by <unknown>
Despite the seemingly absurdness of the predication, it was not greeted with much objection.
Even Jin Xinyue's most hardcore supporters had to admit that Ding Lingdang was more suitable to be the Speaker of the Federation and lead them to defend the brightness at this moment faced with the undeniable evidence.
Because of the prevailing opinion, or under the subtle manipulation by someone on the Spiritual Nexus, the era of 'Speaker Ding Lingdang' seemed to have arrived earlier.
The concerns for Jin Xinyue were no longer whether or not she could become the Speaker, but whether or not she would offer to withdraw from the campaign and resign as the leader of the Ministry of Equality and Development so that she could officially be accused and even sent to prison.
After all, law was supreme in the federation. However many reasons she had, it was still not justifiable to violate the dignity of law.
If a certain 'director' had been manipulating the entire 'avalanche' from behind the scenes, then she had almost taken everything into consideration so far, except for one thing.
However smart and meticulous she was, it was impossible for her to foresee that 'Team Red Lotus' was not a real 'Team Red Lotus' but made of twelve old monsters from the Ancient Sages Sector in the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage or even in the Divinity Transformation Stage, who had survived hundreds of years in the unpredictable, complicated battles in the Ancient Sages Sector!
If Team Red Lotus were really Team Red Lotus, made of a bunch of experts in the beginning level of the Nascent Soul Stage at best, who had hibernated for hundreds of years and was ignorant of the latest situation, it would have been impossible for them to tell the truth about the girl who claimed to be Moonfall's sister.
But after Moonfall's sister submitted herself to the twelve experts from the Ancient Sages Sector, in only half a day, the keen-sighted and sophisticated old monsters all came to the same conclusion.
She was lying.
…
A carrier painted with the emblem of the Star Ocean Republic was slowly sailing toward the 'Hundred Flowers Space Zone', a transfer station of space jumps for the seven Sectors of the federation. They would refill their supplies there before they directly jumped to the capital of the federation.
In a secret room on the starship, Team Red Lotus, or rather, the twelve old monsters including Li Yao, were analyzing the abrupt changes in the federation over the past half month.
They were not as worried as certain people on the Spiritual Nexus, who believed that the federation would soon be screwed because of such a great scandal.
It was just another internal conflict among the leadership and struggle for power. Not only had they seen too many such things, many of them had also been involved personally and had fun in them. Long Yangjun, Han Baling, and Emperor Phoenix were all experts in the field.
The most critical question right now was not the strife of the leadership in the federation itself but the nature of it. Was the conflict chaotic and uncontrollable, or was it intentional and controllable? Was it going to revolutionize the country, unite the people, and increase the federation's combat ability, or was it going to divide the people, aggravate the contradiction, and weaken the federation's military power?
If it was intentional and controllable, who had been directing everything behind the curtain?
That person should be the real dominator of the federation in the days to come. If they were going to negotiate with the federation on the terms of joining the federation, they should speak to that person.
"The girl lied. Even if all the information stored in the jade chip is true, she still lied," Han Baling, the magnificent monarch of the Ghost Qin who probably would have overthrown the Great Qian Dynasty and united the Ancient Sages Sector had it not been for Li Yao and Heiye Lan, observed casually. "She received very professional and advanced training on her soul, which allows her to control her brain precisely and fool the general lie-detecting magical equipment and specialists. But naturally, she could not deceive the Cultivators here.
"She was lying. All her talk about 'Moonfall' being killed and her escaping to here in a hurry was fake. The whole thing did not go out of control after a scandal was leaked out by accident; it has been well-planned since the very beginning, one event after another, with the sole purpose of dealing a fatal blow to the major sects of the core worlds!
"The conclusion is obvious. There's no need to talk more about it. The real focus of our attention should be, who has been manipulating everything behind the curtain?"
Glamorous brilliance flowed out of Long Yangjun's eyes. She smiled. "What's your opinion, Fellow Cultivator Han?"
Han Baling projected a light beam with his mini crystal processor. "It's simple. Whoever gains the greatest benefits from the whole event will be the person behind the curtain.
"No. I am not referring to Ding Lingdang. Ding Lingdang and the Patriots Front alone are not enough to infiltrate Jin Xinyue's base and retrieve so many critical files.
"Please look, everybody. This is a chart of the top hundred super sects in the Star Glory Federation, divided into two parts. Those on the left that are marked as red are the seriously weakened sects because of the scandal, while those on the right are the sects that are barely affected.
"Take a look at it carefully. Do you notice anything?
"Look. The seriously weakened sects on the right are almost exclusive traditional conglomerates that have been passed on for hundreds of years.
"Those on the right, such as the Glorious Sunlight Group, the Double Dragon Union, the Mountain Sea Sect, the Great Horn Exo Society, Iron Plateau Development Inc., Blood Demon Biochemical Inc., Blood Demon Pharmaceuticals… They are all new powers that have only risen in the past hundred years!
"Those new powers are the greatest beneficiaries of the event. It is not hard to imagine that they will replace the traditional sects and establish their own dynasty in the near future!
"Do the new powers share something in common?
"Of course, I believe that all the fellow Cultivators have seen through it after a quick glance. They are all deeply associated with each other, and their connection to each other eventually boils down to one person.
"Hehe. If I had to make a name for the new forces and view them as a collective group, it would be a very simple one—
"Li Yao's group!"
Chapter 1682: Monster Li, Bravo! |
His remark raised a round of whispers among the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators.
However, other than Yan Liren, Ba Xiaoyu, and Master Bitter Cicada, who were not interested in political struggles at all, the rest of the experts were not surprised very much.
Obviously, with a better view on the big picture because they were not involved in the game, and having observed the performance of the girl who claimed to be Moonfall's sister, they more or less drew the same conclusion.
Han Baling clicked on the list of the top hundred sects of the federation softly and unfolded the detailed introduction to the sects under 'Li Yao's group'. "Why are the new powers barely affected? There are two plausible explanations.
"Firstly, a hundred years ago, when Jin Xinyue and the demons were most in dire need of help and support, the new powers had only just been established, too, and did not boast much influence. At that time, the federation was a world dominated by the traditional major sects. It would have been pointless for Jin Xinyue to have asked for the help of the newly established sects.
"Secondly, Li Yao had only just left at that time, and for old time's sake, those new sects such as the Glorious Sunlight Group and the Double Dragon Union couldn't have nitpicked or extorted her if she really asked them for help. They certainly helped her if they could.
"Therefore, the new powers do not have any material that Jin Xinyue can blackmail them with.
"On the surface, the two reasons are quite valid. However, if we examine the changes that have taken place in the Star Glor
y Federation in the past hundred years while regarding the new powers such as the Glorious Sunlight Group and the Double Dragon Union as a whole, the conclusion will be vastly different!"
Han Baling truly was a great monarch who united the strength of all the clans on the entire Dark Cloud Prairies, destroyed all the sects on the prairie in only decades, and established the 'Eight Units of Dark Cloud', hoping to swallow the entire world.
His eyes were glowing like those of a hungry wolf. He seemed to have seen the scheme of whoever was behind the curtain.
Impressed by the splendidness and wonderfulness of the whole scheme, Han Baling continued with a voice of appreciation. "In the past hundred years, there have always been struggles for power within the Star Glory Federation. It is perfectly normal. All human beings have their desires and ambitions. When each other's desires and ambitions joined, they will turn into different parties and sides.
"In the Great Qian Dynasty, there are the 'Eunuch's gang' and the 'emperor's gang', and there is also the rivalry between the 'local sects' and the 'central court'. Naturally, in Ghost Qin, there are various sorts of opposition, too.
"However upright and bright the Star Glory Federation claims to be, it is a country made of human beings after all. How can it be as united as one piece?
"Besides, the explosive development of the Star Glory Federation in the past hundred years is an unprecedented change at the edge of the cosmos. New techniques, technology and discoveries are bound to bring new sects, new experts, new social classes and new interest groups, which will eventually have a fierce conflict with the traditional forces who have dominated the world for hundreds of years!
"Therefore, the election in the Star Glory Federation today seems to be a regional conflict between the 'core worlds' and the 'new worlds'.
"But in fact, it is a fierce fight between the old sects that represent the traditional interest groups and Li Yao's group, which stands for the interests of the new powers!
"A regional conflict can be resolved, but a fight between the old and the new will rarely reach a compromise!"
Clap, clap, clap!
Long Yangjun was the first to applaud. "Fantastic! Your analysis is too marvelous. What do you think, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture!"
She jabbed Li Yao, who was sitting next to her, with her elbow.
"Indeed. It is logical, thorough, and thought-provoking!" Li Yao nodded carefully. "Spectacular! Truly spectacular!"
"Lord Wang, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, you are flattering me!"
Han Baling shook his hair in great satisfaction, and there was not the slightest 'you are flattering me' on his face but full of 'there is only one truth, and I have found it'. Clearing his throat, he went on. "In the last two weeks, I studied the history of the various forces in Li Yao's group and gained a shallow understanding about the birth, development, and expansion of Li Yao's group. I would like to share it with the Cultivators here. Due to the limited time, there may seem to be a lot of flaws. Please feel free to point them out for me."
"You are too polite, Fellow Cultivator Han," Li Yao said. "As the great monarch of Cloud Qin, your vision and strategies are certainly the most distinguished among us. Your opinions will certainly be insightful. We are all ears!"
Han Baling smiled and said unhurriedly, "A hundred years, Vulture Li Yao, known as the dominator of three Sectors, resolved the ten-thousand-year contradiction between humans and demons almost entirely on his own through both battles and diplomatic approaches. He connected the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector, accomplishing a feat that no one else at the edge of the cosmos had ever accomplished in history. As for himself, he turned into a well-respected superhero that everybody in the federation knew. These are historical facts that everybody knows.
"However, hehe, there is still a major difference between the so-called 'superhero' and a real great leader.
"Everybody, we have seen too many heroes and warriors in the Ancient Sages Sector, haven't we? But are all the heroes and warriors capable of establishing a magnificent organization whose glory can endure a thousand years? Of course not!
"Heroes have all the fame and prestige, but it has always been the greatest question to translate the fame and prestige into real 'power' and to make the power expand and last hundreds or even thousands of years.
"Hehe. In the Ancient Sages Sector, whenever a new hero shows up, the traditional conglomerates and the decayed forces have too many ways to deal with him.
"They perhaps won't attack him in real life but enshrine him through adulations. In the end, he will become an idol that is full of fame and prestige, but the real benefits flowing out of the fame and prestige will still belong to the traditional conglomerates and decayed forces!"
Compared to Emperor Phoenix's Great Qian Dynasty, Han Baling's own Ghost Qin was also an ambitious new power.
Therefore, he naturally took the side of Li Yao's group in the 'war of old versus new'. The more he talked about it, the more he was unable to control the appreciation in his tone. "A hundred years ago, after Li Yao's great feat, 'Li Yao's group' was only just born and inevitably raised too much unnecessary attention. Before long, the traditional powers would've crowded close to confine and drain him!
"If it was any other hero, I'm afraid that they wouldn't have survived such a situation. The best outcome they could've expected was to compromise and enter the circle of the traditional powers, becoming one of them.
"Hehe. If it were anybody else, 'becoming one of them' could have been the ultimate goal worth fighting for with their entire life, but who was Vulture Li Yao? How could he bear to be restrained by the old order after making such a great achievement as uniting the three Sectors?
"Break the old order and monopolize the New Federation! I'm afraid that this is the ultimate goal of Monster Li!"
Pa!
Li Yao could not help but slap his thigh hard and shout, "It does make sense. What didn't I come up with it earlier?"
"It is perfectly understandable that Master Spiritual Vulture did not think of that before because you were born in a remote land and too focused on refining. Even I wouldn't have believed that this monster had such a huge appetite if it weren't for the series of events that happened recently!" Han Baling exclaimed in mixed feelings, with both admiration and fear on his face.
"Monster Li is too farsighted, sophisticated, and ruthlessly. He is truly a fiend that even the twelve of us must be wary of even when we join hands! Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, why do you think he vanished into thin air a hundred years ago when his fame and prestige were at the highest point and has been missing for the entire century since?"
Blinking hard, Li Yao had to give up after thinking for a long time. He shook his head hard. "I really can't think of any reason. Why did he do that?"
"It's simple. He was making a move by retreating," Han Baling said solemnly. "At that time, Li Yao's group had already shown its sharpness. With Li Yao's growing fame and prestige, it would absolutely have conflicts of interests with the conservative forces of the traditional conglomerates.
"It must be noted that the federation had already lost the external enemy that was the 'Blood Demon Sector', and it would take another hundred years for the expedition army of the Imperium to arrive. Therefore, with no external trouble for more than a hundred years, did they have anything they could do other than fighting each other internally?
"If Li Yao had stayed in the federation and continued leading Li Yao's group to develop so rapidly, he would've had a head-on clash with the traditional conglomerates.
"At that time, Li Yao's group was not fully grown. Despite the ostensible splendidness, it was not well-founded, if it had any foundation at all. How could it have been a match for the renowned sects that had operated for hundreds of years?
"They would not deal with him openly at all but would restrain, confine, and suffocate him like a boa. They would certainly not allow 'Li Yao's group' to
expand. Or rather, it was allowed to expand, provided that it followed the rules of the game of the old days!
"New things often decline as abruptly as they arise. Have we not seen enough such examples in the Ancient Sages Sector?
"Faced with such a disadvantageous situation, Monster Li Yao played two very smart moves!
"First of all, he offered to disappear, claiming that he was out to explore the sea of stars!
"This move achieved two purposes. On one hand, it was a concession for his enemy, a gesture that showed he was not interested in fame, fortune, or power and had no plans to compete with them at all so that the traditional conglomerates could rest assured about the forces that were not still not fully developed yet under his name!
"On the other hand, it was also a warning. 'I am going out to travel and train myself, but you'd better watch what you do to my supporters and subordinates. Otherwise, you may regret it years later when I announce my return in a certain way together with certain other forces!'
"Delicate. That was indeed a delicate move!
"As for the second move, it was even more delicate, which was carried out by Jin Xinyue, Monster Li's favorite disciple. It is also the most critical step in the game!"
Chapter 1683: Whet a Sword for a Hundred Years, Cut the Throat in One Attack! |
Brilliance shone in Li Yao's eyes. He held his breath and craned his neck, asking, "What do you mean?"
Han Baling smiled casually and confidently, as if everything was under his control. "Of Vulture Li Yao's three disciples, the last disciple Jin Xinyue appears to be the most independent and disobedient one.
"Unlike the other two disciples who were raised from scratch, Jin Xinyue was already an expert in the demon king stage when she met Li Yao. She had her knowledge when she was recruited as a disciple. Also, she had her own force behind her, which was the entire Blood Demon Sector. After taking over her father's enterprise, she was the well-deserved 'master of the Blood Demon Sector'.