Chapter 46: Even if the Sky were to Fall, There are Tall People around to Hold It Up
England’s leader, a white old man, had spoken seriously.
“Iran agrees as well. The alternate worlds currently connected to our world generally haven’t surpa.s.sed our respective countries in terms of strength yet so we can handle them on our own.
“But our current existing technology cannot handle alternate worlds like the Holy Tribunal of the Third Eye at all. Before the spiritual energy density level increases to a degree that allows that aristocrat to deploy experts beyond our handling capacity here, we must work together on all fronts and elevate humanity’s level of strength.
“After all, what they want isn’t just a few slaves but all the humans on Earth as their slaves instead,” said Iran’s leader gravely.
After he spoke, three pairs of eyes s.h.i.+fted to the remaining two leaders.
They were the leaders of the two biggest countries in the world, China and India.
China had already indicated its stance just now. Agreeing to let people from other countries cultivate in their country was the best att.i.tude one could take.
Thus, India’s leader was the only one left now.
Without any hesitation, India’s leader said resolutely, “Of course. This doesn’t just concern a single country but the whole of humanity instead. We, India, are willing to cooperate on all fronts and contribute to the whole of humanity’s safety.”
Now that the general mood had been set—even though each of them definitely still harbored their own selfish motives, the meeting officially entered full swing, and they began to discuss how the all-around comprehensive partners.h.i.+p should go.
More than ten days later, all the countries in the world suddenly released public announcements at the same time, astounding the whole world.
“In light of changes in the world, to respond to possible risks that may happen, all the countries in the world shall launch comprehensive collaborative efforts in twenty-six major aspects including technology, cultivation, education, economy, communication, weaponry, etc.”
The public announcement wasn’t very long, but the underlying meaning was enough to raise a furor.
Even the stupidest person had something to say in this instant.
“What the heck? What happened that actually made all the countries in the world put aside personal gain to work hand in hand?!”
“Something huge must have happened. On top of that, it’s likely something huge that concerns the whole of humanity. Otherwise, they’ll never do that.”
“What the f*ck, surely, it can’t be that the Earth is about to be destroyed?”
“If you a.n.a.lyze this in detail, a big enemy of humanity has likely appeared. This enemy is extremely powerful, and all the countries in the world are no match for it… so they can only team up with one another. On top of that, there’s a high chance that this will be a drawn-out war.”
“What enemy? The alternate worlds mentioned overseas?”
…
…
Speculations were abuzz on the Internet in the whole country and even the whole world. People were making all sorts of guesses and conjectures.
The only consensus, however, was that something big had happened.
With regard to that, none of the countries in the world made any public announcement in response; neither did they put a stop to these speculations, choosing to keep their silence instead.
It was also exactly this att.i.tude that led to speculations intensifying as time went by, and netizens had been tirelessly delighting in it.
Following that, various political measures—introduced one after another—also greatly intensified the tense atmosphere around cultivation.
Every part of the treatment and certain special privileges given to cultivators drew envy from others.
For the first time, the importance of cultivation surpa.s.sed the status of arts and sciences studies in the eyes of parents and almost everyone.
Ten all-new martial arts colleges were established in a row in China, with the same thing also happening in all the other countries.
A series of changes took place extremely quickly in the human world.
…
When w.a.n.g Hu saw the news online, he couldn’t help but sink into contemplation.
He also had the same thoughts as the others—something big must have happened in the world, thereby forcing all the world leaders to put aside their personal gain and work together.
From this, one could tell just how serious and grave the said matter must be. It was highly likely that it put the entire humanity on Earth in danger.
A moment later, he found himself with a heavy heart and yet also without much pressure.
The weight in his heart was natural because he didn’t wish to see such a thing happen. Humans dying out was definitely not anything positive for him and his family either.
The reason why he didn’t feel much pressure was also a simple one—even if the sky were to fall, there were tall people around to hold it up[1].
He was just a tiger now. Humans were the ones who were currently in power on Earth. There was nothing he could do. Neither was there anything he could influence or affect.
All those things that might happen were too far away from him.
There was absolutely no point in him thinking about such things. Those were things that humans should be thinking about instead.
If he had the spare time, he might as well try and think of more ways to strengthen himself and the Tiger clan instead.
Just hiding his concerns in his heart was already enough. At most, he would say a prayer or two for the humans such as ‘I hope you guys can put in a little more effort and hang in there’.
After much thought, he came to the conclusion that this was the only thing he could do for the humans at the moment.
After putting the matter aside, as he looked through more news of the series of rapid changes taking place in China, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional.
By comparison, he still felt that humans were the ones that really had an unfair advantage instead.
Once they set their minds to something, their progression rate could startle even a tiger.
He could already foresee it in the near future… the emergence of large numbers of First Realm—perhaps even Second Realm—cultivators in China as well as across the whole of humanity.
Even if he were confident that not a single one of them would be a match for him, the thing was that they had numbers on their side. There were so many of them that if they were to take turns fighting him one by one, he wouldn’t be able to fight them all even if he were to fight until he died from exhaustion.
The thought of it reminded him of the tigers again, and he promptly felt the cruelty of comparison.
During the last two-odd months, he had tirelessly walked an endlessly long distance and crossed the borders of a few countries, which allowed him to find several hundred tigers.
This number had actually already exceeded his initial expectations. His guess was that because the environment had improved over the last two years, life had become a lot easier for the tigers. That was how this number had come about.
There were actually more than 200 tigers in the adolescent stage or younger.
If he wanted these tigers to really become his subordinates, he would have to wait until they reach the Transformation Realm first.
It was only when they gained human intelligence that they would really obey his orders, know how to cooperate with one another, learn new things, and more.
However, he didn’t know how much longer he would have to wait before that day came.
He made a quick estimate: if he were to include Old Second, Old Third, and the rest of the eight tigers whom he’d sent into the dinosaur world; he would probably still need to wait quite a few years even at the earliest.
There was no comparability between them and the humans at all, and this applied to cultivation speed, species numbers, as well as every other aspect.
He had also wondered whether he should take in some other animals and groom them, but he ultimately dismissed the idea in the end.
Apart from being concerned that China might become nervous about them, the most important reason was still that those of other species were ultimately different from them.
The tigers were his true foundation. Besides, he didn’t have any suitable cultivation method for other species either.
Sufficient food was also necessary for the tigers’ growth and development.
Now that those several hundred tigers had learned the cultivation method, they would inevitably have to fight with other animals for food, living s.p.a.ce, and even for their lives to develop quickly.
If he were to groom other animals now, then wouldn’t he be slowing down the tigers’ development speed instead?
For a species to quickly grow and develop, other species would inevitably end up as stepping stones. There was no need for him to deliberately groom other species at all.
By the time he became powerful enough—under the tigers’ oppression, the other animals in these montane forests that had become stronger would naturally also become his subordinates.
This could also be considered a trial and a form of filtering where the superior won and the inferior… eliminated.
After carrying out the first stage of the plan all the way until now, w.a.n.g Hu could finally temporarily stop for a while.
This was the limit of their species’ numbers. Perhaps there were still some that he hadn’t found and therefore didn’t receive the cultivation method, but there was nothing he could do about it either. They could only blame their own misfortune.
Out of the ten tigers from back then, he had also found eight of them, including Old Second and Old Third. All of them had been sent into the dinosaur world.
The next step would be to wait—wait until one of the tigers entered the Second Realm and then officially take them in as a subordinate.
Another two years later, he would set out once more and search for young tigers to impart them the cultivation method, as well as bring back some tigers that had become stronger and send them into the dinosaur world.
For now, he had no more time to waste. He had rarely cultivated during the last two-odd months. Even Silly Girl had caught up to him by now.
Even though he didn’t know why she seemed to be deliberately suppressing her joy, he had noticed her suppressed smugness right away.
This wouldn’t do. He had to continue to firmly suppress her.
Ten minutes or so later, the two little fellows woke up and went straight for the cell phone.
Their eyes lit up when they saw w.a.n.g Hu.
Roar~!
“Daddy, you’re back again!” Little Treasure exclaimed happily in her young, childish voice.
Roar~!
“Daddy, will you be leaving again?” asked Big Treasure.
A smiling w.a.n.g Hu raised his paw and rubbed the two little fellows on their heads.
Roar~!
“Daddy’s not leaving anymore.”
At once, the two little fellows let out a cheer.
Awooo, awooo~!
“Daddy’s not leaving anymore! Daddy’s not leaving anymore!” shouted Little Treasure repeatedly.
Big Treasure also let out a couple of happy cries. Then, he spoke up somewhat pitifully.
Roar~!
“Daddy, can you ask Mommy to let me watch The Wolf and the Goat[2]?”
Roar~!
“No! Mommy said you can’t watch The Wolf and the Goat anymore. It’s too childish. Goats are food, and wolves are idiots!”
Before w.a.n.g Hu could even understand what was going on, Little Treasure had already shouted haughtily.
Roar~!
“I want to watch it! I don’t want to watch Cardcaptor Sakura!”
An angry Big Treasure glared at Little Treasure.
Roar~!
“I want to watch Cardcaptor Sakura. Mommy gave me permission.”
Little Treasure didn’t back down at all.
As he looked at the two little fellows that were about to get into another argument, w.a.n.g Hu finally understood: Big Treasure had ‘fallen in love with someone else’. Instead of Rainbow Cat & Blue Rabbit, he had become enamored with the so-called The Wolf and the Goat instead; whereas Little Treasure was still hooked on Cardcaptor Sakura.
Silly Girl, however, didn’t allow Big Treasure to watch The Wolf and the Goat but allowed Little Treasure to watch Cardcaptor Sakura.
Why?
He didn’t understand the reason for that even after thinking about it for several seconds.
Roar~!
“Daddy, I wanna watch The Wolf and the Goat.”
As though something had dawned upon him, Big Treasure stopped arguing with Little Treasure and raised his head to look at his father instead.
Little Treasure also s.h.i.+fted her gaze upward adorably and looked at w.a.n.g Hu.
w.a.n.g Hu blinked a couple of times, somewhat speechless.
Is your dad supposed to allow you to watch it after your mom has forbidden you from watching?
After a moment’s thought, he gave a gentle reply.
Roar~!
“Big Treasure, your mom is right. Wolves are stupid, and goats are food. There’s nothing worth watching there. Don’t watch it anymore.”
Big Treasure became unhappy.
Awooo, awooo~!
“I don’t want to! I wanna watch The Wolf and the Goat! I wanna watch it!”
He pouted as he gazed at w.a.n.g Hu, shaking his little head hard as he cried out.
Unmoved, w.a.n.g Hu only gave a one-liner in response.
Roar~!
“Your mother’s here.”
At once, Big Treasure’s voice disappeared, and he also stopped shaking his head. He turned and looked at the cave right away.
When he saw that it really was his mother, he pouted and looked at the cell phone sadly.
w.a.n.g Hu found the sight terribly funny. He didn’t even know why and since when the two little fellows had become scared of Silly Girl.
This was something positive, however. Kids being scared of their parents wasn’t anything bad. What’s bad was them becoming undisciplined and out of control.
He raised his paw and played the Cardcaptor Sakura video. After watching for a few seconds, he had to admit that it really was pretty cute.
It was a very entertaining show, wasn’t it? Why watch something like The Wolf and the Goat?
After casting a glance at the three tigers, Di Baijun walked to the side and started to cultivate.
At her current size, she couldn’t quite get into it if she were to cultivate in the cave.
After watching the video with the kids for a few minutes, w.a.n.g Hu brought some meat over for the two little fellows to snack on. Then, he walked toward Silly Girl. He should inform Silly Girl that the first stage of the plan had ended.
Besides, this was such a good opportunity for him to chat with her. He naturally couldn’t let it slip by.
[1] A Chinese saying which means that even if there were an imminent danger, the ones in power will be the first in line to do something about it, whether by choice or circ.u.mstance
[2] Likely referring to the animated film One Stormy Night by Kimura Yuichi. The film talks about a wolf and a goat that meet each other by chance and go beyond their positions as natural enemies to become friends