by <unknown>
Everybody was rather shocked after hearing that. All the Immortal Cultivators couldn't help but picture a total war between the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the Black Wind Fleet. The Black Wind Fleet's combat ability was among the most distinguished even in the entire Imperium. Even if it might not be as good as Lei Chenghu's Astounding Thunder Fleet, the gap couldn't have been huge. Also, since they had been fighting at the borderland all the time, they were even more tough and ruthless than Lei Chenghu's troops.
The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors at this moment was faced with the enormous military pressure from the four families' coalition fleet. How could they afford to lose an ally and to have an additional formidable enemy?
Whether Qi Yuanbao meant it or not, his recklessness was highly inconsiderate and nearly caused a catastrophe to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors!
"Fellow Cultivator Li—no, Black Wind King, please don't be angry!"
Sweating hard, the other four senior managers shouted at the same time, "We absolutely do not mean to be hostile to the Black Wind Fleet. As forces growing up at the edge of the Imperium, we are natural allies, and we should be united against the four families!"
"I thought so too. That's why I came to the Seven Seas Grand Market to talk about business with you in good faith, or rather, to give you a hand."
Li Yao sniffed and looked at Qi Yuanbao with the corner of his eyes. "However, one of your five senior managers does not seem to welcome me to be here. He is even scared of my arrival. Why is that?"
"About that…"
The other four senior managers frowned and looked at Qi Yuanbao doubtfully at the same time.
The other managers, shareholders, and investors did not hide their dissatisfaction and suspicion about Qi Yuanbao either.
His face pale, Qi Yuanbao drifted backward for more than ten meters before he realized that all of the exits had been blocked by crystal suits and battle puppets. Managing to stand steadily, he waved his arms like someone struggling not to be drowned and shouted crazily, "It's impossible! You can't be the Black Wind King! Isn't Heiye Ming the commander of the Black Wind Fleet? Also, you sent a message before long that you were dealing with barbarians at the edge of the cosmos. How did you suddenly march back to the Imperium?
"Don't be fooled by him! This 'Vulture Li Yao' is best known for his shamelessness and cunningness. You cannot believe any of the words he says. So much as you believe one of them, we will be pushed into the hopeless abyss of doom!"
Qi Yuanbao felt so wronged that he was almost cutting his chest to show his heart to all the Immortal Cultivators.
"Hehehehe. Heiye Ming has become history since a long time ago. Right now, I am the commander of the Black Wind Fleet, and I'm also the Black Wind King that is acknowledged by all the experts of the Black Wind Sector, the Purple Fire Sector, the Red Spider Sector, the Hard Rock Sector, and the Wild Wolf Sector!"
His hands in his back, Li Yao said casually, "I know that many people here know the experts from the five Sectors but might have never heard my name before. It's reasonable that you have suspicions like this Manager Qi does.
"It's true that Vulture Li Yao was just a Mr. Nobody a hundred years ago that nobody knew.
"However, after the Black Wind Fleet left the Imperium and went to explore the sea of stars, when most of the experts fell into dormancy, the battle squad that I belonged to was given an important reconnaissance mission.
"When we explored a mysterious relic, all the other people in my squad died, and I was the only one who luckily survived. Also, I picked up a technique named 'Star Absorption Art' by accident, which granted me the ability to swallow other people's spiritual energy!
"In the coming hundred years, most of the members of the Black Wind Fleet were sleeping in the hibernation capsules. They were like fat, succulent meat waiting to be feasted upon by me.
"You do not need to know the specific process. All in all, after I reached the highest level, I took down—no, our beloved former commander Heiye Ming died in an accident. Since I was respected and strong enough, everybody elected me to be the new Black Wind King to lead the Black Wind Fleet to continue the journey. This is about everything that happened. How about it? Is there anybody here who is not convinced?"
Li Yao crossed his fingers, his knuckles cracking, while he eyed all the Immortal Cultivators in the conference room provocatively.
All the Immortal Cultivators swallowed hard, picturing how "Vulture Li Yao" seized power through schemes and bloody coups. They were even less courageous to say or do anything.
Qi Yuanbao, however, knew that he had been cornered, and it wouldn't help at all no matter how he begged for mercy. He could only go on and shout, "What about the barbarians? The messages you sent back stating that you discovered quite a few worlds of barbarians at the edge of the cosmos, and it would take at least a couple of years to complete the conquest!"
"It's just a strategic deception to trick the government. You bought that bulls*it? How can an Immortal Cultivator be as naïve as you?"
Li Yao scorned and looked at Qi Yuanbao with his nostrils. "Yes, it's true we found a few worlds of barbarians at the edge of the cosmos. However, with the thunderous might of the Black Wind Fleet, our army was naturally unstoppable and invincible.
"Among our enemies, the queen of the barbarians was the only one who was tough and caused us some minor trouble, but after I joined the battle in person and fought three hundred rounds with her, she was still subdued by me and followed all my instructions.
"Now that even their queen had submitted to me, how could the other barbarians resist? In less than one year, the few worlds of barbarians all surrendered. They were officially included in the Imperium's territory and became my land.
"As for why we did not tell the truth to the court, it's very simple. If the court had learned that the war was over and the Imperium now had new territory, wouldn't there have been infinite additional trouble? Perhaps other fleets would've been sent to claim the victory, or experts from the four Kurfürst families would've infiltrated my land. They might have even asked His Majesty to issue a decree that mobilizes the Black Wind Fleet from the edge of the cosmos to another battlefield, right?
"You must've been through a lot of such tricks, everybody. The Black Wind Fleet had floated in space for a hundred years before we finally found a place to live in. How could I have allowed anybody to take it away?
"Therefore, on one hand, I delayed the court from sending anybody to my place with the excuse that the war was intense, and on the other hand, I have returned to the center of the cosmos —despite the risks—to investigate the situation in the Imperium after a hundred years before making any plans.
"Before, I was only thinking to bribe the four families and the few important ministers in the court with a fortune so that they could speak for the Black Wind Fleet and permit us to live and rest at the edge of the cosmos. But after I saw what I saw in the homeland of the Imperium, I couldn't help but have new plans!"
The few senior managers looked at each other in bewilderment and asked, "What plans?"
Li Yao declared formally, one word after another, "Same as everybody here—Honor the Majesty, Settle the Rebels, and Renew the Imperium!"
"Alright…"
The Immortal Cultivators all took a long breath in relief. Whether or not Li Yao was telling the truth, he was at least not on the four Kurfürst families' side, which was the best news.
"Black Wind King, we just heard you saying that you were… the Butcher of the Cultivators and the Destroyer of the Star Ocean Republic."
The senior manager in the leader continued cautiously, "What do you mean by that? Are they only your… honorary titles, or do they have deeper meanings?"
"Honorary titles? No, no, no, I am a serene and practical man, and I hate the pretentious honorable titles most!"
Li Yao declared proudly, "I forgot to tell you that the Black Wind Fleet caught up to Firefly, which had
fled a thousand years ago, twenty years ago, fishing up all the Cultivators of the government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic. The last Cultivator on Firefly was slain by me in person!"
"What?"
Four of the five senior managers rose to their feet. "You have really destroyed Firefly?"
Emotionlessly, Li Yao retrieved plenty of jade chips and various kinds of medals of the "rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic", tossing them at the four managers. "Those jade chips were all the products of the highest standard of the Star Ocean Republic. The ways they were polished and their storage structure are entirely different from the generic models of the Imperium. I believe you can certainly tell the difference, right? Inside the jade chips are parts of the voyage logs of Firefly and the structures of the critical parts. It is barely possible to fabricate such details too.
"As for those medals, hehe, they would've been pursued and fought over by all the experts at the center of the cosmos a thousand years ago, but today, they are just my toys.
"Perhaps it is a great event that Firefly was destroyed, but in my eyes, those fleeing Cultivators were nothing but cockroaches and rats. Is it anything to be proud of if you step on a cockroach or a rat and kill them? Do I really need to lie about such trivia?"
Chapter 2545: Brave but Brainless |
In the Imperium of True Human Beings' hierarchy of accomplishments, annihilating the government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic was a remarkable achievement only secondary to destroying the Alliance of the Holy Covenant. They did not expect that Li Yao would talk about it in such a casual way as if he really did not care about it.
The senior managers, managers, shareholders, and partners of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors were all knowledgeable and cunning people who had traveled a hundred years in the erratic sea of stars, but they did not know what to say when faced with such a "weirdo" like Li Yao.
It was too important an issue. The four senior managers, having no time to bother with any courtesy, took a few jade chips respectively and studied them with all their attention for a long time, before they looked at each other and nodded their heads. Their conclusion was the same. Those jade chips were indeed the magical equipment of the Star Ocean Republic from a thousand years ago, and they all carried the seal of the so-called "rightful government", which was impossible for other people to duplicate. Also, the voyage logs and the confidential files inside looked convincing too. If they were not true, it would've been barely possible to make them up in such a detailed way.
Observing them coldly, Li Yao retrieved a handful of jade chips, marrow crystals, and medals from his Cosmos Ring and threw them at the four senior managers, before he said coldly, "With a great battle coming near, it is indeed necessary to be more vigilant. I know that I have shown up with a lot of mysteries too. It's right of you to be more careful.
"Those jade chips are the items that the Black Wind Fleet has been using for a hundred years, with the signatures of the experts of the Black Wind Fleet on them. Right, there's also a secret letter from Di Feiwen, the deputy commander of the Black Wind Fleet. He is also a manager of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. I believe that there must be tokens that only you can understand in his letter, right?
"Rest assured, Di Feiwen is not dead yet. He is now in full charge of the construction of the 'New Black Wind Dominion' as the financial minister. His life is much more comfortable than yours. He should've stated in the letter that I am a friend and a partner that you can absolutely trust, and whatever secret agreements you reached with Heiye Ming a hundred years ago, you can negotiate with me about them as well!"
"A secret letter from Di Feiwen?"
The four senior managers were refreshed. They hurried to study the letter together.
Di Feiwen had been away from the Imperium for a hundred years. He was in fact a senior manager of the older generation. The juniors like Qi Yuanbao who emerged later actually filled up the vacancies of people like Di Feiwen.
At that time, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had not expanded to what it was today. Helping the Black Wind Fleet to do the big job required huge determination and stakes.
Since Di Feiwen was qualified to plan and implement such a great gamble, it was not hard to imagine his status in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Now that Li Yao had returned with the news of the Black Wind Fleet, it meant that the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors' investment a hundred years ago was about to be rewarded. How could they not be serious?
The few senior managers perused Di Feiwen's jade chip for a long time. After unlocking it with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors' secret technique, they discovered that Di Feiwen's letter was rather ambiguous without many details. He only stated that he was safe and sound and had a thriving career. He also asked his fellows in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors to absolutely trust every word that Vulture Li Yao, the new Black Wind King, said, assuring that they would make a huge fortune out of it.
The letter was simple, but Di Feiwen had left "Hidden Mark" between the lines that could only be perceived by the leaders of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. It was a very special technique. By touching the "Hidden Mark", it would be able to sense the body and mental conditions of the person who left the mark.
The four senior managers touched the letter one by one, all agreeing that Di Feiwen was physically and mentally healthy and steady when he wrote the letter, without suffering any torture or coercion.
When they studied the jade chips, medals, and voyage logs that Li Yao presented, they found that the items were all authentic without any error on the details at all.
At this moment, the four senior managers finally took a long breath in relief and were more or less convinced by Li Yao's crazy story.
They pushed the jade chips and the letter to Qi Yuanbao, apparently hinting Qi Yuanbao to study them too.
Qi Yuanbao's eyes were bloodshot. He looked at Li Yao's jade chips as if they were a pile of squeaking crystal bombs that were about to explode. He was reluctant to extend his hands no matter what, and he simply floated in the midair lethargically like a zombie, making people think that he indeed chose a great nickname as "Hanged Man"!
Seeing the expressions on the few senior managers' faces, the managers, shareholders, investors, and business partners around were all shocked, knowing that Li Yao's identity as the "Black Wind King" had probably been proved.
In fact, the more quick-witted ones among them were already convinced without looking at the proof.
That was because Li Yao bluntly confessed his secret a moment ago. He claimed that he had been a Mr. Nobody in the beginning and only rose abruptly after picking up a technique named "Star Absorption Art", which granted him the ability to swallow other people's spiritual energy to strengthen himself!
Such a technique where one strengthened oneself by harming other people would significantly undermine the peace and solidarity of the Immortal Cultivators, which made it a taboo for the Immortal Cultivators. Dongfang Wang, the previous Prime Minister of the Imperium, fell exactly because of that.
Of course, Dongfang Wang had been dissecting living people and even absorbing them into dry bodies to transplant their spiritual roots or gold cores. Such evil arts of "cannibal training" were not the same as swallowing spiritual energy.
There were many techniques similar to the "Star Absorption Art" among the Immortal Cultivators; some more effective than others. A lot of people had been training in secret too. Most of the techniques would not cause the death of the swallowed. But still, few people would admit that they had been doing such things.
Out of their expectation, Li Yao had confessed it brusquely, not taking it seriously at all.
It left two impressions on the many Immortal Cultivators:
Firstly, he must've been speaking the truth, because nobody would voluntarily demean themselves by confessing such things.
Secondly, the man was just a naï
ve magnate who had suddenly grown rich. He only succeeded because he found an extraordinary art in a certain relic luckily and because most of the experts in the Black Wind Fleet were hibernating. Despite his unparalleled combat ability, he did not have enough training on his mind at all!
All in all, their first impression was not wrong. It was just a pure warrior with more brawn than brain. His combat ability might be very high, but so what? He would be counting money for them even if he were sold by them!
At the very least, as long as they held back his arrogance on the surface, they did not need to worry about being deceived by him if they were to cooperate with him.
As for whether or not the "Star Absorption Art" was a taboo, the Immortal Cultivators all wished that it was. Should they end on bad terms in the future, it would be an excellent weapon to lambast him!
For a moment, the many Immortal Cultivators were all wearing a mysterious smile. They were all convinced by what Li Yao said, regarding him as the real… Black Wind King, the Immortal Cultivator of Immortal Cultivators, and the worst nightmare for the Cultivators!
"Black Wind King, please forgive our prudence. After all, you should know that a great accident just happened in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors today, and we lost our leader."
The old senior manager respectfully gave all the jade chips and medals back to Li Yao, before he asked carefully, "However, we still do not understand what the Black Wind Fleet has been through in the past hundred years, or what has happened between you and the queen since you came to the Imperium."
"It's very simple. I meant to cooperate with the queen sincerely in the cause to renew the Imperium while we made a business deal in the meantime."
Li Yao sniffed angrily. "But I did not expect that the queen's appetite was bigger than I thought. She intended to swallow me as a whole since I was all by myself.