"This is … truly splendid!"
Wearing the Super Crystal Suit that could transform into three parts, Li Jialing circled around the Gold Vulture as Li Yao's guard and remarked in amazement.
He was a young man after all. No matter how much he pursued the freedom of doing whatever he wanted, he was still so excited that his blood was boiling when he saw hundreds of starships leaping out of the void and worshiping Li Yao, eclipsing the sun and the moon. He could not control himself at all.
Thinking of something, he vaguely had a feeling that it would be great if those starships were all obeying him.
Li Jialing had been partly raised as a successor by Li Lingfeng in the first place. Tremendous wisdom about cruel struggles and the ability to see through the truth had been poured into his head by Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan through secret techniques.
However, he had been suppressed by Li Lingfeng in the past. The unique rebellious mentality of the young men was too strong for him to make use of such abilities at all. He only wanted to escape to the end of the world and stay as far away from Li Lingfeng as possible.
But right now …
Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan were both dead. He had finally broken the shackles that had bound him since he was a child and gained preliminary freedom.
But he was somewhat at a loss and did not know where he should go next.
The fleet in front of his eyes that was as vast as an ocean, and the intimidating aura that eclipsed all the stars in the universe, on the other hand, ignited another cluster of natural-born desires that he inherited from his mother at the bottom of his heart.
Recalling the unstoppable journey in the past three days, Li Jialing still seemed to be dwelling in a dream. Even his fingertips seemed to be burning.
It was especially so for the terrifying performance of his "cheap brother" Li Yao.
In "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky", he had already witnessed Li Yao's toughness.
But he did not expect that Li Yao would be so unbelievably strong with the comprehensive upgrade of the Colossus and the enhancement of the "Imperial Fire Pearl". He was truly able to resist an entire fleet on his own!
When the golden flames that were enough to tear apart the universe surged out of Li Yao's body, even Li Jialing felt the shrieks deep inside his bones. No wonder the small fries in the investigation fleet on the opposite side all chose to surrender.
"Almost all the fleets in the Third Battle Area have responded to General Lei Chenghu's call and gathered here to raise the banner of righteousness. Even the cutting-edge warships in the neighboring battle areas have jumped over without caring about anything. General Lei's prestige in the expedition army is truly as high as the sun in the sky!"
Under Li Lingfeng's modification, Li Jialing's little head was filled with the knowledge of the emblems of the Imperium. He was able to quickly distinguish the fleet, family, sect, and even world that a warship belonged to from the emblems on the head of the warship. Pausing for a moment, he spoke to Li Yao in the point-to-point private communication channel, "However, other than General Lei's prestige, Brother Yao's invincibility must've been a major factor that attracted them here. The picture of you slashing into the flagship of the investigation fleet in one attack has been spread to the entire universe through the secret channel established by the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. It was ten times more awesome than what you did in the Martial Meritocrats Sector more than a month ago. No wonder those people believed it and regarded you as a 'royal expert'. If it were me, I would've thought that you were from the royal palace, wouldn't I?"
"Nobody is an idiot these days. They might not really believe that I'm a 'royal expert'. It's just that the situation calls for a royal expert."
Li Yao smiled and accepted the flashing respect of the starships frankly, but he had a clear understanding of his identity. "General Lei Chenghu's prestige, my combat ability, and the nonexistent 'royal expert' are not the reason why the local armed forces have shown up. They are here purely because they have been driven into desperation by the four Kurfürst families and can only fight with their lives."
Li Jialing was deep in thought. "Huh?"
"Getting to the bottom of it, it is the inherent contradiction at the core of the true path of immortality that cannot be resolved."
Li Yao sighed and said, "When 'survival of the fittest' becomes an unquestionable truth and the first law that guides the operation of society, it means that the sea of stars will completely turn into a bloody slaughterhouse.
"Today, the Immortal Cultivators can regard the ordinary people as' hominoids', a species that is even humbler than 'true human beings', and they can savor, abuse, and exploit them blatantly. Then, tomorrow, the high-level Immortal Cultivators can regard the low-level Immortal Cultivators as aliens and another species that is even lower than them, and they can exploit them without any bottom line.
"But there are still higher levels above the high-level. For a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator, are the Yuanying experts also 'low-level animals' that are not the same species as themselves, and they can be oppressed and butchered at will?
"As a result, the entire civilization of Immortal Cultivators will become a war of everybody against everybody. True human beings and hominoids are not the same species, Refinement Stage Cultivators and Building Foundation Stage Cultivators are not the same species, Core Formation Stage Cultivators are not the same species, Yuanying and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators are not the same species, and they do not have the most fundamental basis of trust and cooperation. They are natural competitors.
"Everybody is each other's enemy, and nobody is trustworthy. The most important purpose of training is no longer to contribute to the country and the civilization, but to strengthen oneself at any cost and to climb up by whatever means possible. If you climb up, you will be able to eat other people, but if you can't, you will only be eaten by other people!
"Such an Imperium of True Human Beings is not cohesive at all. However much fancy words and false glories are used to cover it up, it is just an interstellar primitive jungle that pretends to be a country.
"Even the wise men in the world of ancient Cultivators know that 'the ruler regards his people as nothing more than dirt, and the people regard the ruler as their enemy'. When the 'true human beings' regard the 'hominoids' as nothing more than dirt, the 'hominoids' naturally regard the 'true human beings' as their enemy. When the high-level Immortal Cultivators such as the Core Formation Stage Cultivators and the Yuanying regard the low-level Immortal Cultivators such as the Refinement Stage Cultivators and the Building Foundation Stage Cultivators as nothing more than dirt, and the low-level Immortal Cultivators naturally regard the high-level Immortal Cultivators as their enemy. The four Kurfürst families regard the local Immortal Cultivators in the small worlds at the edge of the Imperium as nothing more than dirt, and the local Immortal Cultivators naturally regard the central government as their enemy. When the contradictions are more intense than ever, a single spark is enough to ignite the flames of rebellion. We are merely the 'spark'."
Li Jialing mumbled, "It's true that the four Kurfürst families are too greedy. Have they never considered that such harshness and exploitation will raise intense dissatisfaction in the local areas?"
"It has nothing to do with 'greedy', and it is not a matter of whether or not they want it."
Li Yao said, "The cruel law of 'survival of the fittest' exists within the four Kurfürst families too. In the cruel competitions where everybody is invincible, who has the time to consider the long-term interests? They are all thinking about how to get the most benefits in the short term to strengthen themselves.
"Those who don't think in that way will be eliminated very soon. Only the most cunning, sordid, vicious, and greedy people can survive and become the controllers of their families step by step.
"After hundreds of years of screening, such a law has been carved into their bones. Now that they have bitten a piece of fat meat hard, they will not let go even if their bones are broken.
"Besides, their extreme admiration for strength often leads them to ignore the voices of the so-called 'weaklings', and they fail to realize how terrifying the burning flames of fury of the 'weaklings' are when they join hands. Perhaps, they will only regret when they are faced with death!"
After a long silence, Li Jialing said, "Then … Brother Yao, do you think that the Imperium can still be saved? Can General Lei and the queen save the Imperium?"
"If they can really destroy the four Kurfürst families and ease the conflicts among other Immortal Cultivators with the corpses of the four behemoths, they may be able to get a buffer of hundreds of years, right?"
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "However, the resources left by the four Kurfürst families will be used up one day, and the small forces of Immortal Cultivators who are filled with indignation today will eventually expand into insatiable beasts and become new tumors and the 'four Kurfürst families' of the next generation. What should we do by then?
"Getting to the bottom of it, it is both a problem of the system and a natural flaw of the true path of immortality. It is not something that a certain 'perfect, moral exemplar' Immortal Cultivator can change.
"Yes, after spending days with General Lei Chenghu and observing his personality from a close distance, even I have to admit that, leaving aside our serious differences in approaches and ideologies, he is indeed a selfless, pure Immortal Cultivator who thinks for the civilization of mankind wholeheartedly.
"But so what? How many Immortal Cultivators in the world are as pure, loyal, and selfless as him? Even if he can 'restore the glory of the Imperium' today, what will happen after he dies? The so-called 'new Imperium' will only degenerate faster than the 'old Imperium'!
"It can't be helped. The so-called '100% pure and perfect Immortal Cultivators' are against humanity at all. Such Immortal Cultivators may appear occasionally, but it is impossible for all the Immortal Cultivators to turn into Lei Chenghu, unless they learn from the Holy League and brainwash everybody to deprive them of their desires. But as a result, the whole society will be lifeless and run like a machine without the slightest innovation and vitality.
"So, there is only one way —"
Before Li Yao explained that "only the true path of the Cultivators can save the universe", Li Jialing said in advance, "Brother Yao may be right, but I still feel that —
"While 100% pure and perfect Immortal Cultivators are rare, 100% pure and perfect Cultivators are rare too, aren't they? They obviously boast unparalleled strength, but they are willing to serve and even sacrifice for the ordinary people, and they have to face the disgusting shortcomings of the ordinary people. It does not sound very humane either!
"If a country can only be maintained by a lot of 100% perfect Cultivators, it won't be long before the country ends up like the Imperium today, right?
"Perhaps, however perfect the path of immortality or the path of the Cultivators in theory is, in the end, just a theory that cannot resist the erosion of time and 'humanity'. In the end, they will all degenerate into a mess and degenerate beyond recognition.
"Sigh. The universe is too vast and chaotic, and human nature is too complicated and mysterious. What … should we do exactly?"
Li Yao was silent for a long time.
"… I'm still willing to believe in humanity."
In the end, he admitted frankly, "Your question is too big for me to answer for now, but I'm certain of one thing. If the queen and Lei Chenghu win the battle and the four Kurfürst families are really crushed, the civilization of mankind at the center of the cosmos will have a buffer of hundreds of years.
"Who knows what changes will happen in the next few hundred years? There will always be a new generation of human beings who are smarter, more rational, and more far-sighted than us to solve the problems that we cannot solve, right?
"That's also why I, a Cultivator, am involved in the civil war of the Immortal Cultivators.
Li Jialing remarked with mixed feelings, "Wow. Why do I suddenly feel that Brother Yao is very thoughtful?"
"I have been thoughtful in the first place, except that I've been keeping a low profile and unwilling to show off. However, the thoughts and talents in my head can't be concealed at all, and they will spill out when I'm not careful. You'd better catch them for me."
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