"Senior!"
Gao Kangda, Zuo Jingyun, and the other resistance warriors of Starlight spoke at the same time and bowed to Li Yao.
Their eyes, which were cautious, awed, and full of admiration and even faith, gave Li Yao goosebumps all over his body.
"Don't — don't call me senior. Call me 'fellow Cultivator'!"
Li Yao was most afraid of dealing with such awkward situations. However, since so many Cultivators of Starlight were looking at him earnestly, it seemed inappropriate not to say anything. Pondering for a moment, he said casually, "Captain Gao, and fellow Cultivators, you must've heard the whole story from the fellow Cultivators of the underground branch just now, haven't you? Right now, the situation is still very urgent, and we have to fight our way out in a race against time. There's no time to beat around the bush. Let's just cut to the chase!
"I am not a 'Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years'. It is perhaps a very beautiful legend after all. Whatever you think in your heart, this is the truth. Even if I lie to you right now and say something ambiguous, it will be seen through one day. By then, we will all be embarrassed. So, I might as well make things clear right now."
"Well —"
Zuo Jingyun and Gao Kangda looked at each other. Hearing Li Yao's resolute denial, they could not help but feel somewhat disappointed.
"I understand. For a weak resistance organization such as' Starlight ', in order to struggle in desperation, it often has to rely on unsubstantial hopes to encourage itself. Perhaps that is why the legend of the' Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years' was born in the first place, isn't it?"
Ignoring everybody's disappointment, Li Yao continued solemnly. "However, unsubstantial legends alone cannot defeat the Imperium of True Human Beings or save your family and your home!
"Besides, although I am not a 'Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years', I am definitely a real, common Cultivator. You have all witnessed my strength clearly. An ultimate weapon such as a 'Colossus' cannot be produced, maintained, and used on its own!
"You should understand the significance of a Colossus that belongs to the Cultivators appearing in the sea of stars, right?"
Gao Kangda was an old resistance warrior who had traveled in the sea of stars for more than twenty years after all. He was also born in a mining group and had a profound understanding of the industrial system. He immediately realized what was going on and asked in excitement, "Senior, where are you from exactly? Is there another 'Starlight' in the depths of the universe, an organization that is older, stronger, and real?"
Li Yao smiled and said, "I know that you are not the Starlight that originated in the Martial Meritocrats Sector at the beginning but only made of the rebels who were unwilling to be oppressed in the recent decades. But in my eyes, you have done a great job and deserve the name of 'real Starlight'.
"No. The universe is a vast place. The number of Cultivators is much greater than you can imagine. I am not from Starlight but a force a hundred times more powerful than Starlight. In my force, there are at least hundreds of Cultivators whose combat ability is on par with mine or slightly weaker than mine!
"Is such news not a better morale boost for you than the 'Cultivators who have been lost for a thousand years'?"
Here, Li Yao slightly bragged about the Xing Yao Federation.
However, if 'slightly weaker' was defined as a level below the Divinity Transformation Stage, or in other words, the Yuanying level, it would be more than enough to gather a thousand Yuanying from the eight Sectors of the Federation and the two 'special areas', namely Firefly and Boneyard.
Together with the Colossi of the Black Wind Fleet that had been captured, there were almost a hundred Colossi in the entire Federation right now. Almost every combat Yuanying had a chance to receive training to pilot a Colossus.
If the Imperium of True Human Beings was not considered to be a monolithic whole, the Xing Yao Federation was not much worse than any force in the territory of the Imperium, including any of the four Kurfürst families.
Therefore, Li Yao had the confidence to brag even though he was bragging!
"There are almost a hundred people as strong as you!"
Gao Kangda, Zuo Jingyun, and the rest of them were all shocked. They stammered, "Is — Is it true?"
"There's no need for me to lie to you. If I did, I would've simply admitted that I was the 'Cultivators who have been lost for a thousand years'."
Li Yao said solemnly, "All in all, I hope that you can understand two things, fellow Cultivators.
"Firstly, your resistance is definitely not meaningless. Your resistance is the furious fire that is ignited in the dark night. However feeble and flickering it is, it will still have a chance to illuminate the entire Imperium! Therefore, I am very happy to see that 'Starlight' does exist, and I hope that I can fight side by side with you, fellow Cultivators. Let's fight to the end together until the fire that we ignite illuminates every star!
"Secondly, there is hope. I believe that drastic changes will take place in the Imperium of True Human Beings before long. As long as you persist in the depths of the universe for a while longer, you will certainly see the arrival of the drastic changes. By then, everything will be different from right now, and Starlight will certainly create a greater living space!
"Therefore, do not be frustrated or desperate. Survive stubbornly and spread out everything that happened in the Land of Sins or the Martial Meritocrats Sector today. Tell everybody that one more day of your existence will be one more victory for you!"
Gao Kangda and Zuo Jingyun looked at each other and asked solemnly, "Are you suggesting that the force that you belong to will surface sooner or later and create more miracles … like what happened today?"
Li Yao smiled. "Since you said that it is a 'miracle', it is certainly not something that can be created every day. However … yes, we will certainly surface and raise the banner of 'Cultivators' openly at the center of the cosmos!"
Gao Kangda nodded his head, deep in thought.
Like Zuo Jingyun and all the crew members, he was eager to figure out everything.
However, as a member of Starlight, he had witnessed too many betrayals and betrayals. He was well aware of the cruel interrogation methods of the Imperium. Naturally, he knew very well that it was best not to know what he was not supposed to know.
"Got it," Gao Kangda said solemnly.
"There is nothing wrong with the main structure of 'Great Mountain', my armed mining starship. Right now, my brothers are seizing every second to repair the shell. It is estimated that the ability to cruise in space will be restored in one night at most. I will bring all the fellow Cultivators out safely!"
"Excellent!"
Li Yao took a long breath in relief and asked again, "If you can break out of the siege, do you have a destination in mind?"
"Well …"
Gao Kangda said hesitantly, "We did have a few secret bureaus in the beginning, but judging from the operation this time, we have been riddled with holes inside. I don't think that the few 'secret bureaus' are safe enough. We will be walking right into a trap if we go there.
"Chances are that we can only drift in the sea of stars for a while and make a living by looting the carriers of the Imperium."
"Looting the carriers of the Imperium is like … 'space pirates'?"
Li Yao thought of something and asked, "Captain Gao, you are from space. You must've been well-informed when you were dealing with the Imperium, right? How much do you know about the gangs of space pirates large and small in the Imperium? "
Gao Kangda was slightly dazed. He said, "During the most difficult times of our organization, we occasionally stole from the rich and gave to the poor. But we are different from the scoundrels who have no boundaries after all. Our targets are all the starships that carry goods for the nobles and the warlords from the major families of the Imperium. We never harass the civilians. Therefore, we never mess with the traditional space pirates. The best we know is their names and their activities."
"Then —"
Li Yao said, "Have you ever heard of a space pirate named 'Boss Bai', or a force named 'Big Bai Pirate Gang'?"
"Boss Bai …"
Pondering for a moment, Gao Kangda said quickly, "Yes, yes, I have. He only debuted in the recent year or two, but he made quite a few great deals the moment he debuted. He is a great bandit who rose to fame in the circle of space pirates! Our organization has never dealt with him before, but we have heard the news about him now and then. We know that he is a cunning, ruthless, and brutal guy. There is nothing that he does not dare to rob or cannot rob from the carriers of the four Kurfürst families, the arsenals of the Imperium's fleets, or other groups of space pirates!
"The Imperium is too big. Boss Bai's Big Bai Pirate Gang seems to be active in the few Sectors in the fourth quadrant of the Imperium and has nothing to do with us. Why did you mention the guy all of a sudden, senior?"
"Nothing. I'm just suggesting that you jump to Boss Bai's active area to try your luck if you are really caught in a dead end."
Li Yao said with a smile, "Trust me. Wherever Boss Bai is, the army of the Imperium will be too busy to care about the small fries like you. You will have more room for activities.
"If you run into Boss Bai in the future, describe to him everything that I did in the Land of Sins. He will naturally know who I am. Then, there will be a 50% chance that he will offer you selfless help and support to help you through the difficulties!"
"Is he an old friend of yours, senior? Great! "
Gao Kangda said, "However, only a 50% chance? What is the remaining 50% chance? "
Li Yao said solemnly, "Well, the remaining 50% chance is that he will feel that you and even I are great trouble. When he hears that I asked you to go to him, he will kill all of you as soon as possible!"
"…" Gao Kangda.
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