Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 717
Luo Xingzi sniffed and said, "Pictures can be fabricated. The crystal processor technology is too developed nowadays. What pictures can't be fabricated? What if it is a set-up of the demons who are angry that Li Yao destroyed the Eye of Blood Demon?
"Alright. Let's say that all the pictures are authentic. What can they prove?
"Back when we were still in the Flying Star Sector, we discussed many things with Li Yao. We agreed that in order to resist the Imperium of True Human Beings, we must focus the forces of the Flying Star Sector, the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector. We even need to explore more worlds and look for more help!
"The biggest purpose of Li Yao's return is to stop the war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven's Origin Sector. He made it clear before we set off. You know it, too!
"Does hanging around with Jin Tuyi and his daughter mean defection? He could be persuading the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons to stop the war, couldn't he?"
It was a very reasonable rebuttal.
Many of the participants of the meeting were cautious about the war as well. They nodded in agreement.
They were not Ding Lingdang. Li Yao's personal life was none of their business. Even if he did become Jin Tuyi's son-in-law, it did not seem to be an unpardonable crime if the marriage could facilitate the cooperation of the three Sectors.
"Stopping the war, striving for cooperation, and struggling against the Imperium of True Human Beings together are indeed our common wishes," Lu Zui said coldly. "We would've sent a delegation if the Red Tide Plan weren't proved!
"However, look at how the demons stomped on our hope for peace.
"The Red Tide Plan three months ago, had it worked out, would have burnt the capital ring to the ground.
"Today, such a gory disaster took place again!
"Isn't all this enough to prove the evil nature of the demon race, who absolutely do not want peace?
"If Li Yao has not been swallowed by the Blood Devil, why would he allow such a thing to happen, and why would he sneak into the capital city and lead the whole assassination in person?"
This was the first time that Lu Zui had clearly pointed out that Li Yao had been behind the accident today.
But everybody was too overwhelmed to even question him right now.
Luo Xingzi frowned. "Evidence. We need evidence!"
"Please let me finish. After I'm done, I'll certainly release undeniable evidence.
"Before the Eye of Blood Demon was destroyed, the Kingdom of Lion Butchers and the Nether Spring Kingdom were the strongest, and Elder Blood Robe and Elder Nether Spring were the two most powerful demons.
"However, after the Eye of Blood Demon was sabotaged and the two strongest kingdoms suffered heavy losses, Jin Tuyi took the opportunity to seize the power and suppress the forces in the Kingdom of Lion Butchers and the Nether Spring Kingdom. He is now the real king of the Blood Demon Sector!
"In the great 'reshuffle', Blood Devil Li Yao made a lot of contributions, too, as his right hand.
"We even have reason to believe that he has made deals with Jin Tuyi, and he is now Jin Tuyi's heir and the future king of the Blood Demon Sector!"
"Wait!" Luo Xingzi interrupted him and raised a very important question. "Let's forget whether or not Li Yao is the Blood Devil for a moment. Why is Jin Tuyi passing on his power to Li Yao, an outsider?"
"Because we have evidence which suggests that Jin Tuyi has been diagnosed with a terminal, untreatable disease. He will die soon," Lu Zui replied calmly. "Blood Devil Li Yao needs power, and Jin Tuyi needs a strongman to protect his family, his descendants, and his forces after his death. Naturally, they make perfect partners."
The top secret shocked everyone again.
Jin Tuyi, commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons, was terminally ill?
Their first reaction was that Lu Zui was joking, but on second thought, it was a very serious issue, and the truth would be out very soon. Lu Zui was unlikely to tell such a terrible lie.
"All in all," Lu Zui continued, "after reaching a deal with Jin Tuyi, Blood Devil Li Yao concentrated the power in a few months. Then, he snuck back to the Heaven's Origin Sector in secret and infiltrated into the capital city. The whole process of the sneak-in and the infiltration has left a lot of evidence. All the Secret Sword Agents of the Demon Execution Division are witnesses.
"If you are interested, I can invite Supervisor Guo of the Demon Execution Division to report the details of Li Yao's infiltration to you in person."
Ding Lingdang could not hold it anymore and stood up. "Director Lu, all the evidence is collected by your Saker Squad. It is just their side of the story! If I may ask, where are the members of the Saker Squad? Can you invite them to here so that we can ask questions?"
Lu Zui shook his head. "Is it an easy task to monitor Li Yao? Most of the members of the Saker Squad have been killed by Li Yao and Jin Tuyi. The few survivors are still hiding here and there in the Blood Demon Sector. It is difficult to communicate with them.
"I am the only one who knows their identities, but I can't give them out."
Ding Lingdang widened her eyes. "You can't? Why not?"
Lu Zui was silent for a long time. He glanced at every Cultivator with his cold eyes and said, one word after another, "Because we have every reason to believe that spies from the Blood Demon Sector, known as Children of the Nether World, are now working inside the federation and possibly sitting right among you!"
His words raised a riot. Many Cultivators jumped to their feet!
Lu Zui pressed his hands and gestured everybody to calm down. He explained, "The so-called Children of the Nether World is part of a top confidential plan that the Blood Demon Sector has concocted for decades. We only just grasped a few traces of it.
"Decades ago, the Blood Demon Sector discovered secret technology that could transform a demon into a complete human being. No blood test could ever detect anything wrong with them.
"In such a way, the Blood Demon Sector dispatched countless Children of the Nether World to the federation, who developed and expanded in secret. To this day, many of the Children of the Nether World are already in high positions!
"The Children of the Nether World we discovered so far are just the tip of the iceberg. It was because of the information they leaked that our intelligence network in the Blood Demon Sector was seriously destroyed! Only the several members of the Saker Squad who were directly under my command survived the disaster!
"They are our last eyes and ears in the Blood Demon Sector. There's no way that I will tell you who they are. Otherwise, we will be blind and deaf in a couple of days!"
Lu Zui paused for a moment and threw out another huge bomb unhurriedly. "Also, Li Yao snuck back to the federation because he needed to lead the Children of the Nether World for a big operation!"
"Wait!" Before everybody had the chance to be surprised, Professor Mo Xuan stood up and said tranquilly, "Director Lu, that doesn't make sense.
"Assuming that everything you said is true, Li Yao is now Jin Tuyi's heir and the future king of the Blood Demon Sector.
"Then, why would such an important person sneak back to the federation and assassinate the Speaker at such great risk?
"The federation is different from the Blood Demon Sector. We don't have a lifelong leader here. The term for every Speaker is five years, and they have to step back after serving two terms. Will the death of a Speaker cause any significant damage to the federation?
"Besides, everybody knows that Speaker Jiang is a conservative who has been calling for prudence. What benefits can Li Yao get by assassinating him in public, other than pouring oil on the already simmering people?
"Even if he was turned into the Blood Devil, he must've kept his basic rationality, if not getting more sordid and cunning. Blood Devil Li Yao killing a Speaker at the risk of exposing himself and the Children of the Nether World? That's not a fair exchange to me."
Professor Mo Xuan got the key point. Many Cultivators were nodding. "Exactly, such an assassination doesn't make any sense. If Speaker Jiang is assassinated, there will always be a Speaker Wang or Speaker Li who could potentially be more passionate about war. What benefits can the Blood Demon Sector get?"
Lu Zui smiled and asked, "Who says that Blood Devil Li Yao's purpose was to assassinate the Speaker?
"Assassinating the Speaker was just an approach. His real target was—Burning Prairie!"
"What!"
Professor Mo Xuan was utterly astounded!
"The Speaker can be assassinated with a few of his trusted subordinates, which will be meaningless even if they succeed," Lu Zui said coldly. "However, the task of taking over Burning Prairie, the best warship of all the three Sectors, can only have a slim chance of success if 'Li Yao' does it in person, right?
"Sneaking into a warship and taking control of it has always been his best play. More than ten years ago, when he was still an inexperienced young man, he did it once in the bidding meeting of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
"In the Flying Star Sector, he snuck into the hostile warships to secure the final victory countless times, too.
"As I recall, his last and most important endeavor was to sneak into Heavenly Phantom, the antecedent of Burning Prairie, with you, Professor Mo Xuan, and you successfully took the warship over together, didn't you?"
Professor Mo Xuan was lost for words.
"We are inside Burning Prairie right now. Everybody here must have a very clear understanding about the formidability of the super warship. It is safe to say that this is categorically the strongest warship in all three Sectors. Also, the warship is unique. Even the Flying Star Sector cannot produce another warship of the same level quickly!
"Stealing Burning Prairie will change the capabilities of the three Sectors. It will give the Blood Demon Sector a certain advantage again. Do you think whether or not such a mission is worthwhile for Blood Devil Li Yao to complete it person?"
Lu Zui sneered. "He broke into the core of the warship once before. He knows the structure of the warship like the back of his hand. Also, he is wearing the skin of Vulture Li Yao, which means that he can fool the trust of the Cultivators from the Flying Star Sector on Burning Prairie without fighting at all! Think about it. Doesn't everything make sense?"
Luo Xingzi was greatly enlightened. "Is that why you asked Burning Prairie to activate the self-defense sword array of the highest array to stop anyone from coming close?"
Chapter 1090: Anomaly of the Military! |
Lu Zui nodded. "Exactly. That was the only way to disrupt his scheme!"
Professor Mo Xuan thought of another question. "So, the Secret Sword Bureau knew about the whole thing since the very beginning? And you simply waited and watched him attacking the Speaker and the innocent civilians?"
Lu Zui gritted his teeth and said, "Not exactly. All the information about Blood Devil Li Yao was only clear to a secret operation squad including myself. Everybody else, including Supervisor Guo of the Demon Execution Division, only knew part of it.
"Even I only knew that Li Yao might make a move on Burning Prairie, but of course, we didn't know the specific approaches that he would take!
"I planned to pretend that we didn't know anything so that we could dig him out along with most of the Children of the Nether World. I didn't know that he was so insane that he would create an opportunity for himself by assassinating the Speaker and raising chaos!
"Nor did I know that our security system would be so feeble that a fatal crystal bomb could be planted right below the Speaker's feet without anybody knowing!
"It meant that some of the Secret Sword Agents responsible for the security might've been compromised by the Children of the Nether World!
"It is also one of the reasons I will resign!"
Hearing that Lu Zui admitted honestly that the Secret Sword Bureau had been infiltrated, the Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment and did not know what to say.
Professor Mo Xuan looked at Lu Zui and said, "Director Lu, you said that you have solid evidence. Please show it to us!"
"No problem!"
Lu Zui nodded unhesitatingly. He waved his hands, and several Secret Sword Agents immediately brought three gloomy-looking Cultivators to the podium.
They were all walking slowly with barriers on their body and a localization ring on their neck as if they were criminals.
"They are?"
All the Cultivators were confused. Somebody who knew them even exclaimed in shock.
"The three guys here are no strangers to you, I believe? Liao Tianji, who worked in the garrison of the capital city. Li Cheng, who worked in the City Management Bureau. Also, Gao Zhiyuan, who worked in the third division of the Secret Sword Bureau. All three are among the best Cultivators of the younger generation who rose to fame in the past decades.
"But they are all Children of the Nether World transformed from demons!"
"What!"
All the Cultivators jumped to their feet.
They were not completely convinced when Lu Zui spoke about it, but now, three Children of the Nether World were standing right in front of them. It was truly a major shock!
Their first reaction was, of course, were the three Cultivators set up?
However, the three Cultivators were in the military, the government, and the Secret Sword Bureau respectively, and they were not low in rank. It was impossible to frame them all at the same time!
Seeing that they were obedient and frustrated, everybody started to believe that it was true!
"The three of them are the Children of the Nether World that we found earliest," Lu Zui said. "To save themselves, and also realizing that mankind is on the rise and demons are declining, they abandoned darkness for the light and were willing to cooperate with us.
"Therefore, we did not release this information to public. Instead, they were asked to continue lurking as the Children of the Nether World. We hoped that they could give us more leads.
"Their work has proved effective. Not only did they help us find a lot of Children of the Nether World, they also got us a big fish that was Blood Devil Li Yao!
"It was a pity that most of the Children of the Nether World only had one-way communication. The three of them were not enough for us to uproot the entire organization.
"They could've lurked for a longer time and perhaps given us more clues. But since you are demanding unquestionable evidence today, I have no choice but to expose them in advance. The three leads will be completely gone now!"
Quite a few Cultivators were embarrassed by his words.
"Any fellow Cultivators who are suspicious are free to browse through their interrogation records later. I will not waste everyone's time here.
"Now, allow me to conclude our discoveries in the recent months.
"Firstly, Li Yao can turn into a fierce and aggressive appearance, which is similar to Yan Xibei of Iron Plateau, the previous Blood Devil.
"Secondly, Li Yao is very intimate with Jin Tuyi and his daughter Jin Xinyue. He has also helped Jin Tuyi seize absolute power in the Blood Demon Sector!
"Thirdly, after returning to the Heaven's Origin Sector stealthily, instead of showing up in public and reaching out to us, Li Yao snuck into the capital city.
"Fourthly, the Speaker was wounded by a powerful, delicately-made crystal bomb. Residues of demon cores have been found out from the bomb. After analysis, the specialists prove that such a bomb was definitely created by an explosives expert!
"Fifthly, the three Children of the Nether World who joined our side accused Li Yao at the same time. They all received clear orders to obey Li Yao's command and offer help while he is seizing Burning Prairie!
"Everyone, are you still not able to reach a conclusion with all that evidence? Why is he fleeing at all if he is not guilty?"
The entire meeting room fell silent.
The only sound was Ding Lingdang grinding her teeth.
"Everyone!" Lu Zui glimpsed at Ding Lingdang and said in pain, "I know that many of you here are Li Yao's good friends, best friends, and even loved one. You fought side by side with him before, and your lives were perhaps saved by him!
"Vulture Li Yao was a well-deserved Ultra-Level Federal Hero and a real Cultivator that is worth everyone's respect!
"Therefore, it pained my heart as it does yours when I said what I said!
"However, we must make one thing clear.
"It is not Li Yao but the Blood Devil, a monster that has occupied Li Yao's body!
"Vulture Li Yao—whom we respect, appreciate, and trust—is dead, for the federation, for his compatriots, and for thousands of ordinary people! Right now, in front of us is a sly, shameless fiend who has stolen the body of our hero!
"Can we wait and watch the fiend do evil deeds under our hero's skin and tarnish Li Yao's name while doing nothing?
"No, we can't! We must capture it and slay it mercilessly!
"That will be the best comfort for the spirit of the real Ultra-Level Federal Hero Li Yao. That will be the only way we can deserve everything that the real Li Yao did for the federation and for mankind!"
Hardly had Lu Zui concluded his speech when the door of the meeting room was opened.
Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao, who was heavily wounded earlier, walked to the front, staggering.
His new artificial limbs seemed to be made of ice.
"Sorry to interrupt. There's a piece of urgent information in the military that I must inform you!" the big shot of the military said expressionlessly. "According to the latest news, after the Speaker was assassinated, the federal army went on a rampage. One of the legions in the No. 4 war base on the Grand Desolate Plateau marched toward the Dark Desolate Domain without command under the name of 'drill'!
"What!"
What was that about? Attacking before asking?
An unsupported legion marching into the Dark Desolate Domain and even into the Blood Demon Sector from there? When then? Should the troops follow them or not? If they followed, it would be a total war. If they did not, they would be watching the legion get butchered!
