Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 931 - 71: The Eve of Departure
Chapter 931 -71: The Eve of Departure
In the Beiming Fanyang Secret Realm, there were tens of thousands of Jiaolong clansmen—far more than Long Long had initially estimated.
Managing the food, drink, and living needs of so many people was exceedingly difficult.
However, the Beiming Fanyang dragons had been leaderless for years, so everyone had grown accustomed to this prolonged state of anarchy. Each household prioritized “managing their own affairs” above all else, requiring little centralized administration.
On the flip side, this lax state of affairs severely hampered Beiming Fanyang’s development.
Take, for example, the matter of “should we engage with the outside world.” From beginning to end, only Elder Long Yuan and Elder Long Xi (a middle-aged cultivator leading the radical faction) passionately debated this issue, while the rest of the Jiaolong cultivators remained utterly indifferent.
This shows that Beiming Fanyang not only lacked leadership but didn’t even have a communal consensus on “how to move forward.”
To unite such fragmented hearts and minds within Beiming Fanyang, the first challenge would be overcoming people’s aimless self-interest.
As the daughter of Emperor Ying Long, Long Hu held an inherent political authority in this regard;
if her cultivation level could reach the ancestral rank, her ruling position would become unassailable… However, with her current Transformation Realm cultivation, it was still somewhat inadequate, which necessitated winning over the Dong Yuan elders to ensure the smooth implementation of policies and reforms in the future.
“There are three factions in total here,” Long Long began teaching Long Hu the Emperor’s Mind Technique, “Elder Long Yuan’s pro-foreign faction, Elder Long Xi’s anti-foreign faction, and the neutral faction with no clear stance.”
“Uh.” Long Hu attempted to grasp the concept herself. “Support the pro-foreign faction, win over the neutral faction, suppress the anti-foreign faction, right?”
“Yes, but not entirely.” Long Long replied cryptically, “What do you think distinguishes the pro-foreign faction in Beiming Fanyang?”
“Few in number?” Long Hu guessed hesitantly.
“True,” Long Long said, “Typically, the number of people willing to participate in politics correlates proportionally with the total population.”
“Among the Jiaolong Clan. Above the Transformation Realm, there are several hundred cultivators, but only about twenty are concerned with Beiming Fanyang’s future—this proportion is actually fairly significant.”
Long Hu understood he was referring to the anti-foreign faction. After a brief pause for contemplation, she added:
“So, even within a large, neutral group, there are still very few who are truly pro-foreign… isn’t that right?”
“Correct.” Long Long replied, “The so-called neutral faction is not truly neutral. It’s simply that neither the pro-foreign nor anti-foreign political platforms hold any real appeal for them at the moment.”
“If forced to choose sides, more would lean toward the anti-foreign faction than the pro-foreign faction. However, Beiming Fanyang clearly cannot continue remaining closed off, so your task ahead is to prevent the pro-foreign faction from collapsing while avoiding overly severe conflicts between the two factions. If internal struggles persist, your governing foundation will undoubtedly be shaken.”
Long Hu fell into deep contemplation.
“I need to secure my allies,” she slowly summarized, “and suppress my enemies. But not to the point of overdoing it, lest they become desperate and engage in fierce confrontation with me.”
“Exactly.” Long Long praised her, “For all of Beiming Fanyang, once intra-faction conflicts occur, both sides will inevitably suffer significant losses.”
“As a ruler, you need precise calculations to identify which conflicts must be avoided as much as possible and which you can endure—determining the latter will be more challenging. After all, seeking advantages and avoiding harm is human nature. Without sufficient intelligence, decisiveness, and boldness, it’s hard for any ruler to maneuver skillfully between these.”
“How do you distinguish between the two then?” Long Hu, perplexed, continued to ponder, “Avoid at all costs, endure if possible—what are the criteria for this judgment?”
“That you’ll have to figure out for yourself in practice.” Long Long replied, “Broadly speaking, there are a few principles to consider.”
“If time tilts the advantage increasingly in my favor, I should avoid conflict as much as possible.”
“Conversely, if the disadvantage grows greater over time, I need to spark conflict quickly to prevent the other side from gaining leverage.”
“If a conflict would harm my core interests, adopt a strategy of avoidance and retreat for self-preservation.”
“Conversely, if the conflict compromises only peripheral interests while damaging my opponent’s core interests, then it’s worth stirring up appropriately.”
“If it benefits me in the short term but poses potential long-term harm, such conflicts require strict control over intensity and scale to prevent them from expanding unchecked.”
“If it harms me in the short term but offers essential long-term benefits, it needs to be simmered over low heat—keeping the tension alive while constantly probing your opponent’s boundaries and limits.”
“Hmm.” Long Hu quietly listened to Long Long’s incredibly detailed guidance, but an inexplicable sense of unease stirred within her.
She had this odd, baseless feeling that Long Long seemed to be saying his final words… Of course, this intuition was entirely unfounded. Long Long was a Dong Yuan Jiaolong cultivator, immensely powerful! How could he suddenly perish?
But girls, after all, rarely base things solely on logic. Thus, once Long Long finished explaining his experience and asked whether she understood, Long Hu wrapped her tail around his calf, wrapped her arms around his arm, and adorably pouted:
“Nope, nope! That whole thing about core interests and peripheral interests—I didn’t get it at all! Say it again, tell me all over again~”
And so, Long Long patiently went over everything with Long Hu once more.
However, the more he explained, the more questions the little fox had. Long Long eventually spoke till his throat was dry, and had to excuse himself to drink water and step outside to reorganize his thoughts.
“Now what?” As Long Long gazed at the distant glaciers from the viewing platform, the cold voice of Kunlun Mirror abruptly spoke up. “Are you still determined to leave without saying goodbye?”
“Ah Jing, what sort of question is that?” Long Long chuckled, “Otherwise, what? Should I stay here in the Eastern Emperor Realm forever, disguised by your illusion techniques to remain at her side?”
Kunlun Mirror fell silent.
After a long pause, she finally spoke with difficulty:
“I mean… it’s not entirely impossible, is it.”
“The Eastern Emperor Realm isn’t like the Cultivation Realm. If you seize fragments of the Heaven-Mending Stone here, sect forces wouldn’t immediately sense it and turn against you… Why must you abandon Long Hu and leave her behind? She relies on and needs you so much…you understand that, don’t you?”
“Of course I understand.” Long Long sighed deeply, then calmly countered, “But what about the others?”
“Ah Jing, let me ask you. After the Heaven-Mending mission ends, if I must permanently remain as Long Long, staying in the Eastern Emperor Realm with Long Hu—then what of Junior Sister Xu, Senior Sister An, Liuli Lady, and Madam Jiang?”
“Should I continue relying on your time-space travel and Mirror Flower Water Moon techniques to shuttle between them with different identities, dutifully playing the roles of their senior brother, junior brother, or husband?”
“I’d get exhausted, okay? Portraying so many personas already tires me out, and now you expect me to keep playing these roles after the Heaven-Mending mission ends… What, are you some demonic capitalist forcing people into lifelong servitude?”
Kunlun Mirror was speechless.
Though she didn’t fully grasp what a “capitalist” was, she instinctively felt it wasn’t a flattering term.
Coupled with the realization that he was currently juggling so many identities to assist her with the Heaven-Mending task… she began to feel somewhat ashamed and at a loss for words.
