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The moment of deciding fate had arrived.
In his divine sense, a pitch-black, luminous hundredfold lotus seed was throbbing, ready to be ignited at any time.
Don't rush, don't rush.
It would be too wasteful to use the hundredfold strength now, not worth it, even if the death sentence appeal isn't approved, Meng Yu had absolute confidence that he wouldn't die.
"Meng Yu, the result of your appeal has come in, and you've been given three choices,"
"Thank you, Lawyer Lian, thank you,"
"The first, you go to serve in the Hanhai Army Corps for five years. Although it is as a criminal, the treatment will be as per normal soldiers. You'll have access to various resources and training. After serving for five years, you can become a regular soldier and, after another fifteen years of service, you can return to society with a normal identity,"
Meng Yu nodded, not saying much, but the middle-aged handsome man coughed softly.
He was blinking, smiling with an enticing and bewitching grin, as if to say, choose this one.
"The second one, continue serving jail time. Your death sentence has been converted to a prison term of one thousand and twenty years. No parole for twenty years, no serving in the military or other means to reduce the sentence within the first five years, you must stay in prison,"
Lawyer Lian mentioned the second choice, one thousand years due to killing thirty-three people, and twenty years because of what he did to Teacher Chen's brother.
For this choice, the middle-aged handsome man did not cough. It was typical for people to think that Meng Yu would not choose this one.
"The third one, the Minor World in the Endless Sea is currently being developed and is in dire need of manpower. If you serve there for forty years, you'll be regularized after ten years, with treatment according to a normal civil servant,"
Then, Lawyer Lian started to explain the pros and cons of these three options.
The Immortal Sect has been continuously waging wars abroad, and the situation at the Hanhai Army Corps is very intense, but the advantages are obvious. Several Foundation Establishment cultivators from Taibai University and even a Golden Core from Taibai Sword Sect are there. If Meng Yu goes, he will be given key training, no different from attending university. Of course, to put it bluntly, due to Meng Yu's crimes, he must participate in some dangerous missions, rather than just focusing on cultivation. However, Taibai University guarantees equal treatment.
In the Endless Sea, the Taibai Sword Sect has no influence, and the situation is also not good, with a high mortality rate, not recommended."
Oh right, the so-called forty years, reduceable after twenty years, is not a fixed number. If Meng Yu went there and truly made contributions, his sentence could also be reduced. Right now, Lawyer Lian didn't discuss those things; the first priority was changing Meng Yu's death sentence to a long-term imprisonment, fulfilling this plea bargain before anything else.
This point did not need to be mentioned by him, Meng Yu already knew. The deal would come in a few years, not now.
Lawyer Lian picked up his teacup with satisfaction, took a good sip, and was certain that Meng Yu would definitely choose to go to the Hanhai Legion, and his reputation would rise another notch with this case.
"I choose the second option,"
After a moment of silence, Meng Yu spoke.
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
The three people present all looked at Meng Yu with dumbfounded expressions at that moment.
Whether it was the middle-aged handsome guy, Lawyer Lian, or even the official, everyone was stunned.
"I am deeply sorry for my actions, and I am willing to accept the harsh punishment of the law,"
Meng Yu said so with a look of realization...
Of course, he chose the second option. Why wouldn't he choose the second option?
In the Hanhai Legion, they were in combat!
Simply put, once inside, he would have to fight against others!
In the battlefield where weapons don't have eyes, and who knows what might happen during the five years of military service? Why should he struggle in there, when he is not a born and bred member of the Immortal Sect?
Moreover, there would be experts from Taibai Sword Sect paying attention to him, so would they not suspect that he might have some sort of Golden Finger?
That's right, the seventh rule is that divine items conceal themselves, there's no need to worry. After he was caught this time, his body had also been scanned and nothing unusual was found, but this does not mean that in a faraway land, under the emperor's nose, no one would be tempted.
Simply because he realized Sword Intent, simply because he progressed too swiftly!
Don't think the Immortal Sect is peaceful, but every year, for Foundation Establishment, for Core Formation, countless cultivators become desperate.
Beforehand, to train his Sword Intent, he had made quite a few preparations, such as chatting with others online or posting some ancient Earth poems on his personal homepage.
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These ancient masterpieces caused a small stir—the Immortal Sect had conquered many Minor Worlds over tens of thousands of years, accumulating a vast heritage of various cultures. Hence, Meng Yu did not anticipate achieving instant success with these creations, but they helped him forge the persona of a young prodigy with a crystal-clear mind.
This was the foundation of his Sword Intent!
But suspicion is unwarranted, and what's more, if you were to use Hundredfold Strength and one of your skills suddenly became a hundred times stronger, do you think a Golden Core or someone watching you wouldn't know?
They would only suspect that you have encountered some serendipitous opportunity somewhere!
They'd try every means to devour you!
"Think about it again,"
Whether it was the middle-aged handsome man, Lawyer Lian, or that official, all of them suddenly paused. In truth, Meng Yu's choice was the right one, but was it not a waste to put such a promising martial arts seed into prison without access to proper resources?
"I regret killing so many people,"
Meng Yu emphasized once again.
Prison is great, he really, really wanted to stay inside.
Whatever the Hanhai Legion, whatever the Endless Sea, there's danger everywhere, so why go there?
On the contrary, the Immortal Sect's prison is truly a great place, starting with safety.
As long as he was inside, there would be guards during the day and sentries at night. Although the so-called bullying and humiliation certainly exist in the prison of the Immortal Sect, how many people who have mastered Sword Intent are locked up there? By then, he'd be the boss of the prison!
In a Qi Refinement Realm prison, who could beat him?
He could cultivate and train properly inside, and even if it were slower, it was still much better than joining the Hanhai Legion. Plus, the most comfortable part was that the Immortal Sect's prison offered re-employment training!
Meng Yu was now thinking about working on a sewing machine—no, learning a trade in the Immortal Sect's prison.
In the outside world, to learn a skill requires various training courses, including selecting teachers and all kinds of hassling, costing a lot and not necessarily learning the best. However, in the Immortal Sect's prison, once you're in, you are to become a useful person.
Either drawing Spirit Talismans, smithing metal, or crafting Puppets, if you don't learn, someone will force you to choose between mining or learning!
Hundredfold Strength couldn't be used on White Crane Swordsmanship, but Meng Yu could perfect another Swordsmanship or Fist Technique in prison, then strengthen it, or simply polish his bones and muscles for years and then strengthen his True Qi.
What, is cultivation allowed in prison?
Of course, it is. You need a good body to work on a sewing machine—no, in any world, to prevent everyone from feeling too lonely or bored in prison and to provide better returns to society, as well as to reintegrate into society after release, of course, learning is encouraged.
Talisman Drawing, Alchemy, all these require a higher level of Cultivation.
How is this any different from staying in a school, like Taibai University?
Meng Yu even thought about not strengthening his Swordsmanship but instead enhancing a skill such as talisman drawing, Alchemy, or Smithing. Once he got the basics down and then applied Hundredfold Strength, the title of Alchemy Master Meng Yu or Master Smith Meng Yu might not be such a bad path.
"Meng Yu, you..."
The middle-aged handsome man looked at Meng Yu as if he had taken the wrong medication!
"Lawyer Lian, I killed so many people, my mind is in turmoil, I can't sleep, I accept the second option, I accept the punishment,"
He quickly finalized the decision to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Moreover, there was one thing in prison that was most suitable for Meng Yu.
Meng Yu liked making friends, truly wanting more beloved people in his life.
Only blood relatives and beloved ones can be sacrificed, but since he had killed all his kin, he could only look for his beloved. However, he still had a bit of conscience: it was not easy to make a move on someone too familiar outside, as it could draw attention.
But in prison, it was different. Meng Yu hoped to join the big family of the prison, to become close companions with everyone.
To live in harmony like brothers, without distinction between you and me; if that leads to beloved one, all the better.
By the way, the occasional death of a few, or even dozens of people in prison wouldn't attract much attention… right?
After all, making more friends would surely lead to intimate ones, wouldn't it?
Moreover, he had another interesting idea.