Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1370
"He is not just your own son; he is my nephew too. If you do not cherish your son as a mother, it is only reasonable for his uncle to raise him up, isn't it?" Li Lingfeng said with a smile.
Then, he suddenly changed his expression and raised his voice as he continued, "I should be asking you the question, sister! For decades, you have been recruiting subordinates in secret and establishing a secret fleet. Recently, you seemed to be getting in touch with the young, bottom-level officers of various fleets of the Imperium, which had been gathered together for the Imperium's attack toward the Covenant Alliance. What are you up to exactly?
"Hehe. However great the misunderstanding between you and me is, we are siblings after all, and you will forever be a member of the Li family! It doesn't matter if you hurt yourself when you act recklessly, but your brother and your entire family may be burned by the fire that you have ignited. We may be doomed forever!
"So, whatever your plans and purposes are, why don't you say them out frankly? Let's communicate well, in case you ruin yourself, me, the family, and even the entire Imperium with your misbehaviors!"
"Ruin the Imperium?"
Li Linghai chuckled. With what could be determination or zealousness beaming out of her eyes, she said, "No, I am rescuing the Imperium."
"Rescuing the Imperium."
Li Lingfeng was amused. He waved his arms and said, "The Imperium of True Human Beings today includes the most prosperous Sectors in the entire universe, with a concourse of valiant warriors and strong experts and millions of starships. We have just crushed the Covenant Alliance, our old nemesis, on the battlefield. This is exactly our most flourishing moment in the past five hundred, no, the past thousand years. Why on earth does it need rescuing?
"Do you mean what you said, or are you simply just throwing the brainwashing propaganda out of habits?"
Looking at Li Lingfeng in the eyes, Li Linghai said casually, "Enough of the crap. You and I are both aware that the Imperium today is no longer the Imperium from a thousand years ago, and the Immortal Cultivators today have changed from the real Immortal Cultivators from a thousand years ago!
"A thousand years ago, when Wuying Qi, Blackstar the Great, established the Imperium of True Human Beings, what a promising, thriving, and an unstoppable country it was!
"At that time, everybody was full of ambitions. The hominoids were the fuel, whereas the Immortal Cultivators were the engine and battle units on the iron tank. Everybody was united to push the civilization of mankind forward in the infinite sea of stars. Expand, expand, and further expand. Evolve, evolve, and evolve nonstop to achieve the limits of the universe and make our civilization and human beings the strongest battle species in the universe. That was the loftiest ideal of the Immortal Cultivators a thousand years ago!
"But has such a magnificent dream been fulfilled after a thousand years?
"Hehe. Not to mention 'exploring the land that has never been visited by ancient people bravely and surpass the limits of all the intelligent lives in history', we have not even discovered and conquered the maximal territory of the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago yet, and we are not as good as the Star Ocean Imperium in many aspects. That's ancient people from ten thousand years ago!
"What have we accomplished after sacrificing the lives of billions of hominoids as the fuel? Isn't the so-called dream a great joke?"
Li Lingfeng blushed. He couldn't help but argue, "Sister, don't be too imposing. You know clearly that the Star Ocean Imperium inherited the enormous heritages of the Demon Beast Empire that endured thirty thousand years. It also received the direct enlightenment of the primeval civilizations, namely the so-called 'Book of Revelation'. That was the reason for the gigantic leap of the civilization of mankind.
"There were almost ten thousand years of wars in darkness after the Armageddon Rebellion and the collapse of the Star Ocean Imperium. Many worlds fell apart and developed on their own, unable to reach out to others. It's been only a thousand years since the Imperium of True Human Beings reunited the territory again. Also, we are faced with the threat of the uncanny enemy that is the Covenant Alliance. Nothing can be helped even though we cannot restore the glory of ten thousand years ago for now. Have you wavered as an Immortal Cultivator just because of that?"
"No, I have never wavered as an Immortal Cultivator, and I have always been the most loyal believer of Blackstar the Great. It is you, the selfish, greedy, corrupted, and conspiring worms, who have betrayed Blackstar the Great and the real Immortal Cultivators' lofty belief that everything can be sacrificed for the civilization of mankind. You have degenerated into the slaves of your personal desires. You are the fake Immortal Cultivators!"
Li Linghai bulged her eyes and sneered, "It would be understandable if we could not achieve the dreams and oaths of a thousand years ago for now because of temporary difficulties. But look at the murky Imperium today. Look at the corrupted, decayed nobles, warlords, and benefit takers. Look at the bugs who cling to their own territories and interests and who spare no efforts extending their claws to fight for the cake with no consideration of the overall interests of the Imperium and the civilization of mankind. Are those people really comparable to the pure, real Immortal Cultivators a thousand years ago? Do they really deserve such a glorious title as 'Immortal Cultivator'?
"The simplest example will be the battle between the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance.
"The battle this time is a long-prepared counterattack after a rest of hundreds of years. The expedition army includes the best fleets and experts of hundreds of Sectors. They have indeed conquered dozens of worlds unstoppably, all of which are resourceful, prosperous, and strategically important!
"Right now, the Covenant Alliance has been heavily wounded, and it is in the middle of dying struggles. As long as all of our nobles and fleet commanders remain united and forget sacrifices and personal interests, we will have a great chance to break into the heartland of the Imperium and eliminate the great trouble forever!
"Even if we cannot demolish the Covenant Alliance, I believe that we will at least deal such a critical blow that the enemy will not recover in three to five hundred years. It will lose all the bargaining chips to compete for the hegemony of the universe with the Imperium!
"Even I can think of such a simple logic, but why can't you? Why can't the noble ministers in the court think about it? Why can't the family leaders, the warlords, and the fleet commanders think about it?
"The real reason is that nobody is willing to risk fighting an arduous annihilation battle at the heartland of the Covenant Alliance at great sacrifices.
"Nobody is willing to face the desperate counterattacks of the Covenant Alliance when it is dying.
"Everybody is simply keeping their eyes on other people. It will be best if they can take all the advantages after the fleets of other warlords perish together with the fleets of the Covenant Alliance.
"Even worse, while the war is not over yet, all the warlords have got their eyes on the dozens of prosperous worlds that have been newly conquered. Countless claws already can't wait to reach for the hotcakes when they are not even out of the oven yet!
"Therefore, although the situation in the frontline looks great, the war cannot go on anymore.
"The nobles and the military theorists that they sponsored proposed countless reasons that we should not attack recklessly as if they were real. They claim that desperate enemies must not be chased after and swear that the Covenant Alliance is too maimed to be the Imperium's problem in the next hundred years and the Imperium has secured the victory of a thousand years. Perhaps the stupid hominoids will believe that crap, but both you and I know that we are missing out on the greatest opportunity, right?
"This is exactly the situation of the Imperium today.
"The Imperium of True Human Beings seems powerful and even on the rise, but it is in fact at dusk right now, and it is rotten to the bones!"
Chapter 2144: A Pig Is a Pig! |
Li Lingfeng opened his mouth but came up with no rebuttal. He rolled his eyes crazily, and there was no telling what was on her mind.
He approached Li Linghai quietly, and the muscles and nerves on the two sides of the spine were constricted. He was ready to attack at any moment.
Li Linghai felt none of it. Her voice grew louder and harsher. "The nobles and the warlords rule over everything. Their beliefs have degenerated. The social stratifications have been rigidified. The channels of ascension have almost been entirely cut off. The high and mighty pretentious 'Immortal Cultivators' are in fact parasites who resort to every method possible to earn personal benefits under the disguise of the Immortal Cultivators and the civilization of mankind. They consider the Imperium as a tree that will never fall, and they all pierce into its roots hard to absorb its nutrition.
"They waver and hesitate when they encounter an enemy, and they lunge forward like hungry wolves when they encounter benefits. They blatantly exploit the hominoids under the name of the Imperium, but all the gains from the exploitation fall into their own pockets, not spent for the nourishment of the Imperium at all. In the end, the Imperium has to take the blame for them!
"Is there any essential difference between such a dusky, dying Imperium and the Star Ocean Republic that we overthrew in the past? It is even worse than the Star Ocean Republic!
"A thousand years ago, the corrupted, croaking Star Ocean Republic was also haunted by too many problems to be cured. Blackstar the Great rose and created the Imperium with a set of just, fair, and open systems in order to completely eradicate the many problems of the old systems so that everybody who worked hard and did not hesitate to sacrifice would have a chance to distinguish themselves. That was the only way to carry out the full potentials of the civilization of mankind!
"But today, after a thousand years, the Imperium that was vigorous, hopeful, and just, where everybody had a shot as long as they worked hard, is already gone and replaced by a duplicate of the Star Ocean Republic. The aristocrats and the noble families today are no different from the corrupted MPs of the Star Ocean Republic in the past—those pretentious, hypocritical, and selfish Cultivators—are they?
"It is true that hominoids are a type of fuel that can be sacrificed.
"But don't forget that Blackstar the Great's original purpose was to boost the civilization of mankind to a new peak at a high speed with the sacrifice of the fuel!
"The sacrifice of the hominoids should be valuable. They should be sacrificed for the ultimate interests of the civilization of mankind, not for the interests of a noble or the personal desires of a certain Immortal Cultivator like they are today!
"The Immortal Cultivators who do such things have deviated from the original purpose of Blackstar the Great, the real founder of the true path of immortality and the Imperium. They do not deserve the glorious name of 'Immortal Cultivator' at all, and they are jackals of the same lair compared to the Cultivators of the Star Ocean Republic in the past!
"The Imperium that is governed by such 'fake Immortal Cultivators', however powerful it looks on the surface, does not have the real corresponding strength inside. It cannot take any strike, and it may collapse abruptly at any minute!
"Does such an Imperium not require rescuing?"
Li Lingfeng was rendered speechless for a long time. Then, he gradually grew solemn as he said, "So, the queen actually has the lofty ideal to restore the glories of Blackstar the Great? It is true that all kinds of problems have been accumulated after a thousand years. The entanglement of interests and the sediment of conflicts have resulted in the lingering diseases that can barely be removed, especially during the recent hundreds of years. That is why 'reform' has become the common wish for all the elites of the Imperium in the past century. All wise people are thinking hard about how to reform the Imperium to create a prosperous era again.
"My Heavenly Eye Group and the slaughter stream platform are also minor tries for the reform of the Imperium. We should work with each other now that we share a common purpose!"
"Hehe. Don't compare me to you."
Li Linghai sneered, "First of all, it is just a fantasy to resolve the conflicts and reform the Imperium through the slaughter stream platform! The Imperium is already gravely sick, with cancers all over the internal organs, and your prescriptions are make-ups and a large dosage of anesthetics? It would be a miracle if you could reform the Imperium!
"Secondly, I know you as much as you know me. You are the most classic noble who does not have the spirit to sacrifice everything for the Imperium and the civilization of mankind at all. You are not a real Immortal Cultivator at all. Everything you have been doing is for your own selfish desires or for the interests of the Li family at most.
"The so-called 'reform the Imperium' is but a disguise for you to struggle for power. As soon as you become the leader of the Li family, you will throw away everything about the Imperium and the civilization of mankind and only mind the business of the Li family."
Narrowing his eyes, Li Lingfeng declared angrily, "Don't forget that you are a member of the Li family too!"
"It's true that I am from the Li family."
Li Linghai said casually, "But I am a member of the civilization first, and then a member of the Imperium of True Human Beings, a true believer of Blackstar the Great, and a real, pure Immortal Cultivator who is willing to pay everything for the civilization of mankind. I am only a member of the Li family after that, who will take the interests of the Li family into account.
"That is the greatest difference between you and me, and also the greatest momentum for me to save the Imperium."
Li Lingfeng sneered, "You said that my slaughter stream platform could not save the Imperium, but do you have any solution?"
"Of course, I have my ways to completely eradicate the diseases that trouble the Imperium."
Li Linghai replied calmly, "But until then, His Majesty must seize real power, without being manipulated by the four Kurfürst families and the other warlords anymore. Only a real emperor can renew the Imperium and restore the ultimate glory a thousand years ago!"
"After everything you said, it seems to me that you are after power just like me."
Li Lingfeng grinned. "Everybody knows that the emperor is your puppet. Letting 'His Majesty' seize the power equals to letting you seize the power. So, it turns out that His Majesty does not want to be a second Blackstar the Great, but my dear sister is hoping to accomplish an unprecedented enterprise and become a she-emperor that controls the entire universe?
"I have to say that your ambitions have surpassed my expectations again and again. I'm truly curious. What is it that supports you deep inside your heart and makes you believe that you can achieve the unachievable?
"In any case, I have to remind you that the emperor and the lords managing the world together is the basis of the Imperium's thousand years of reign. Whoever tries to break the balance between the emperor and the lords recklessly will die a miserable death in 99% of the cases!"
"Huh?"
Perhaps because her secret had been pointed out, and perhaps because of her brother's undisguised threat, a brutality that almost felt like a real entity shot out of Li Linghai's almost transparent eyes again as she glared at Li Lingfeng's neck.
"Don't be nervous."
Li Lingfeng, however, was completely relaxed. Thinking that he had dominated the conversation, he said with a smile, "Even if you are really a problem, it should be the real big shots of the four Kurfürst families who feel a headache. At the very least, I am neither the family leader nor the Kurfürst. It is definitely not my turn to kill you, right?
"Just like what I said before, whatever you want to do, we are siblings, and there is no deep hatred between the two of us. Why don't we ignore our disagreements and see if there are any opportunities for cooperation?
"At the very least, under such complicated circumstances, you have a 'loophole' that is wandering loosely, and the reinforcements from the four Kurfürst families may arrive at any moment. Although their main purpose is to investigate the uncanny 'Cultivator', wouldn't it be awkward if they notice your traces? Why don't we grit through the difficulties together as a brother and a sister first?"
While talking, Li Lingfeng slowly approached Li Linghai.
He believed that Li Yao and Li Jialing were prepared to suppress the queen at any moment too.
Of course they could cooperate, but that would have to wait until he dug out all the secrets about the queen!
Li Linghai considered in a seemingly careful way for a while before she replied quickly, "No."
Li Lingfeng's confident smile was immediately frozen. "Why not?"
"Did you know that the stimulation and boost of IQ has always been a cutting-edge project in biochemistry?"
Li Linghai suddenly went off the topic and said something out of the blue, "Assume there is a pig that has been injected with countless strengthening drugs. Its muscles and bones may be a hundred times harder than before as a result, but its IQ will barely be increased. At the very least, the IQ cannot be improved to mankind's level. Essentially speaking, it is still a pig."
Li Lingfeng was slightly dazed. "What's your point?"
"What I'm trying to say is that a pig is always a pig despite all the training."
Li Linghai said, "Even if a pig is born into one of the four Kurfürst families and advances into the Divinity Transformation Stage at the consumption of tremendous resources of the family and through all kinds of shameless, clandestine approaches, it will be nothing more than a pig in the Divinity Transformation Stage.
"On my way to realize my dream and to reform the Imperium, I may encounter a lot of incredible, ferocious, and cunning enemies. But however dangerous the enemies are, they can't be as dangerous as a teammate who is as stupid as a pig.
"So, I refuse to cooperate with you not because you played tricks to send me to the capital as the crown princess a hundred years ago, not because you secretly hid my son to blackmail me, and not because you are vile and selfish and may betray me at any moment, but only because you are a pig."
