there!”

Mu Xiaoye happily waved at Yu Tianqi, who was kneading dough inside the shop.

Her smile was so radiant that it inexplicably gave off a feeling of being full of Origin Qi, very heartwarming.

In response, Yu Tianqi smiled and patted the dough off his hands, then set it aside to let it ‘rest’ for a while, commonly known as fermentation.

Because only fermented noodles would have a more chewy texture when eaten.

If only making noodles had distinctions like Entering Dao Realm or not.

Otherwise, Yu Tianqi felt that his current noodle-making skills would at least be at the ‘Entering Dao Realm’ level.

The kind that could make the noodles shine when cooked.

What a pity, what a pity.

After entering the Peace Noodle Shop, Lu Chen quickly noticed the transfer advertisement hanging by the side of the shop.

‘Prime Shop for Transfer, Serious Inquiries Only, Please Call XXX…’

“Uncle Tian, are you planning to leave here?”

Uncle Tian came to the empty seat next to the two and sat down directly.

“Yes, matters here are almost finished, it’s time for me to leave.”

Although they knew that a Golden Core Stage Cultivator like Yu Tianqi couldn’t stay in a small place like Luocheng forever.

Seeing someone they’ve known for over ten years about to leave soon.

Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye still felt somewhat reluctant.

The straightforward Mu Xiaoye directly asked: “Then where are you going, Uncle Tian?”

Hearing this, Yu Tianqi smiled and said: “To Xuanzhou in the north.”

“The Xuanzhou where the Profound Water Academy is located?”

Yu Tianqi nodded and said: “I left something in Xuanzhou back in the day, it’s about time to retrieve it now.”

“But it’s alright, before sending you, Little Yezi, to the Lihuo Dao Academy, I’ll still be in Luocheng for the time being.”

Although Lu Chen didn’t know what exactly Yu Tianqi had left behind.

But something that a Golden Core Stage Cultivator valued so highly must be extraordinary.

Although his relationship with Yu Tianqi was quite good, Lu Chen didn’t directly ask what that thing was.

Because that would be very impolite.

Although reluctant to see Yu Tianqi leave, since they now knew his destination, there would still be opportunities to meet again in the future.

So Lu Chen didn’t dwell on this question any longer and changed the subject.

“Uncle Tian, then why did you call us here today?”

“Don’t rush, we’ll talk about that later. First, try this new skill I just learned called River Snail Rice Noodles.”

Mu Xiaoye looked completely bewildered, not knowing what River Snail Rice Noodles were.

But Lu Chen instinctively leaned back, looking at Yu Tianqi with a stiff expression.

Uncle, River Snail Rice Noodles, are you serious?

If Yu Tianqi were making ordinary braised beef or seafood noodles.

Even if he didn’t make them well, the taste probably wouldn’t be too bad.

But River Snail Rice Noodles were different.

If River Snail Rice Noodles weren’t made properly, their power… would be comparable to a biochemical weapon!

Although Lu Chen was confident in his Physique, he didn’t want to test it against poison.

So he immediately waved his hand and said: “No need, Uncle Tian, no need to go through all that trouble. Just make us some beef noodles, that’s what Little Ye and I like to eat.”

Hearing this, Mu Xiaoye became displeased.”What’s the matter? Uncle Tian rarely makes something different, of course I want to try it!”

“Little Lu, why did you decide for me so suddenly?”

But before Mu Xiaoye could speak, Lu Chen secretly tugged at her jade-like hand under the table.

Lu Chen didn’t think much of it, feeling he was just giving a friendly reminder to save Mu Xiaoye from trouble.

But Mu Xiaoye was different.

That electric shock-like sensation instantly blanked her mind.

For a moment, she even imagined Lu Chen confessing his feelings to her.

Her imagination was as strong as her cultivation talent, if not stronger!

Seeing Mu Xiaoye blushing without refuting after Lu Chen’s words, Yu Tianqi nearby assumed Lu Chen’s opinion represented hers.

Helplessly, Yu Tianqi said regretfully, “Alright then, I’ll make a new pot of beef soup for you two.”

Perhaps still unwilling to give up, while preparing the braised sauce for the beef noodles, Yu Tianqi couldn’t help turning back to ask, “Really won’t try my river snail rice noodles?”

“No no, Uncle Tian, you should enjoy them yourself.”

Lu Chen shook his head like a rattle-drum, refusing with utmost determination.

Actually, it wasn’t that Lu Chen couldn’t eat river snail rice noodles – he just didn’t trust Yu Tianqi’s cooking!

Soon after Yu Tianqi finished making the beef noodles for Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye,

he started stewing his so-called river snail rice noodles.

When the peculiar smell wafted from the pot, Mu Xiaoye’s curious expression instantly changed.

Something was wrong. This so-called river snail rice noodles seemed off.

This smell…

Due to her exceptional physique, Mu Xiaoye’s sense of smell far surpassed ordinary people’s.

Therefore, the river snail noodles’ chemical weapon-like odor hit her much stronger and was harder to endure.

Fortunately, the smell didn’t last long before Mu Xiaoye detected a lotus fragrance coming from beside her.

Not only did it instantly eliminate the exaggerated stench, but it also made Mu Xiaoye feel refreshed.

Puzzled, she turned to find Lu Chen already picking up chopsticks to eat his beef noodles.

It was precisely when Lu Chen activated his ‘Fairy Lotus Womb’ to purify the shop’s air

that Mu Xiaoye noticed his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation.

This shocked her greatly.

“Little Lu, you’ve reached Foundation Establishment?”

While eating noodles, Lu Chen calmly nodded.

“Little Yezi, you just noticed? I realized Little Lu had reached Foundation Establishment the moment I saw him.”

“And judging by his condition, it’s definitely no ordinary Foundation Establishment.”

“Little Yezi, you’ve been surpassed by this former top genius of Luocheng High School.”

Hearing this, Mu Xiaoye was stunned for a moment before saying with complex emotions, “Indeed I’ve been surpassed.”

Channeling her sorrow into appetite, she began devouring the beef noodles in her bowl.

After all, for Mu Xiaoye, being surpassed by Lu Chen wasn’t a big deal.

In fact, compared to Lu Chen’s Foundation Establishment cultivation, she was more curious about whether Yu Tianqi’s so-called river snail rice noodles were actually edible.

Had Lu Chen not helped her earlier, that terrifying odor

might have directly knocked her out.

Perhaps due to absolute confidence in his cooking skills, Yu Tianqi immediately picked up a strand of river snail rice noodles and put it in his mouth right before Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye.Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye watched him curiously, noticing that Yu Tianqi remained expressionless, as if he were eating ordinary noodles.

“Not bad, the flavor of these river snail rice noodles… truly not bad~”

The innocent Mu Xiaoye, seeing this, thought perhaps the river snail rice noodles really did taste quite good.

She was about to ask Yu Tianqi to get her a small bowl to try.

But before she could speak, Lu Chen intervened once again.

“Uncle Tian, if it’s really unbearable, there’s no need to force yourself. I won’t fall for it.”

As he spoke, Lu Chen pointed to his own eyes, revealing that his pupils had transformed into a lotus shape.

Using his Azure Lotus Eyes just to observe Yu Tianqi’s reaction while eating noodles.

This showed just how much psychological trauma the words “river snail rice noodles” had inflicted on Lu Chen.

In fact, if not for Lu Chen’s cautious action, he might have truly been deceived by Yu Tianqi.

This old fox was quite cunning – upon discovering the unpleasant taste, he immediately activated his Golden Core Stage Divine Ability to appear completely unaffected.

One could only say that if you combined Lu Chen and Yu Tianqi, you still wouldn’t get a complete honest heart.

Because both of them were full of schemes!

If not worried that releasing his Ink Spirit would be too impolite,

Lu Chen even considered summoning his Ink Spirit first to have it test the taste of these river snail rice noodles.

As for why the Ink Spirit rather than his Heretical Avatar?

Joking aside, the Heretical Avatar shares memories with the main body!

If the Heretical Avatar tasted ‘shit’, Lu Chen certainly didn’t want to absorb that memory too.

From the current situation, Lu Chen felt that Yu Tianqi’s newly learned river snail rice noodles were undoubtedly a massive failure.

Any food that requires a Golden Core Stage cultivator to use Divine Ability just to barely swallow it –

Could that possibly be good?!

Meanwhile, Yu Tianqi hadn’t given up yet.

Following the principle of “if I suffer, everyone should suffer too”,

Yu Tianqi turned his attention to Mu Xiaoye again.

Because he felt Lu Chen was a sly little fox, too difficult to fool.

But Mu Xiaoye was innocent!

If he could trick her into trying these river snail rice noodles, then his efforts wouldn’t be completely wasted!

So Yu Tianqi turned to Mu Xiaoye with a smiling face and said: “Little Yezi, are you sure you don’t want to try?”

“Uncle Tian made plenty. If you want some, I can immediately get you a bowl.”

Although Mu Xiaoye was innocent, she wasn’t foolish either, immediately raising her hand to refuse: “Absolutely not!”

Seeing this, Yu Tianqi knew he couldn’t fool either of them, so he silently put down his chopsticks and got to the main business.

“Alright, I’ll stop joking with you two. Let me directly state why I called you here today.”

As he spoke, without any visible movement from Yu Tianqi,

an invisible barrier enveloped the Peace Noodle Shop, ensuring outsiders couldn’t hear their conversation.

“How much do you two know about the Qingzhou Shanhai Division?”

Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye looked at each other, then both shook their heads, indicating they actually didn’t know much about the Qingzhou Shanhai Division.

This was hardly surprising – before this semester began, both of them were just ordinary students at Luocheng High School.

Never mind the Qingzhou Shanhai Division, they barely knew anything about the term “Shanhai Bureau” itself.None of this surprised Yu Tianqi, who immediately explained: “Generally speaking, the Shanhai Bureau’s administrative structure is divided into domains, provinces, prefectures, and counties.”

“Due to limited personnel, not every city or county has a Shanhai Bureau branch.”

“Luocheng only has Shanhai Bureau personnel stationed here because of what happened ten years ago – that’s a special case.”

“Although the Shanhai Bureau doesn’t participate in managing the Immortal Alliance’s secular affairs, when special situations arise, they take priority over all other factions.”

“Because the missions they undertake are often the most dangerous of all.”

“That’s why there’s an unwritten rule within the Immortal Alliance: as long as no fundamental principles are violated, matters concerning Shanhai Bureau cultivators can only be handled by the Shanhai Bureau itself.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen asked curiously: “What counts as violating fundamental principles?”

Yu Tianqi immediately turned serious and said earnestly: “It’s quite simple, just three points.”

“First, never initiate attacks against mortals unless provoked.”

“Second, prioritize mortal safety. If accidental harm occurs while having the capability to prevent it… judgment will be based on actual circumstances.”

“Third, never betray colleagues or trade their safety for personal gain.”

These three requirements surprised Lu Chen somewhat.

The first and third rules were understandable, but the second seemed overly strict.

Just consider if Lu Chen were to deploy his Sword Domain in a crowded marketplace.

Even if he tried his best, it would be difficult to guarantee no ordinary people would be harmed.

Lu Chen believed many former Shanhai Bureau cultivators must have encountered similar situations.

Perhaps sensing Lu Chen’s doubts, Yu Tianqi explained: “You’re probably wondering how the Shanhai Bureau handles cases where their cultivators accidentally harm ordinary people, even unintentionally, right?”

Lu Chen nodded, acknowledging this was indeed his concern.

To this, Yu Tianqi said solemnly: “Quite simple – handle it strictly by the book.”

“What?!”

Before Lu Chen could speak, Mu Xiaoye beside him exclaimed in surprise.

She felt such rules were too harsh for Shanhai Bureau cultivators.

Seeing Mu Xiaoye’s reaction, Yu Tianqi unusually adopted a lecturing tone: “Little Yezi, though I know you mean no harm – when I first heard this rule from our Master, I made the same expression you’re making now.”

“And do you know what my Master did to me after seeing that expression?”

Mu Xiaoye shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.

As if recalling something amusing, Yu Tianqi sighed: “My Master sealed my cultivation and made me survive in the city for a month without revealing my identity.”

“It was only after that experience that I understood how difficult mortal life can be.”

“Those who cannot cultivate aren’t necessarily much less intelligent than cultivators. In fact, most mortals who reach high positions are smarter than the majority of cultivators.”

“Because when facing similar problems, they lack the option of using cultivation power – all they can rely on… is their own wisdom and a bit of luck.”

“Little Yezi, can you guess why my Master did that to me back then?”

Mu Xiaoye shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.”He just wanted me to know my place, to make me understand that aside from my cultivation talent, I’m not necessarily much stronger than mortals.”

“So in a sense, cultivators are merely mortals with better luck.”

“The reason you questioned the second rule of the Shanhai Bureau earlier is because you subconsciously separated yourself from mortals.”

“This way of thinking is very dangerous, because once this idea takes root in your heart, you’ll gradually stray onto the wrong path.”

At this point, Yu Tianqi seemed to recall something, his eyes dimming as he said: “Have I ever told you about my Senior Brother Luo Changming?”

Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye shook their heads.

As if lost in memories, Yu Tianqi spoke in a low voice: “My Senior Brother Luo Changming was quite similar to Little Yezi’s situation – both were young prodigies who gained great fame at an early age.”

“However, his talent was even better. Not only was he exceptionally gifted in the Sword Path, but he also reached the Harmony Realm during the Golden Core Stage, mastering the Dao Integration Realm Sword Domain. For a time, his reputation was unmatched.”

“If not for that accident, my Senior Brother Luo Changming might have become the youngest Dao Child in the Supreme Purity Dao Palace, and even the youngest Sect Leader.”

“Unfortunately, there are no ‘ifs’ in this world…”

“What happened?”

Snap!

Yu Tianqi didn’t answer directly. Instead, he lit a cigarette and began smoking in front of Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye.

After a moment, Yu Tianqi said quietly: “It was a mission assigned by headquarters. My Senior Brother Luo Changming and Senior Sister Mu Xianlan received word from the Shanhai Bureau headquarters that traces of what appeared to be the Black Lotus Sect’s main altar had been discovered somewhere in Qingzhou.”

“They were sent to investigate.”

“But this trip turned out to be a trap set by the Black Lotus Sect.”

“Although both my senior brother and sister were Golden Core Stage cultivators, the Black Lotus Sect threatened the lives of over a million common people in the entire city. They deliberately gathered in the most populated areas and assembled three Golden Core Stage Protectors to surround and kill my senior brother, restricting his Sword Domain.”

“Although my senior brother couldn’t fully deploy his Sword Domain under these circumstances, he could still manage to hold off these Black Lotus Protectors.”

“But then something unexpected happened…”

Though Yu Tianqi didn’t say it, Lu Chen could roughly guess what had happened.

“Did something happen to Daoist Mu?”

Yu Tianqi nodded and said: “After Senior Sister had rescued most of the common people and was about to go support my senior brother, she didn’t expect that one person in the crowd behind her was actually a Black Lotus Protector in disguise.”

“Facing a sneak attack from an experienced Golden Core Stage cultivator, combined with the fact that my senior sister’s Golden Core quality wasn’t high to begin with, she fell on the spot at the hands of that Black Lotus Protector.”

“Seeing that scene, my senior brother completely lost control.”

“He stopped caring about the mortals’ lives and fully activated his Sword Domain.”

“In the end, he managed to kill all three Black Lotus Protectors.”

“But more than half of the common people perished as a result.”

“After returning to the Shanhai Bureau, the Domain Lord asked him: ‘Did you intentionally deploy your Sword Domain, or was it accidental?'”

“To this, my senior brother didn’t answer, directly accepting the implication.”

“In the end, my senior brother was punished with a hundred years of secluded reflection in the back mountains of the Supreme Purity Dao Palace.”

“But no one expected that my senior brother would emerge after only ten years in seclusion.””Moreover, this time he not only achieved a breakthrough in cultivation to the Nascent Soul Stage, but also stepped into the Transformation Dao Realm.”

“Even if a Transformation Soul Stage cultivator were to attack, it would be very difficult to capture him.”

“And perhaps due to feelings of guilt, the Supreme Purity Dao Palace at that time didn’t take serious action, instead allowing him to leave.”

“Looking back now, it’s hard to say whether that decision was good or bad.”

“After my Senior Brother Luo Changming left the Supreme Purity Dao Palace, the first place he went was where our Senior Sister Mu Xianlan had fallen.”

“Because of what happened ten years ago, the Immortal Alliance intentionally suppressed the events of that time, only mentioning that two cultivators had thwarted the Black Lotus Sect’s plans.”

“This is quite understandable, as they didn’t want it publicly known that Senior Brother Luo Changming had deliberately unleashed his Sword Domain, harming ordinary people.”

“But in Luo Changming’s eyes, this meant our Senior Sister had died in vain.”

“Because aside from a few close individuals, most ordinary people within the Immortal Alliance remained unaware of what Senior Sister Mu had done.”

“And from that day on, my Senior Brother changed.”

“He began questioning whether the Immortal Alliance’s decisions were right or wrong – the dilemma of saving one person at the cost of thousands, or saving thousands at the cost of one, constantly echoed in his mind.”

“Later he reached a conclusion: rather than saving ten thousand strangers, he would rather save just one person he knew.”

“He eventually became even more extreme, making a deal with the Black Lotus Sect Leader to resurrect Senior Sister Mu.”

“He offered to join the Black Lotus Sect if their Leader would hand over the Protector who had managed to escape back then.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen fell completely silent.

He didn’t need to think to know how this transaction ended.

“Although I never wanted to see such a day come, similar situations have since occurred frequently within the Immortal Alliance.”

“The question of whether to save one at the cost of many, or save many at the cost of one has become an almost unsolvable dilemma in the heart of every Immortal Alliance cultivator.”

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye’s faces, though reluctant to overly influence their interpretation of this issue, Yu Tianqi ultimately shared his own perspective.

“Would you like to know how I would choose?”

Yu Tianqi looked at them both and finally said with a smile: “When no acquaintances are involved, I could sacrifice myself to save ten thousand strangers.”

“But if friends or family are among them? Forget ten thousand – even if it were a million or ten million people, that would have nothing to do with me, Yu Tianqi!”

“Everyone must take responsibility for their decisions. I would rather smilingly accept punishment from the Immortal Alliance and Shanhai Bureau than attend a familiar person’s funeral with a cold expression.”

“The Shanhai Bureau’s second rule of judging only by results, not process, likely contains some of this meaning.”

“As long as you can bear all consequences of your actions, neither the Immortal Alliance nor Shanhai Bureau… will interfere with any of your decisions.”

Rather smilingly accept the Immortal Alliance’s punishment than coldly attend a familiar person’s funeral…

Hearing these words, the confusion in Lu Chen’s eyes gradually cleared, replaced by growing clarity, and Mu Xiaoye beside him showed the same transformation.

It must be said that Yu Tianqi’s words essentially established their future approach to operations within the Immortal Alliance.

Indirectly, this would prevent them from missing crucial opportunities due to hesitation.In a certain sense, these words were more precious to both of them than any heavenly treasure.

“Alright, let’s not dwell on this anymore.”

“Both of you, pack your things. I’ll take you to the Qingzhou Shanhai Division.”

“After all, given your circumstances, borrowing the Dragon Transformation Pool there… wouldn’t be particularly difficult.”

“Especially for you, Xiao Lu. It would bring you tremendous benefits.”

(End of Chapter)