In the solemn bellows, Di Feiwen also fell on one of his knees and raised a black metal tray high above his head, delivering it to Li Yao.
On the tray were the supreme tokens from the five worlds of Immortal Cultivators that he had presented to Li Yao more than a month ago.
At this moment, the tokens were all enshrouded in bloody auras and shining brilliantly. Wisps of bloody flames rose into the air and flickered, condensing into badges and spiritual tattoos that were brimming with murderous intent and glittering brilliantly.
The tokens had all been baptized by the blood of the many experts from the five worlds of Immortal Cultivators. The experts had branded their unique spiritual stripes into the tokens with their blood, essentially signing their names on them, representing the absolute submission of themselves and the forces that they belonged to.
Other than that, there were two other items.
First of all, it was an emblem that was carved in the shape of a black tornado but boasted a lot of movable components. When Li Yao held the emblem in his hand and inputted a stream of spiritual energy, the emblem automatically transformed into a portable crystal processor that was tied to his wrist.
It was the 'seal' of the Black Wind King. The top confidential information about the five worlds of Immortal Cultivators, including the Black Wind Fleet, and the Black Wind Fleet were all stored inside. It could also trigger a special spiritual stripe with the telepathic thoughts of the user, which was the symbol of the Black Wind King's identity and signature. At least in the territory of the Imperium, it had an unimpeded legal effect.
Secondly, it was the most delicate scepter that had been carved with the lightning trident emblem of the Imperium of True Human Beings. It was the commander-in-chief's scepter that His Majesty had granted to the commander-in-chief of the expedition army.
When the scepter was opened from the middle, a jade chip with an astonishing storage space was stored inside. It was used to record all the military credits in the expedition. After the 'victory' was achieved, the jade chip would be sent back to the capital for scanning and review. Based on the jade chip, the commander would be rewarded by His Majesty and be redeemed for different benefits.
Right now, the jade chip had stored the information of all the galaxies and sailing routes that the Black Wind Fleet passed through during the hundred-year expedition. It was a 'traffic map' from the Imperium to the Federation, or rather, from the Federation to the Imperium.
"Kacha kacha kacha!"
The portable crystal processor that represented the 'Black Wind King' boasted automatic adjustment and memory functions. It covered Li Yao's left wrist neatly, without the slightest hindrance as if it were a second layer of skin.
As for the Commander's Scepter, it was made of an unknown material. It was neither gold nor jade, neither light nor heavy. It was delicate and warm to the touch, making one feel reluctant to put it down.
Li Yao smiled and played with it for a while. Then, he put the Commander's Scepter back into the metal tray, not caring at all. He waved his hand and stored it into his Cosmos Ring together with the five tokens.
"Is it about time?"
Li Yao turned around and looked at Di Feiwen. "I have already shown you enough respect by not wearing a sweatshirt, flip-flops, and dyed my hair in various colors to take over the position like I said a few days ago. Don't come up with any more pretentious and complicated formalities!"
"No more, no more."
Di Feiwen lowered his head deeply. "However, why don't you say something to everyone? After all, we are a newly surrendered army. We are more or less uneasy and confused about the future."
"Huh …"
Li Yao thought for a moment and waved his hands at the Immortal Cultivators, who were half awed and half nervous, whose nerves and muscles couldn't have been tighter. "Take a seat. Let's talk after sitting down. What? No seats? Then, we can all sit on the floor. Let's sit down and have a good talk."
While talking, he sat on the floor and crossed his legs. Crossing his fingers, he looked at the Immortal Cultivators, blinking his black and white eyes.
The Immortal Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment. They did not expect that the new Black Wind King would behave in such a way. However, since the 'slaughterer of deities' and 'destroyer of space gates' had sat on the floor directly, how could they disobey him?
The Immortal Cultivators all sat on the cold deck in messy and awkward coughs. Looking around, they felt that the scene was weird no matter how they looked at it. It was especially so for the experts from Jin Dan and the Yuanying. The more they looked at themselves and their companions, the more awkward they felt.
"I've heard your vows just now. Very good. Very intimidating. I couldn't have been more delighted to hear your 'almighty dominator'."
Li Yao nodded in satisfaction when he saw that everybody was sitting cross-legged like him. Then he changed the topic and said, "However, it was all bullsh * t. I can't feel your sincerity at all. I believe that when Heiye Ming became the 'Black Wind King', you swore in the same way, didn't you? That you would obey the leader forever and be willing to die for the leader anytime and anywhere, right? Right now, Heiye Ming has turned into ash, and even his ashes are nowhere to be found. Why are you all not hanging yourselves or coming to me for revenge?
"What do I mean by that? I'm not trying to humiliate you, nor am I asking you to slit your own throats or come to me to be killed. I'm only saying that, can you drop the arrogance of the Immortal Cultivators for a moment? Are you not cold and tired after standing on the 'peak of evolution' all day long? Let's put aside these superficial things today, be a little more sincere, a little more candid, and have a heart-to-heart talk, okay?
"Frankly speaking, when General Di Feiwen, your deputy commander-in-chief, asked me to take over the post of 'Black Wind King', I turned it down because it was obvious that this was a pit of fire that was full of iron skewers at the bottom of the pit. You were not sincerely electing an enemy as your leader at all. You only wanted to fill the pit with me and step on my shoulder and head to seek greater benefits for yourself. That's all.
"To put it bluntly, as the 'Black Wind King', not only would I have to help you take care of the troubles on the Federation's side, which is not a big deal, I would also likely be involved in the turbulence between you and the Imperium, and I would have to use the resources of the Federation to help you resist the ambitions of the warlords and the wrath of His Majesty.
"Regardless of whether the five worlds of Immortal Cultivators such as the Black Wind Sector have fallen to the hands of the Imperium or the Holy League right now, to take them back would be like pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth. Why would I do such an arduous and unrewarding thing?
"At first, I turned it down without hesitation. But later, General Di swore more than a hundred vows that you had deeply realized your mistakes and would definitely change your ways. The Black Wind Fleet, on the other hand, is not a pure expedition army but a fleet of immigrants. The number of civilians who have escaped from the five worlds of Immortal Cultivators is multiple times higher than the number of warriors and Immortal Cultivators.
"No matter how sinful you are, at least most of the civilians are innocent. For the sake of these civilians, I accepted this hot potato. You must understand this point and remember it clearly.
"However, in any case, no matter how reluctant I was before, since I've already got this hot potato in my hands, there's no reason for me to give up halfway! I will consider the post of 'Black Wind King' as a brand-new training. I will certainly do my best!
"It is well known that the Cultivators are meant to liberate the three thousand Sectors and modify the entire universe. If we cannot even modify a tiny Black Wind Fleet like you, and if we cannot even open your blockheads, how can we march to the center of the cosmos?
"Well, General Di, please give me some water."
Di Feiwen was somewhat dizzy and did not realize what was going on for a moment.
Li Yao frowned. "Water. No need to make tea. Cold water will do."
Di Feiwen said, "Oh? Oh, okay! "
Li Yao gulped down more than half a bottle of water. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he went on. "Your identities right now are rather awkward and subtle. Say that you are invaders, but most of you are members of the fleet behind the brown dwarf. You have been staying behind the brown dwarf dozens of lightyears away from the Federation dutifully and have never even touched the threshold of the Federation. Say that you are prisoners of war, but General Di has surrendered in an organized way. According to the policy proposed in the 'persuasion letter', it is not wrong to call it a 'battlefield uprising'. Most importantly of all, the homeland of the Imperium is still coveting the edge of the cosmos covetously. It is very likely that they will become our common enemy. Then, you will still need the name of the 'Black Wind Fleet' to feign civility, which will certainly keep your independence to a certain extent.
"Therefore, as to how to deal with the relationship between the Federation and the newborn Black Wind Fleet, I've had a headache for days. I can only say that we should start with 'seeking common ground while reserving our differences'. In cooperation, integration, and modification, we must have a foothold first, which is the shared values of both parties. Are there any common values between the Federation and the Black Wind Fleet? I think there are, which is everybody's infinite loyalty and love for the 'civilization of mankind'.
"Both the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators, no matter how different their approaches are, at the very least, we all believe in the supremacy of the civilization of mankind and will not allow any alien species to ride on our head. We are willing to shed our blood to defend the civilization of mankind, right?
"Black Wind, Wild Wolf, Hard Rock, Purple Fire, and Fiery Spider, the five worlds of Immortal Cultivators, are located in the war zone where the Imperium and the Holy League meet. Therefore, many of you were heroes more than a hundred years ago who fought the puppets of the Holy League resolutely to defend the feelings and freedom of mankind. In the past month, I've heard the heroic deeds of a lot of people, too. For example, there's a General named 'Bloody Spear' Zhou Tailong …"
Among the Immortal Cultivators who were sitting cross-legged, a muscular man more than three meters tall, covered in abundant metal and crystal components, with a circle of wolf fangs on his forehead and only one eye left, suddenly jumped up. Blushing, he roared, "Commander, I am Zhou Tailong!"
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