"A new Imperium of Cultivators for all!"
Li Jialing was dumbfounded at first. Then, he was greatly enlightened. "So, Brother Yao cooperated with the queen and General Lei Chenghu for that purpose!"
"Of course," Li Yao said. "Otherwise, how could an open, selfless, and chivalrous Cultivator like me be involved in the so-called 'reform' of the Immortal Cultivators that only treats the symptoms but not the root of the problem? Why would I work so hard?"
"However —"
Thinking for a moment, Li Jialing sighed and said, "Other than the guys who escaped from 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky', Brother Yao is the only Cultivator left in the vast sea of stars. How can you be a match for the queen and General Lei? How can you build your utopia?"
"I didn't expect to succeed in only a hundred years, either."
Li Yao said solemnly, "But at the very least, the storm of reform will completely tear apart the so-called 'sacredness, strength, and glory' of the Immortal Cultivators. More and more people will see the inherent, irremediable flaws and ugliness of the true path of immortality. As the reform continues, some people will gradually consider whether or not the path of immortality is feasible. When they realize that the path of immortality is not feasible, some of them will certainly remember the path of the Cultivators again, won't they?
"How about it? How do you feel after hearing Brother Yao's heartfelt teachings? Do you feel that your blood is boiling and that you can't wait to jump into the embrace of the true path of the Cultivators and become a glorious and proud Cultivator?"
Li Jialing scratched his furry head with his furry paws. Thinking for a moment, he still shook his head and said, "No. I always feel that you are fooling me."
"Is that so?"
Li Yao blinked quickly and said, "Then, even if you are fooled by me, do you not feel anything at all?"
"Well … I do feel something."
Thinking carefully for a moment, Li Jialing clapped his hands heavily and said, "I feel that the true path of immortality is indeed very problematic. It has very serious internal flaws and fundamental contradictions, and it is not enough to guide such an enormous organization as the Imperium of True Human Beings to function well!
"However, the path of the Cultivators has a lot of problems, too. Just look at the end of the Star Ocean Republic!
"The greatest problem of the true path of immortality is that it is too simple, brutal, cold, and cruel. The path of the Cultivators, on the other hand, is covered in a veil of warmth. The relationship between people will be much more harmonious!"
Li Yao's eyes sparkled as he looked at the young man expectantly. "So?"
"Therefore, if you can combine the Great Dao of Cultivation and the Great Dao of Immortal Cultivation, you will be invincible!"
Li Jialing said excitedly, "Look, Brother Yao, in order to survive in the dark and cruel universe, the true path of immortality is indispensable. But even if we are working as the Immortal Cultivators, it does not stop us from advocating the path of the Cultivators, right?
"Just like that, with the Cultivation as the skin and the Immortal Cultivation as the bones, the resources will be optimized, and the social atmosphere will be harmonious. Isn't it the best of both worlds?
"Ah, I finally understand the problem of the Imperium of True Human Beings. The problem is that the Imperium is too straightforward! Words like 'the strong preys on the weak, and the winner takes all' should be kept in one's heart. How could it be propagated to the entire nation all day long? Everyone had a competitive heart, so how could the country not be in chaos?
"If you want to propagate, you should propagate the Cultivators' mantra of 'everybody for themselves'. Even if you are an Immortal Cultivator in private, you should pretend that you are a Cultivator on the surface. That is the true meaning of the new Imperium!
"Thank you, Brother Yao. I've got it. I've really got it!"
Li Yao: "…"
Li Jialing: "Brother Yao, why are you walking further and further away? What are you doing in the corner?"
Li Yao: "Nothing. Just don't talk to me for now. I want to be alone."
Right when Li Yao was having complicated feelings, his wrist crystal processor buzzed feebly, and a new message popped up. "God of War" Lei Chenghu is here.
Of course, Lei Chenghu's real body did not need to be involved in danger. Staying in the mysterious space zone outside of the capital planet in the Empyreal Terminus Sector would make the four Kurfürst families feel uncomfortable. That was the only way to better ensure the safety of Li Linghai, Li Yao, and the core persons of the reformists in the capital.
Therefore, when Li Yao and Li Linghai marched to the capital, Lei Chenghu led the Thunder Fleet to stay in the Divine Rain Sector and supervise the implementation of the agreement between the Li family and the reformists.
After the Li family and the Dongfang family ended on bad terms, and everything was irrevocable, the Thunder Fleet was even filled with fuel and ammunition, as if they were about to launch another massive space jump to the Dongfang family's heartland. Also, they intentionally leaked the intelligence to the Dongfang family without keeping it a secret at all.
In such a way, Prime Minister Dongfang Wang's impulse to solve the problem by force was restrained, making him hesitate.
At this moment, Lei Chenghu's real body was still commanding the army of the reformists. With the support of the abundant resources of the Li family, he was like a saber that was about to be unsheathed.
He was controlling a spiritual puppet remotely to go to the Emperor's Mausoleum for him and participate in the secret meeting of the reformists.
Li Yao was the liaison officer between Lei Chenghu and Li Linghai. Naturally, he was responsible for the maintenance and debugging of the spiritual puppet.
After receiving the message that Lei Chenghu was ready, he fell on one of his knees and retrieved the spiritual puppet that had been specially modified to collect signals from space from his Cosmos Ring. After adjusting the frequency of receiving signals, he activated all the rune arrays and antennas.
Hum …
The spiritual puppet shivered slightly, and the rune arrays around it glowed, turning into fuzzy shadows that congregated into Lei Chenghu's appearance.
"General Lei, the queen is waiting for you. This way, please!"
Li Yao asked Li Jialing to guard the third and fourth floors of the national museum with all the guards, but he led "Lei Chenghu" to the fifth floor that was completely blocked.
On his way, he thought of the discussion with Li Jialing just now and felt that it was not enough. He couldn't help but ask, "General Lei, you've seen what happened to the 'surplus generals' and the disabled veterans, haven't you? I wonder, what do you think of the matter? How would you have handled it if you were the highest authority?"
"Yes, I've seen it all. To be honest, when I was fighting in the frontline in the Third Battle Area, I did not expect the situation in the rear to be so corrupted. No wonder the reformists' forces grew unstoppable in the darkness after only decades. The Imperium today indeed has to be reformed."
Lei Chenghu sighed and then changed the topic. "However, those surplus generals and commanders without an army are partly to blame for their current predicament!"
After a brief daze, Li Yao asked, "General Lei, are you suggesting that they shouldn't have adopted such an extreme approach as crying in the Emperor's Mausoleum however desperate they were?"
"No, I'm saying that they should've been killed in the frontline at the beginning."
Lei Chenghu said casually, "In such a way, their reputation would've been preserved, and the country's financial burden wouldn't have been so severe. Regretful things like today wouldn't have happened."
"…"
Li Yao was rendered speechless again.
"As a soldier of the Imperium, they should've been determined to serve His Majesty, the country, and the civilization of mankind wholeheartedly. They should've been prepared to die all the time, especially when they knew that they were heavily wounded, and their spiritual organs and abdomen had been blown up, which would require a lot of resources to recover."
Lei Chenghu frowned and said, "At such a time, they would've been a burden for the country if they were scared of death. They might as well drag a random person of the Holy League to die together with them. That's what a real warrior and a real Immortal Cultivator should be!"
Li Yao couldn't hold it anymore. "General Lei, that's too unbelievable. Who can do that?"
"I can."
Lei Chenghu turned around and looked at Li Yao, one word after another, before he said, "Trust me. If such a day does come, I will never become a burden to the army or the country. I will certainly cause the greatest losses to the enemy with my broken body and make my final contribution!"
Li Yao choked for a long time before he said, "Of … of course, you can do it. However, isn't it unrealistic to ask the common soldiers with your high moral standards? After all, most Immortal Cultivators still have families. It's impossible for them to abandon their families and their children like the people of the Holy League do! "
"That's exactly the problem."
Lei Chenghu said coldly, "In a well-functioning country of Immortal Cultivators, the distribution of resources should be fair, just, and open. All the children should receive the same care, education, and screening. The military credits that the soldiers have earned after all the hard work will not be embezzled or embezzled, either.
"When a soldier knows that his military credits will never be embezzled and that his wife and children will certainly be well taken care of, he will have nothing to worry about. How can he not have the courage to sacrifice himself?
"Once the disabled soldiers are sacrificed in the frontline, the burden on the country's finances will be greatly reduced. The money can be used to expand the achievements of the war or be invested in the rear for their widows and their children. A virtuous cycle will be formed.
"In the meantime, in a country of Immortal Cultivators that is not functioning well, corruption, darkness, and injustice will exist in the rear. The best and most rigorous system will be corrupted and riddled with holes. Everybody in the frontline will be bitterly disappointed, and they will not have the courage to sacrifice themselves at all. Instead, they will return to the rear with their broken bodies, wasting resources for nothing, which will further increase the pressure on the country's finances, leading to the total collapse of the frontline and the rear. Such a vicious cycle will be unavoidable."
Looking at Lei Chenghu's matter-of-fact expression, Li Yao pondered for a long time and suddenly said, "In fact, I feel that the first 'well-functioning world of Immortal Cultivators' that General Lei described, other than being too cold and heartless, is somewhat … like the Cultivators."
"Maybe. The three thousand paths of cultivation all lead to the same destination. What if they are the same when they are trained to the peak?"
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