Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1664
"Also, we did not anticipate that Your Majesty's 'Next Sun Plan' would be activated so quickly that the whole Empyreal Terminus Sector would be brimming with the brainwashing waves in twenty-four hours. By the power of the sun, everybody will be enlightened with an unprecedented epiphany.
"If Lei Chenghu learns of such a thing, that pigheaded old man would definitely think that it is a deprivation of mankind's free will, and that we are as evil as the Covenant Alliance. He will definitely try his best to stop it.
"What a pity. Your Majesty's plan is so meticulous, and the barricade here is so thorough. How could he learn the secret at all?
"Unless, of course, Lei Chenghu should grasp a certain network virus that is above the most cutting-edge technology of the Imperium, boast the most awesome crystal processor specialists of the Imperium who can hack the battle networks of both the four Kurfürst families and the reformists, so that he can hijack the crystal cameras and the crystal processors in this place despite all the blockades and firewalls, 'seeing' and 'hearing' us directly while he secretly exchanges data with us. But how is it possible?
"Also, even if he learns it right now, so what? It's too late! He's still stalled by Song Yushi. Is an Astounding Thunder Fleet enough to crush the four families' eight Adamantine Fleets in half a day and get all the Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships under his control? Hahahaha. That's the greatest joke in the world!
"Therefore, getting to the bottom of everything, Your Majesty is the most brilliant and scrupulous of all. Even though Lei Chenghu and I played a few tricks earlier, they are not worth mentioning at all in front of Your Majesty's magnificent cause. Those who try to sabotage Your Majesty's plan are like ants that try to shake a tree!
"What do you think, Long Yangjun? Stop looking at me with such shocked expressions. Like I said earlier, I've been completely honest with His Majesty without keeping anything from him. I have talked about everything regarding the deal we made with Lei Chenghu. If you think that I missed anything, why don't you provide supplements?"
Long Yangjun opened her mouth, only to come up with nothing. She could only shut it up and said helplessly, "There is nothing I can add. That's the deal that we prepared to accomplish in ten to fifteen days. We did not know that Your Majesty would be acting so fast and not leaving any chance to us at all!"
"Of course."
Li Yao said, "Why else would His Majesty be 'His Majesty'?"
"However, I still feel that you are acting!"
Her eyes bloodshot, Long Yangjun stared at Li Yao without blinking. She made up her mind and took off a Cosmos Ring from her left middle finger while gnashing her teeth and said, "If you are truly as loyal to His Majesty as you claim, you do not need extra weapons since you are under the meticulous protection of the Imperial Guards. So, do you dare to offer the Cosmos Ring that stores your Colossus to His Majesty and asks His Majesty to keep it for you?"
Chapter 2627: It's You Who Crossed the Line! |
Long Yangjun's declaration broke the atmosphere between her and Li Yao like lightning on a sunny day.
Li Yao's expression of "loyalty and devotion" was frozen on his face, and cold sweat leaked out of his forehead again.
Li Yao stared at Long Yangjun grimly without saying anything.
Long Yangjun blinked her eyes fast and asked, "What?"
Li Yao asked too, "What?"
Long Yangjun said, "What do you mean by 'what?'"
Li Yao replied, "I'm saying that… you have crossed the line, haven't you? Even though we have become enemies and want to cut each other into pieces, and even though we are absolutely loyal to His Majesty, the Colossus is the most critical thing for us. Should we really need to go that far? For example, my loyalty to His Majesty is absolutely unquestionable, and I'm willing to be sacrificed for the future of mankind, but it doesn't mean that I'm willing to cut my cock to serve His Majesty! Would you do that?"
"I… would!"
Long Yangjun opened her hands. "Have you forgotten that I was a eunuch for almost a hundred years?"
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao raised his head helplessly, only to discover nothing but black rocks above his head.
"All in all, I have brought out my Colossus. I believe that this is the most direct and effective way to express my loyalty to His Majesty. Only by doing so can His Majesty completely trust me. Tell me if you dare do the same!"
Long Yangjun raised her Cosmos Ring and stared at Li Yao. "In case you claim that I am submitting a fake Cosmos Ring, I will summon my Colossus right now. Please don't misunderstand me, Your Majesty. This is not a preparation for an attack. Even if I am attacking anything, my target would only be Li Yao's worthless head!"
"Fine!"
Li Yao gnashed his teeth. "You think you are the only loyal subject who dares to summon your Colossus to prove the authenticity of your Cosmos Ring? I'll summon my Colossus and show it to His Majesty too. Of course, if there is a chance to blow up your abdomen, I will not show mercy on you. Remember, the abdomen!"
As he spoke, Li Yao also took out his Cosmos Ring and was about to activate it.
"Wait!"
Wuying Qi had been observing coldly. He suddenly said, "Li Yao, step aside and let Long Yangjun do it first. One at a time. Don't summon the Colossus at the same time."
Li Yao: "Huh?"
Long Yangjun: "Huh?"
The two of them looked at each other, only regretting that they could not slap each other in the face. They shouted simultaneously, "What are you exclaiming for?"
"Stop wasting time. The Gold Crystal Pyramid has been activated. Every second counts."
Wuying Qi narrowed his eyes and looked at the two of them. "If you truly want to prove your loyalty, let's begin. Long Yangjun will be first. I'm very interested in appreciating your Colossus, 'Heavenly Crystal', too!"
"… Yes, Your Majesty."
Long Yangjun's eyelids and lips quivered at the same time, and obscure brilliance flashed in her eyes. In the end, she simply closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With space ripples spreading out of her fingers, she retrieved "Heavenly Crystal", her own Colossus!
The translucent and most splendid light immediately filled up the vast cave.
However, Wuying Qi's attention was not on Long Yangjun at all but completely focused on Li Yao, or more exactly, on Li Yao's finger that was rubbing his Cosmos Ring.
It seemed that as long as Li Yao showed any sign of retrieving his Colossus at such a critical moment, Wuying Qi would launch the most aggressive counterattack at him without any hesitation.
Li Yao could keenly sense the coldness that froze his bones.
Therefore, he did not dare take any action at all and could only earnestly watch Long Yangjun's Colossus gradually take hope.
However, when Long Yangjun's Colossus only half appeared from the void, Wuying Qi already said casually, "Enough. Take it back. I have already recognized your loyalty, Long Yangjun."
Long Yangjun hadn't been seated in the cockpit of the Heavenly Crystal yet. When her closed eyes were suddenly opened, she saw Wuying Qi staring at her thoughtfully.
It was the most awkward phase for a Colossus. She needed another few seconds to be fully equipped and to carry out the maximal combat ability.
Wuying Qi, on the other hand, wouldn't give her a few seconds.
Long Yangjun could only disrupt the retrieval of the Colossus obediently and pressed the Heavenly Crystal back into her Cosmos Ring.
"Now, it's your turn, Li Yao."
Wuying Qi turned around and smiled at Li Yao. "Is there a problem?"
"Absolutely… not!"
Li Yao lifted his right arm and raised at Long Yangjun his middle finger… where his Cosmos Ring was worn.
The Colossus "Arsonist" arrived from the void!
"Enough."
Just like before, when the Arsonist only revealed 30% of its form, Wuying Qi already interrupted Li Yao's retrieval, not giving him a chance to completely bring out the Colossus at all. "Is this the superweapon that crushed three experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage and three Colossi in a row? It is truly marvelous. However, let's study it later when we have more time. Now, retreat it."
Helplessly, Li Yao had no choice except to keep the Arsonist back.
"Right, there's something that I've been curious about. Since you two are both so frank, I believe that you certainly wouldn't lie about such trivia."
Wuying Qi looked at Li Yao and then at Long Yangjun. "I remember that I blew your Colossi apart at the bottom of the Silver Moon Ocean and that Li Yao was almost both physically and mentally crushed, but why have your Colossi been entirely renewed after only half a month, and why has Li Yao been improved into a much higher level, as if he encountered a certain fortuitous incident?
"I can see the Heavenly Crystal of the old days in your new Colossus. The maintenance and modification are still reasonable.
"Li Yao's 'Arsonist', on the other hand, has been completely reborn. It's almost like a technological boom. What happened?"
Li Yao was completely astounded by the question.
It was like a gigantic hammer that hit the tip of his nose brutally and smashed it into the back of his head.
"Well…"
Li Yao rolled his eyes crazily, wondering how he should explain it.
"Huh?"
Brutality beamed out of Wuying Qi's gloomy face again.
"Li Yao, with everything coming to this point, are you still not confessing the things about the 'witchcraft civilization'?"
Long Yangjun glared at him. "For how long do you plan to keep it from His Majesty?"
"Yes, the witchcraft civilization!"
Bulging his eyes, Li Yao blurted out, "I transformed the Arsonist to the point of beyond recognition and improved my own combat ability based on Long Yangjun's primeval technologies as well as the technological modification of the witchcraft civilization!"
"The witchcraft civilization?"
Wuying Qi was rather suspicious. "What is that?"
"It's exactly one of the civilizations from the multiverse, just like the civilization of the Cultivators… right, the Immortal Cultivators!"
Li Yao said quickly, "I was forced to land on the Devilish Scorpion Nebula when I jumped to the Imperium. As it turned out, I discovered the remains of a starship from a witchcraft civilization. It contained all kinds of peculiar things, and I swallowed abundant legacies without me knowing it. I also learned part of the mysteries about the grand universe from it.
"Those legacies have been condensed inside my body and my soul. I tried to unlock them, only to no avail. However, after Your Majesty's lessons at the bottom of the Silver Moon Ocean, which were almost a session of enlightenment, the chunky veins and nerves inside my body were all dredged, allowing me to perceive many mysterious, indescribable knowledge. Therefore, this is all thanks to Your Majesty. We can also say that Your Majesty has brought tremendous wealth to the civilization of mankind even before your plan is activated!"
"That explains a lot. A witchcraft civilization?"
Wuying Qi had touched upon some intelligence about the alien civilizations of the multiverse before, which vaguely agreed with what Li Yao said. He was even more convinced and said, "How interesting…"
"If you don't buy it, Your Majesty, I can sing you a song of the witchcraft civilization as proof."
Li Yao cleared his throat and began chanting, "ABCDEFG, HIJKLMN, [span]OPQ[/span]…"
"Enough. Shut up."
Wuying Qi rubbed his temple softly. "I definitely believe what you said, Li Yao. There is no need for you to prove it… in such a way."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Greatly relieved, Li Yao wiped his cold sweat and said, "I didn't mean to keep the things about the witchcraft civilization a secret. It's just that they are unrelated to the upcoming battle. That's why I did not confess them at first and waste your time. I would've told them to Your Majesty in the future when there's a chance to."
"Now that we have proved our loyalty to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty trusts us enough, everything is fine. The rain is over, and the sun is out. What should we do now, Your Majesty? Just say the word, and I will live and die for you, Your Majesty!"
While talking, Li Yao put his hand that was wearing the Cosmos Ring on his back.
However, it was useless. Wuying Qi's eyes were still stuck to their Cosmos Rings that stored their Colossi without even half a second's pause. It was impossible for them to change the Cosmos Rings.
"Well…"
As Li Yao talked and talked, he gradually ran out of words.
"It… It seems that we should give the Colossi to His Majesty now."
Long Yangjun reminded him.
"Of course, I'm already giving the Colossus to His Majesty, alright?"
Watched by Wuying Qi's half scorching and half freezing eyes, Li Yao could only bring out the hand that he had put behind him and slowly, slowly, slowly delivered the Cosmos Ring in which the "Arsonist" was stored to Wuying Qi.
"Let me tell you, you are thinking too simple and superficial of His Majesty!"
Staring at Long Yangjun aggressively, Li Yao gnashed his teeth. "Even if we are willing to give the Colossus to His Majesty, His Majesty definitely won't take it because of his great mind and vision.
"Besides, I have every reason to believe that it is your scheme to strike His Majesty's beliefs. You are trapping His Majesty in such a way to disrupt His Majesty's 'Next Sun Plan'. Even the entire Imperium and the whole civilization of mankind may be destroyed!"
[ol][li data-annotation-id="9bae866a-bb4f-4e9a-91e0-56fd2cc4c9ff"]Li Yao was singing the alphabet song.[/ol]
Chapter 2628: The Art of Lies |
Wuying Qi and Long Yangjun both put on the expression of disbelief after hearing what Li Yao said.
"What… What are you talking about?"
Long Yangjun quickly blinked. "How on earth am I trapping His Majesty? Stop slandering me!"
"It's very simple. You are directly attacking His Majesty's beliefs with such vicious moves, hoping to sabotage His Majesty's cause!"
Li Yao said coldly, "It must be noted that His Majesty's 'Next Sun Plan' is founded on two premises. One is the technologies of enlightenment. The massive, powerful brainwashing technologies are advanced and absolutely reliable. Nobody can possibly resist it.
"The second premise is, of course, His Majesty's wisdom, vision, and accurate calculation on all the forces in the universe and every procedure in the plan. Not any unexpected factor can possibly escape His Majesty's attention!"
"Those two premises are exactly the foundation of His Majesty's belief too. It is because His Majesty believes in the Next Sun Plan and his wisdom that he is empowered to push the Next Sun Plan as the forever highest commander of the civilization of mankind!
"Everything that His Majesty does is not for his selfish interests but for the advancement of the civilization of mankind. Therefore, His Majesty's belief must be indestructible and cannot tolerate the slightest suspicion.
"All in all, only if His Majesty believes in it himself can he influence hundreds of thousands of people with his firm and scorching faith using the enhancement of the sun. If His Majesty doesn't believe it himself, how can he 'brainwash' anybody else?
"Therefore, if His Majesty truly believes in himself, his technology of enlightenment would be invincible, and he would have all the procedures under his control accurately. Then, how could I betray him, and why would I betray him? It must be noted that I just had a sincere conversation with His Majesty and listened to His Majesty's reasoning for hours. If His Majesty cannot talk me into returning from the lost journey, wouldn't the so-called 'enlightenment' be the greatest joke?
"If His Majesty confiscates my Colossus despite knowing that there is absolutely no way that I would revolt, wouldn't that be highly unnecessary and redundant?"
Long Yangjun was dumbfounded for a long time by what he said.
Wuying Qi was also deep in thought, with ripples spreading out of his eyes.
Both Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators needed the support of strong beliefs when they reached high levels. Even if Wuying Qi was a lunatic, he was still a lunatic with dreams, ambitions, and beliefs.
Such extremists often regarded their beliefs more important than anything and would not twist or change them easily.
"If His Majesty really confiscates our Colossi, it would imply two things. Firstly, His Majesty is suspicious about his enlightenment technology and his ability to mass control. Secondly, His Majesty is scared of us if we have the Heavenly Crystal and the Arsonist. Tell me about it, which of the two things can possibly be true?"
Li Yao continued sneering, "If His Majesty is really fooled and accepts our Colossi, two tiny cracks would appear on His Majesty's indestructible beliefs. There would be a fatal flaw in His Majesty's perfect mind.
"Perhaps the cracks would not lead to severe consequences under normal circumstances.
"However, don't forget that His Majesty is about to inculcate his ultimate path into everybody in the Empyreal Terminus Sector through the Gold Crystal Pyramid.
"I believe that, even though His Majesty is the strongest in the entire universe, and His Majesty has the enhancement of the Gold Crystal Pyramid and the sun, it would still be a heavy burden on his spiritual energy and his soul power in order to spread his beliefs into the brains of hundreds of thousands of hostile soldiers, right?
"At such a critical moment when the soul is tested, you are cracking His Majesty's beliefs. That will be like cracking a dam in the time of a flood, which may result in a total collapse!
"By then, not only will His Majesty's soul be seriously damaged, but the cracks of self-suspicion may also get spread to the brains of all the hostile soldiers along with His Majesty's disordered brainwaves. Then, how can they be enlightened and convinced of His Majesty's gloriousness and invincibility?
"Therefore, am I wrong to say that you dug a pit and tried to set His Majesty up? Huh?"
His arms akimbo, Li Yao glared at and lambasted Long Yangjun.
Long Yangjun was overwhelmed. "That's not what I meant. I—"
