by <unknown>
Deep down in their heart, they also hoped that a second powerful, unquestionable sovereign like Blackstar the Great would show up, who could let them realize the value of their life while leading millions of Immortal Cultivators to explore the vast universe and bring the civilization of mankind to a new peak!
It would be much better than to work as the dogs of the four Kurfürst families right now!
"His Majesty's life is so difficult, and he hates the four Kurfürst families so much that he has asked someone most intimate to him to escape from the capital with his decree?"
Wei Guanghui's eyes rolled fast with complicated feelings beaming out. Breathing heavily for a moment, he hesitated again before asking, "This is a very important matter. Is it true or not?"
"My dear father, are you still unable to see things through? It doesn't matter if the so-called 'hidden decree' is true. What matters is that, since such an 'expert from the royal palace' has escaped with His Majesty's decree, we now have the legitimacy to resist the Council of Elders!"
Wei Yuanjia slightly raised his voice as he said, "Also, the force hiding behind the Business Alliance of the Ten Thousand Sectors was capable of rescuing General Lei Chenghu from their heavily-guarded prison, which is indicative enough of their strength!
"Now, General Lei has controlled the Astounding Thunder Fleet again, and the local fleets in the Third Battle Area are swarming to respond. There is also an immeasurable force cooperating with us in the capital. Isn't this our best shot?
"'Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions' is exactly the legitimacy that the decree offers us. This is the best opportunity to overthrow the old and replace it with the new. If we miss out on such a great opportunity, the Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector would never get rid of the fate of being manipulated by somebody else!
"Besides, by my estimation, this Vulture Li Yao who's using the Gold Vulture was probably a real expert from the royal palace. You have seen the splendor of the Colossus and his unparalleled combat ability with your own eyes. Such a person has never been seen in the Imperium before. If he is not from the royal palace, where on earth could he have found such an advanced super Colossus, and how is he able to boost such terrifying spiritual energy? He can't just have appeared out of thin air, right?"
"Huh…"
Wei Guanghui re-played the battle videos and watched them several times. The more he watched, the more shocked he became. Such a Colossus was indeed not something that a common sect could have.
"Father, there is no time for hesitation."
Wei Yuanjia said passionately, "Let's do it!"
Wei Guanghui was still considering when the mini crystal processor on his wrist buzzed crazily and reported an uncanny message to him.
The carrier from the special investigation committee, which had been docked at the periphery of the No. 233 resource planet, was showing signs that it had fully activated the power units and about to escape through a space jump when the time that they demanded earlier had not come yet.
"They must've received the news too. They know that General Lei is back!"
Both surprised and excited, Wei Yuanjia looked at Wei Guanghui nervously. "Father!"
Wei Guanghui took a deep breath. Now that he had made up his mind, he looked much more aggressive than before. Slashing his hand down brutally, he demanded, "Do not let the little bas*ard run away. Shoot him down!"
At the edge of the No. 233 resource planet, a carrier, which was carved with the dual emblems of the Council of Elders and the special investigation committee, was already spreading out ivory halos, implying that it was tearing apart the barrier of the three-dimensional space and about to enter the void for a space jump.
Suddenly, the bombardment from the starships around and the ground enshrouded the carrier like a storm.
After the bombardment, the smooth and flawless carrier a moment ago was riddled with holes, with air currents and pieces of explosion hissing out everywhere.
With all the wounds, it was impossible for the carrier to perform a space jump at all. If it were determined to jump, it would only be completely shredded by the surging tides in the four-dimensional space, never to be filled up again!
"Envoy Zhao…"
In the communication channel, Wei Guanghui grinned hideously. "The time of our agreement has not come yet. Why are you in such a hurry to leave without even saying goodbye?"
"General… General Wei!"
The sharp-mouthed scoundrel now had a face paler than that of a dead person. He stammered, pretending to be tough, "What-What is the meaning of this? Are you not scared of the wrath of the Council of Elders?"
"I don't mean anything."
Combing his beard, Wei Guanghui said with a smile, "All the radicals on the name list have been captured by me without missing any. I am sending them to your starship right now. There are so many secrets that they would like to confess and so many questions that they want to ask you. You can stay here until the investigation is over!"
From all directions, the assault warships that looked like sharks charged at the carriers that were heavily damaged and unable to move anymore. A bloody feast was about to commence.
"N-No!"
Envoy Zhao screamed aloud, "How-How dare you? Ahhhh!"
…
Nine thousand and seven hundred years away, at the center of the Third Battle Area, in the area where the flagship of the Astounding Thunder Fleet was temporarily stationed, on the head of "Iron Torrent", the flagship of the Third Battle Area of the expedition army of the Imperium that looked like a high-rising horn, bathing in the infinite darkness of the universe and faced with countless stars was an overwhelming gold Colossus!
The powerful saber that was enough to chop a light cruiser into halves was kept on its legs. Below the shining gold mask, however, the complicated feelings of human beings were beaming out of its eyes while it stared at the sea of stars, deep in thought.
The Colossus sitting cross-legged on the flagship of the Astounding Thunder Fleet, called by all the soldiers of the Astounding Thunder Fleet as "Gold Vulture" in reverence, was naturally the "Tartarean Skeleton" that was fully upgraded with the secret treasures of the Supreme Emperor.
The user of the Colossus who was soaked in the mysterious liquid metal that "Little Black" transformed into, which allowed him to extend his spiritual energy and his thoughts to the tiniest sensors on the Colossus, was naturally Li Yao, who had become "an expert from the royal palace".
Li Yao was waiting for someone.
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Soundwaves could not be transmitted in the vacuum. However, when the three-dimensional space before Iron Torrent was torn apart and the ripples spread to the Colossus, slight noises were still raised.
Like fireflies rising from the bushes in a dark night, one starship after another in colorful camouflages with different emblems leaped out of the void and shone brilliantly before Iron Torrent.
Those starships were the armed forces and fleets in the Third Battle Area that came from local regions. They were even the most powerful warships and flagships that the leaders of the local troops treasured most.
They had indeed responded to Lei Chenghu's call and come to join Lei Chenghu's cause while ignoring all the obstacles and concerns!
Although it was just a war of interests within the Immortal Cultivators, Li Yao was still more or less touched by the starships that were jumping out of the void one after another, turning the darkness and nothingness into a glorious square of starships. He also burned his soul and triggered the majestic flames of the spiritual energy of the Gold Vulture.
"Hu!"
A vivid gold vulture did soar from the head of Iron Torrent and swallow the colors of all stars!
The starships from different Sectors released rays from the heads of their starships, which congregated into a dazzling band of light.
According to the tradition of the Imperium, it was the way for starships to express their highest res
pect when they countered.
They all sensed the magnificence of the Gold Vulture, recognized Li Yao's identity, and showed their sincere reverence for the "warrior from the capital".
Chapter 2242: Everyone's War Against Everyone! |
"This is… splendid!"
Li Jialing exclaimed in amazement as Li Yao's guard near the Gold Vulture wearing the super crystal suit that could transform in three phases.
He was a young man after all. Although his pursuit was "absolute freedom", he still found it hard to control his hot blood when hundreds of starships leaped out of the void and worshipped Li Yao.
He vaguely had a feeling that it would be great if he was the one to whom those starships were paying homage.
Li Jialing had been raised by Li Lingfeng as a half-heir in the first place. Tremendous wisdom of cruel competitions and the abilities to see through the truth had been poured into his head through secret techniques.
It was just that he was suppressed by Li Lingfeng in the past, and he was unwilling to use the abilities at all as a rebellious young man. He only wanted to run to the corner of the universe as far away from Li Lingfeng as possible.
But right now…
Both Li Lingfeng and Wu Suiyun were dead. He had finally broken the shackles on his body and gained preliminary freedom.
But he was rather at a loss about what to do next.
The fleet that was as vast as an ocean before him, and their light that eclipsed the stars, however, ignited the natural-born desires in his heart that were inherited from his mother.
Thinking of the unstoppable expedition in the past three days, Li Jialing still felt that he was in a dream. Even his fingertips seemed to be on fire.
Li Yao's terrifying performance left a particularly deep impression on him.
In "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky", he had already witnessed Li Yao's incredibility.
But little did he expect that after the full upgrade of the Colossus, and with the enhancement of the "Imperial Fire Pearl", Li Yao could be strong enough to challenge an entire fleet on his own!
When the gold light that was enough to rip apart the universe flowed out of Li Yao's body crazily, even Li Jialing felt that his bones were shrieking. No wonder the small fries in the investigators' fleet chose to surrender.
"Almost all the fleets in the Third Battle Area have answered to General Lei Chenghu's call and gathered here for an uprising. Even some of the warships in the neighboring areas have jumped over without caring about anything. General Lei's prestige in the expedition army is truly unparalleled!"
Under Li Lingfeng's education, Li Jialing's little head was filled with the heraldic knowledge of the Imperium, which allowed him to tell the fleet, family, sect, or world to which a warship belonged quickly from the emblem on it. Pausing for a moment, he said again to Li Yao in the point-to-point secret communication channel, "However, besides General Lei's prestige, Brother Yao's invincible capabilities were a major factor in attracting them over, weren't they? The picture of you slashing into the flagship of the investigators' fleet in one attack has been spread to the entire universe through the secret channels established by the Business Alliance of the Ten Thousand Sectors. It was ten times more awesome than what you did in the Martial Meritocrats Sector a month ago. No wonder those people are convinced that you are an expert from the royal palace. Even I would've believed in your origin if I were not aware of the truth."
"Nobody is silly nowadays. They do not necessarily believe that I am an expert from the royal palace. It's just that they are in need of an expert from the royal palace in such a situation."
With a smile, Li Yao accepted the flashes of homage from the starships, but he was fully aware of his identity. "General Lei Chenghu's prestige, my combat ability, or even the fabricated 'expert from the royal palace' and 'secret decree', are not the reasons why the local armed forces have come here. The only reason why they are here is that they have been pushed into desperation by the four Kurfürst families, and they have no choice but to fight."
Li Jialing was deep in thought. "What do you mean?"
"If we get to the bottom of it, this is the most fundamental contradiction lying at the core of the 'true path of immortality' that can never be resolved."
Li Yao sighed and said, "When 'survival of the fittest' becomes a self-justifying truth and the priority rule that guides the operation of a society, it will mean that the universe will completely become a bloody slaughterhouse.
"Today, the Immortal Cultivators can regard the ordinary people as 'hominoids', savaging, torturing, and exploiting them as if the latter are an inferior species. Then tomorrow, the high-level Immortal Cultivators can also regard the low-level Immortal Cultivators as a different and lowlier species that they can take advantage of without boundaries.
"But there are always higher levels. For an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage, is somebody in the Nascent Soul Stage a 'lowly animal' that is not the same species as himself and can be oppressed and butchered randomly?
"As a result, the entire civilization of Immortal Cultivators will become 'everybody's war against everybody'. True human beings and hominoids are not the same species. Those in the Refinement Stage and those in the Building Foundation Stage are not the same species. Neither are those in the Core Formation Stage, the Nascent Soul Stage, and the Divinity Transformation Stage… There is no foundation of the most fundamental trust and cooperation. Everybody is a natural competitor for each other.
"Everybody is an enemy. Nobody is trustworthy. The greatest purpose of training is no longer to contribute to the country and the civilization, but to build up oneself regardless of the cost. Climb. Climb higher using whatever methods possible, and you will be able to eat other people. If you can't, you will only be eaten!
"Such an Imperium of True Human Beings does not have any cohesion at all. Despite all the fancy propaganda and fake glory, it is not an interstellar primitive jungle that has been decorated into a country.
"Even the wise people in the ancient times know that do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When true human beings regard hominoids as weeds, hominoids will naturally regard true human beings as enemies in return. Same goes for the high-level Immortal Cultivators and the low-level Immortal Cultivators, the four Kurfürst families, and the local Immortal Cultivators at the periphery of the Imperium. When the contradictions are intensified to the apex, one tiny spark will be enough to raise the fire of rebellion. We are now nothing more than a 'spark'."
Li Jialing mumbled, "It's true that the four Kurfürst families can be too greedy sometimes. Has it never occurred to them that such harsh exploitation will only lead to strong discontent in the local areas?"
"It is not about greed or if they can think of the consequences."
Li Yao said, "The cruel rule of 'survival of the fittest' works within the four Kurfürst families too. In the ruthless competitions where everybody else is an enemy, who can possibly consider the interests in the long term? They are all trying to earn the most benefits in the shortest amount of time possible to build themselves up.
"Those who think otherwise will soon be eliminated. Only the most sordid, vile, brutal, and ravenous people can survive and grow into the controllers of the families step by step.
"After hundreds of years of filtering, such a rule has been carved into their bones. Now that they have bitten a piece of fat meat, they will not let it go even if their heads are broken.
"Besides, the extreme admiration of power tends to make them ignore the voices of the 'weak'. They do not know how terrifying the fury of the 'weak' is once the 'weak' are gathered. Perhaps they will not realize it until the moment of their death!"
Li Jialing was silent for a long time. He then asked, "Then… do you think the Imperium is still rescuable? Can General Lei and the queen save the Imperium?"
"If they can indeed destroy the four Kurfürst families and soothe the contradictions of other Immortal Cultivators with the dead b
odies of the four behemoths, they will perhaps be able to earn themselves a buffer period of several hundred years."
Thinking for a moment, Li Yao said, "However, the day will eventually come when the resources left by the four Kurfürst families are used up, and the smaller forces in indignity today will expand into voracious, insatiable beasts too. They will turn into new cancers and the next-generation 'four Kurfürst families'. What can you do by then?
"If we get to the bottom of it, this is a systematic problem and the natural flaw of the true path of immortality. It cannot be changed for a perfect Immortal Cultivator of honor and integrity.
"Yes. Even I have to admit that, despite our disagreement on methods and ideologies, General Lei Chenghu is indeed a pure, selfless Immortal Cultivator who considers nothing but the civilization of mankind.
"But so what? How many Immortal Cultivators are as pure, loyal, and selfless as him? Even if he can revive the glory of the Imperium today, what will happen after he dies? The 'new Imperium' will only corrupt faster than the 'old Imperium'!
"It can't be helped. There may be one or two such pure, perfect Immortal Cultivators, but it is impossible for all the Immortal Cultivators to be like Lei Chenghu, because it is against human nature, unless you learn after the Covenant Alliance and brainwash everybody to deprive them of their desires. But as a result, the whole society will be lifeless and run like clockwork, with no vigor and innovation.
"Therefore, only—"
Before Li Yao said "only the Cultivators can save the universe", Li Jialing interrupted him, "Brother Yao, what you said may be true, but I still feel—
"While 100% pure, perfect Immortal Cultivators are rare, 100% pure, perfect Cultivators are hard to come by too, aren't they? Serving and even sacrificing for the ordinary people when they clearly boast unparalleled strength sounds like something that is against human nature too!
"If a country has to be maintained by 100% perfect Cultivators, it won't take long before the country turns into what the Imperium looks like today, right?
"Perhaps even the most perfect theories of the Immortal Cultivators or the Cultivators are just theories that cannot defeat the corrosion of time or 'human nature'. In the end, they will all be corrupted into their opposites.