by <unknown>
"It was her best opportunity when I left the Li family's fief for the Martial Meritocrats Sector to push forward the quest of 'Dying Light'. Her secret fleet must've been lurking somewhere at the edge of the Martial Meritocrats Sector while monitoring my operation.
"Perhaps, if Mr. Mysteries hadn't intervened, she would've jumped out of nowhere and performed a cutthroat attack at the most intense and chaotic moment in the middle of the quest!"
Li Jialing asked, "If it was a secret fleet, it couldn't have had a large number of starships. How could they have broken into 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky'?"
"Don't you understand?"
Li Lingfeng raised his voice as he said, "She only needed to break into 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' if she wanted to rescue you. But if her purpose since the very beginning was to kill you and keep your mouth shut, she would not need to bother my main fleets and the space fortress at all. She only had to jump out of nowhere and obliterate the area you were at after ascertaining your coordinates. Then, she could just escape without alarming anyone. She could even let 'Starlight' take the blame for the assault.
"If everything went well, she would've returned to the capital of the Imperium in three days. By then, even if I had abundant indirect proofs in my hands, what could I do?
"This must be what was on her mind. The starships and crystal suits that she brought this time do not have any sigils or emblems. They must be a secret troop that she founded in person. But the starships have been through sanding and added with many wasted metals, which are in fact a similar style to the ragged starships of Starlight. Are these still not enough to prove my point?
"Of course, nobody expected that this mysterious friend here would suddenly pop up and disrupt everything, both ruining my decades of hard work and completely interrupting Li Linghai's pace. She was forced to chase us to this place at risk!"
Li Yao rubbed his nose. "Well, you're welcome. It was my pleasure."
Li Lingfeng glared at Li Yao, and the brutality in his eyes was even more eye-catching than the flashes of lightning in the sky.
Tilting his head and thinking for a while, Li Jialing said slowly, "Even if what you said is true, it doesn't prove that she has no intention of saving me. What if her secret fleet was lurking at the edge of the Martial Meritocrats Sector just in order to steal me away at the most critical moment?"
"Haha, hahahaha. You still have some sort of expectations for your gene provider—or your 'birth mother', if you will—don't you? I suggest you abandon such naïve and ridiculous ideas because they will only make it more painful!"
Li Lingfeng grinned hideously. "Do you think that I am both cruel and sordid? Then let me tell you. Compared to your mother, who seems to be straightforward and outspoken but has such a sophisticated heart that she almost deceives the Li family and even the entire Imperium, your uncle is almost a pure and flawless Cultivator!
"Are you not curious about one thing? If you are Li Linghai's biological son, why did you fall into my hands, and why was I the one who raised you up in secret?
"Also, why have I invested so many resources on you without caring about the costs, to build you into a secret weapon to deal with Li Linghai, when I know your relationship with Li Linghai very well? Isn't it common sense that mothers and their children are naturally connected? Was I not scared that you would join Li Linghai's side after you found out the truth, in which case I would be losing everything and gaining nothing?"
Li Jialing was slightly dazed. "Perhaps you were too conceited to think that I would ever find out about the truth?"
"Hehe. If you think that way, you are underestimating your uncle and your birth mother greatly."
Li Lingfeng said, "Your uncle is in the Divinity Transformation Stage, and your mother's level is even higher than mine. As long as the two of you meet each other at close distance, how would she not have recognized that you are her biological son?
"When that happens, it would be a probable event that the son and the mother would team up against me. So, wouldn't I be committing suicide and raising a gravedigger for myself?"
Li Yao and Li Jialing both frowned and thought hard.
It did make no sense. However arrogant Li Lingfeng was, there was no reason why he would leave such a great loophole!
"I was bold enough to do everything I did, and I was confident that you would stand by my side even if you learned the whole truth, for a simple reason."
In a smile, Li Lingfeng spat out the answer unhurriedly, "Because this isn't the first time, but the second one, that Li Linghai has tried to kill you!
"She killed you once decades ago. Or to be more exact, she disposed of you while you were still in the fetus state. At that time, she thought that she had completely disposed of the redundant fetus that was you. Little did she know that you survived the catastrophe and was saved by me in the end.
"Li Linghai at that time did not have the intimidating power and strength that she has today. So, I was still able to cover your existence for decades and eventually found a way to raise you up in secret!
"Do you understand now? Although Li Linghai is your birth mother, she has always considered you a trouble. She tries everything she can to kill you, and she already killed you once!
"As for me, I am only your uncle, and I did not save you because you are family, but because I regarded you as leverage and intended to build you into a secret weapon.
"However, objectively speaking, it was indeed me who saved you, raised you, and protected you at the most critical moment. I even summoned all the resources at my disposal to bring you up without any reserve!"
Li Jialing's body trembled, and his voice became even colder. "So, I owe you a 'thanks', uncle?"
"Hehe. I never expected a thank you from you. I know that you hate my guts, but I couldn't care less about your gratitude or hatred!"
Li Lingfeng sniffed. "I am now only telling you the truth as it is. Then, please think carefully with the calmness and rationality that I have inculcated into you after all those years whom you should side with, your uncle who saved and raised you, or your mother who has been trying to kill you time and time again?"
Chapter 2134: Business Is Business |
Li Jialing hesitated.
No matter how many armors and tusks were hidden in the young man's heart, and how much darker and more sophisticated he was than his peers, his experiences were limited by his age after all.
Even if he were the sharpest sword in the darkness, it would still require the whetting and polishing of time for him to have an edge to cut apart the stars.
Li Lingfeng's words sounded too true for Li Jialing to tell their veracity. His mind in a mess, he somehow glanced at Li Yao again, as if this "Brother Yao" who appeared out of nowhere was his greatest reliance right now.
But little did he know that Li Yao was in quite a headache himself.
After advancing into the Divinity Transformation Stage, Li Yao was even more skilled at the perception of other people's micro-expressions, heartbeats, scents, and even quakes of the souls.
In other words, it was easier for him to tell if other people were telling the truth now that his senses were keener.
While Li Lingfeng was of a higher level than him, the man was heavily wounded, and his soul gave an unsteady, flickering feeling. It was barely possible for the guy to completely fool him.
In the meantime, Li Yao sensed clearly that when Li Lingfeng made the statements, his facial muscles, his heart, his nerve endings, and his soul did not show any anomalies at all.
At the very least, based on Li Yao's experience, he should be telling the truth.
Are you serious? "Li Linghai" is brutal enough to kill her own biological son?
Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue, feeling that his head was exploding.
Ever since his foster father's last words were revealed more than a hundred years ago, Li Yao had been uncannily mesmerized by the name "Li Linghai".
The reason was very simple. Li Yao b
elieved that his foster father was a kind, righteous good man, and his foster father had made it clear in his last words that should Li Yao or the Star Glory Federation run into trouble one day, they could go to Imperium of True Human Beings and find Li Linghai, who would definitely offer protection.
Since his foster father was a good guy who had faith in Li Linghai and was even probably in a romantic relationship with her before, Li Linghai should be a good person too, or at least "the lesser of the evils" among the many Immortal Cultivators.
It was exactly what Li Yao thought at the beginning.
His plan was to trace Li Linghai through Li Jialing and see if there were possibilities of concession or even cooperation between him and the "least bad" Immortal Cultivator.
One might even say that Li Yao's main purpose after sneaking into the heartland of the Imperium of True Human Beings on his own was to search for Li Linghai!
But according to everything Li Linghai said just now, the queen of the Imperium of True Human Beings was almost the epitome of the Immortal Cultivators. Her ruthlessness and cruelty could almost be called classical, and she did not hesitate to abandon her son for power!
If she could kill her blood son without frowning, what could the foster son of her former lover more than a hundred years ago mean to her?
Li Yao's dream was rather beautiful, but it was a pity that the cruel reality was too damn freezing!
"What's there to hesitate about? The few starships that I brought to the Sand Primitive Sector are about to be torn up by Li Linghai. Make a decision now!"
Li Lingfeng opened his arms with a low and firm voice and the most honest expression. "Yes, Jialing, I admit that I have been lying to you all the time. In fact, I should've told you the truth earlier to avoid such misunderstandings, which resulted in you… running away!
"However, please think for a moment in your uncle's shoes. In the past, your nature was not completely awakened, and your uncle could not perceive your psychological state clearly. If I told you the truth, only to upset you and even make you mentally deranged, what could I have done?
"Also, after you learned the truth, your demeanor would certainly be different from the past. Should you expose any loopholes, you might be causing a disaster to yourself at any moment. It must be noted that the Li family had been extending our hands into the royal palace the whole time, but ever since Li Linghai's influences grew strong enough, she was reversely infiltrating the Li family from the royal palace. Even I was not certain that she was unaware of your existence!
"As it turns out, however prudent and vigilant I was, she still discovered you and has led a secret squad to dispose of you in person!
"Good boy, I know you are a smart person and an out-and-out Immortal Cultivator. Let's not talk about the groundless familial bonds but the most simple and substantial interests!
"Yes. I admit that I thought you were a rare good when I rescued you at the beginning, and I simply wanted to build you into a secret weapon or a valuable bargaining chip for the highly dangerous game between Li Linghai and me.
"However, during the procedures of refinement, I gradually discovered the infinite potentials hidden underneath your weak appearance. They were the strength inherited from Li Linghai that awed me!
"Hehe. None of my descendants, both the sons and the grandsons, were worthy of anything. Even the most distinguished one of them had the aptitudes and ambitions that could only be called 'plain' at best. His accomplishments would be limited, and it would be his best to help the family to manage a resource planet. He was not as good as one-tenth of you!
"Since you had such amazing potential, and you were my blood nephew who could sort of carry on the genes of my bloodline, was there any reason why I shouldn't raise you well and refine you without bothering the costs?
"In conclusion, was I making use of you? Yes! Did I regard you as a leverage and a weapon? Yes! Did I hope that you could kill Li Linghai someday? Still yes!
"But did I raise you wholeheartedly? Yes! Did I invest ten times more effort and resources on you than I did on my biological sons and grandsons? Yes! Did I wish you to be my real heir, to pass on my genes, my power, and my title? Yes!
"Just think carefully about everything that I've done to you, and you will know that I am not lying at all.
"The relationships of human beings are all about manipulation. I make use of you, and you make use of me. Is there anything bad about that? To have the values that other people are interested in making use of is more reliable than any familial bonds!
"Let me repeat myself. Our interests are in accordance. We can absolutely work together to accomplish a great cause and control the family one day. The Li family in the next hundred years will be ours.
"However, your interests and Li Linghai's are not exactly on the same page. She already killed you once you were still a fetus. Do you think she will let go of you this time?"
Li Jialing breathed fast. He clenched his fists and gnashed. "I have no interest in your power struggles at all, yours or Li Linghai's. The blood connections of 'mother' or 'uncle' are utterly meaningless in my eyes too. I only want to live a life of absolute freedom where I can do anything I want!"
"Absolute freedom?"
Li Lingfeng was slightly dazed before he burst into laughter. "You silly boy. The universe is boundless with countless stars, but fights, slaughters, rules, and regulations that you have to abide by and unparalleled experts who can blackmail you, browbeat you, control you, hurt you, and meddle with you are everywhere! Where exactly can you find a life of 'absolute freedom'?
"Let me tell you. If you really want to live a life of 'absolute freedom', it is very simple. You have to seize 'absolute power' through whatever means possible!
"Only when you have absolute power will you have absolute freedom!
"When you become the master of a planet and boast the absolute power of the planet, you will have 'absolute freedom' on the planet!
"By the same logic, when you become the lord of a Sector with the supreme power, you will be absolutely free in this world. You can kill whoever you want to kill and do whatever you want to do. Even if the world is turned upside down, nobody will dare to tell you to stop!
"Hehe. If you can dominate the Li family someday as my heir, many Sectors will have to listen to your command, and countless starships will obey your will. In the fief of the Li family, you will be unrestrained and enjoy absolute, lawless freedom!"
The young man began to breathe heavily.
Peeping at Li Yao, he said in a low voice after hesitating for a long time, "You have said a lot of things, but what do you want exactly?"
"I have a tiny plan, but whether or not it can work out will depend on the mysterious man next to you."
Li Lingfeng focused his eyes on Li Yao again, but the brutality deep inside his eyes was all gone, replaced by cleverness and cunningness. "If I am not mistaken, you are not a real Cultivator, are you?"
After a brief silence, Li Yao chuckled. "Of course not. How could the daydreaming fools like Cultivators have raised an expert of the Divinity Transformation Stage and used him extravagantly as a scout? And how could they have such a well-maintained Colossus? You should know what a great pressure it is for the logistics department better than I do, Fellow Cultivator Li. It can't be done without the support of a grand industrial system with full facilities and well-trained personnel. Do the Cultivators meet the conditions? They couldn't have afforded a leg of the Colossus even if they sold all their belongings!"
Li Yao addressed Li Lingfeng as "Lord Li" at the beginning but "Fellow Cultivator Li" right now. It was obviously a hint that they were "on the same boat".
"I assumed no less. The bulls*it such as 'a Cultivator from the sky' can only deceive the three-year-olds and the ignorant hominoids."
Li Lingfeng said coldly, "Then, who might you be exactly, and what is your purpose of going through all the dangers on your own? In any case, the fancy combination of a Colossus whose combat performa
nce is better than the 'Tempest God' and an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage is not something that the mobsters at the edge of the Imperium can present."
"Do you know how popular and eye-catching your Heavenly Eye Group and your 'slaughter stream' platform were in the past hundred years?"
Li Yao said, "As the saying goes, 'the bird who flies in the lead always gets shot first'. The slaughter stream is a new invention that has never been seen before in the past thousand years, and it is an interesting but scary thought to control the Imperium through the media. There are bound to be some pedantic, obsolete forces who dislike your 'slaughter stream' and do not want you or the Li family to control a new, unknown strength.
"Just consider me as an agent sent by the obsolete forces that do not like 'slaughter stream' and do not want you to grasp the new power. I am here to sabotage your cause, and they will take the opportunity to attack you to ruin your stream platform and swallow the Heavenly Eye Group.
"Don't be angry. It's nothing personal. In fact, I, for one, quite appreciate your ideas and creations. The Imperium is simply too moldy and ancient. It's time to let in some fresh air. However… an order is an order, and business is business. I'm sure you understand me."
Chapter 2135: Turn a Foe... Into a Friend? |
"I am not angry. In fact, I appreciate your honesty, which is a good beginning for our cooperation."
Li Lingfeng said sullenly, "At the very least, it is much better to admit to the truth than to persist in the ridiculous identity of a 'Cultivator'."
Li Yao couldn't help but tap the helmet of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit to retreat the facial cover. With the look of "I do feel the same" on his face, he bulged his eyes and said, "You think that the identity of a 'Cultivator' is funny and absurd too, right? That's too f*cking correct. When those a*sholes devised the identity for me, I thought exactly the same!