"Are you sure that it is the lesser of two evils?"
Long Yangjun said thoughtfully, "Even if the four Kurfürst families are all stubborn, unpardonable, and insane, it does not mean that the reformists and your queen are good people. Is it really a good idea to replace the four wolves with a tiger?"
Li Yao thought of something. "What do you know exactly? Is there anything wrong with Li Linghai?"
"For the sake that you regard me as a friend sincerely, allow me to remind you that the queen behind you is not simple at all. She is even … extremely dangerous."
Long Yangjun said, "When I just arrived at the Imperium of True Human Beings, I lurked in the royal palace and had an encounter with her. We almost fought each other."
Li Linghai had mentioned the incident to Li Yao before, but he did not mention the details of their near-fight.
Li Yao couldn't help but bulge his eyes.
Long Yangjun continued, "I told you before I left the Federation that I was very interested in the royal library of the Imperium of True Human Beings. A lot of ancient books are stored there, recording the history of the Imperium of True Human Beings in the ten thousand years from the collapse of the Star Ocean Imperium to the establishment of the Imperium of True Human Beings. Chances are that they can illuminate the path ahead for me.
"Therefore, the most important thing for me to do after I came to the Imperium of True Human Beings was to find a way to sneak into the royal palace and explore the mysteries of the royal library.
"It was exactly at the bottom level of the royal library that I ran into Li Linghai by accident.
"The royal library of the Imperium is divided into two areas. The upper level is the public area that is open to the core descendants of the royal family and even the four Kurfürst families. Although the files and classics stored inside are precious, they do not have many secrets. Many of them are just rare editions, and the same content can be found outside.
"The lower level, on the other hand, is a real forbidden area that stores a lot of secrets of the royal family, treasure maps, marvelous arts, and even the mysteries of the primeval age. Those things are only accessible to His Majesty himself and the few most beloved princes. Since the era of Blackstar the Great, multiple barriers have been established. It is absolutely impossible for outsiders to open the library. If they open it recklessly, the books, jade chips, and classics inside will be destroyed.
"It is a pity that the royal family of the Imperium of True Human Beings was in turmoil five hundred years ago. Several emperors died abruptly, and none of them even left a direct descendant. A new emperor had to be selected from the secondary family. The ways to unlock the barriers have been lost in the river of time, too. It is safe to say that nobody in the entire world can open the lower level of the royal library.
"At first, I didn't know about this. Even if I did, I didn't take this restriction seriously. I thought I would have a way to break it. But after sneaking in, I found that the restriction was far more complicated than I expected. I used all kinds of methods, but I couldn't find a way to break it.
"When I was about to return empty-handed, I ran into Li Linghai."
Thinking quickly, Li Yao lost his cool and exclaimed, "What was she doing in the lower level of the royal library?"
"That's the key to the problem!"
Long Yangjun said, "Since Li Linghai is the queen of the Imperium, there is no reason that she does not know the rules and secrets of the royal library. The ways to crack the barriers in the lower level have been lost for almost five hundred years. Neither the emperor nor the four Kurfürst families know them. It is barely possible to crack them with brute force. As the 'queen', she is nothing more than a spy that the four Kurfürst families sent to monitor the emperor. She is actually an 'outsider' too. There is no reason for her to know the secrets.
"But I clearly sensed that she was here to open the lower level of the royal library, which is the real 'library'!"
Fascinated, Li Yao couldn't help but ask, "And then?"
"There is no and then."
Long Yangjun said, "I noticed that she seemed to be very familiar with the traps, secret tunnels, and barriers in the lower level of the royal library, and her every step seemed to be seamless. I was greatly surprised and lurked in the darkness, concealing my scent and my physiological activities to the minimum, ready to spy on her subsequent actions. But out of my expectation, I was discovered by her at the last moment."
Li Yao was greatly shocked.
He had just experienced Long Yangjun's expertise in concealing her scent and hiding herself. Even if he knew that Long Yangjun was there, it would be barely possible for him to discover her in the crowd with his full wariness.
It was needless to say that she had been lurking in the darkness, concealing her scent and her physiological activities. Yet, she was still discovered by Li Linghai?
How terrifying was Li Linghai exactly?
"For a moment, I sensed the most intense killing intent," Long Yangjun said thoughtfully.
Long Yangjun thought carefully for a moment. "Let me put it this way. Li Linghai's killing intent at that time was ten times sharper than 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren's sword aura. Almost like a conditioned reflex, I accelerated my speed to the maximum and fled in a hurry, unwilling to fight her at all.
Li Linghai and Long Yangjun talked about the same thing in two different versions.
For some reason, Li Yao was more willing to believe Long Yangjun. "So, Li Linghai knew how to open the lower level of the royal library. Why?"
Li Yao's first reaction was that it had something to do with the Supreme Emperor's legacy that Li Linghai received.
But on second thought, it did not make sense. The Supreme Emperor perished or escaped to the depths of the Empyrean Transcendence Sector ten thousand years ago. The royal library of the Imperium of True Human Beings was naturally built a thousand years ago.
Even if Li Linghai received all the Supreme Emperor's legacies, they should not have had anything to do with the secrets deep inside the royal library.
"I'll have to ask you the question. You are Li Linghai's' trusted subordinate ', aren't you?"
Long Yangjun jabbed at Li Yao neither lightly nor heavily. "Although two years have passed, I still remember Li Linghai's aggressive killing intent to this day, as if I had discovered her greatest secret and she was determined to kill me.
"During our encounter, I escaped in time. She must've failed to discover who I was. But in the few months that followed, almost twenty guards who were responsible for the royal library and the maids who worked in the nearby areas all died abruptly. It must've been because she was secretly investigating the 'mysterious person' who spied on her uncanny behavior that night. I was so scared that I did not dare to stay in the royal palace any longer and hurried to run away.
"Your queen is so brutal. How can I be bold enough to join her easily?"
Li Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Truth be told, in fact, I felt that something was wrong with Queen Li Linghai, too. So, I had to lurk around her and observe her scheme at a close distance so that I could stop her in time! If you have more intelligence, why don't you share it with us? Chances are that we will be able to figure out the truth of the whole thing after we combine the intelligence of our two parties. "
"Be careful that you don't backfire. Li Linghai is such a dangerous person that even I do not dare to challenge her easily. You want to lurk around her and control her when your IQ is so low?"
Long Yangjun chuckled. "As for the exchange of intelligence, maybe next time. Somebody is coming!"
Li Yao was alarmed. Activating his telepathic thoughts to the maximum, he indeed sensed that dozens of rather strong auras were approaching.
A super high-speed crystal train was rushing close behind Long Yangjun, too.
"Shua!"
The two of them jumped to the two sides of the tunnel in time, and the high-speed crystal train brushed past them. Li Yao could sense that Long Yangjun was grabbing the shell of the crystal train, and her scent was drifting further and further away. But he stuck his body deep into the maintenance groove next to the tunnel, planning to escape from the branch after the crystal train passed by.
Li Linghai has a way to open the central, secret area of the royal library … It should be true. Long Yangjun couldn't have made up such details if she hadn't experienced it in person. Also, what can she gain by lying to me about such unimportant details?
Li Yao thought carefully in the darkness. But why? What secrets has Li Linghai been hiding exactly? What are her ambitions under the slogan of 'Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions'?
Suddenly —
Swoosh!
A wind blade that was almost transparent but sharp darted out of the gap of the high-speed crystal train without a sound. Li Yao was so shocked that he had goosebumps all over his body. Had he not maintained the last bit of wariness out of habit, his carotid artery would've been cut open by the wind blade!
"What the hell are you doing?"
Li Yao roared, "Long Yangjun, you haven't left yet?"
"I should've left already."
Long Yangjun's silvery laughter echoed from the darkness. "However, seeing that you were thinking in a daze in this place, as if you were not prepared at all, the opportunity was too good. So, I couldn't help but shoot you again. I didn't know that you were prepared, did you?"
"What's wrong with you?"
Li Yao burst into fury. "Just now, you said that you couldn't understand or even fear the shamelessness and cruelty of human beings and that you didn't want to be such a human being, like a pure, innocent lotus flower. But from what I can see, you seem to be enjoying the sordid, shameless tricks and ambushes!"
"Exactly. It's my fault that I was a human being for more than a hundred years before my primeval bloodline was awakened. It's all because of the human beings like you!"
Long Yangjun grimaced. "It can't be helped. I'm such a contradictory and capricious person. Since we are friends, you should be more tolerant of me, right?"
"… Fair enough. Fine. I'll tolerate you one more time. One last time."
While talking, Li Yao drew a saber that was as thin as a cicada's wing from his Cosmos Ring and slashed it in the direction of Long Yangjun's laughter. "Tolerate my ass!"
Naturally, the saber missed its target.
Long Yangjun's laughter was getting further and further away. "Look. This is a human being with a honeyed mouth and a vicious heart. You said that you were my good friend just now, but you turned against me so quickly and attacked me ruthlessly.
"I'm really leaving this time. One last reminder. The 'Fire Blade Squad', the elite rapid-response squad of the Dongfang family, is surrounding you from all directions. A big guy in a Heavy Fiery Crystal Suit is capable of quadruple transformation. His ultimate form, however, is best at agility and agility. He can be quite tricky. Don't be fooled by him and fail miserably!"
Long Yangjun was truly gone.
Instead, hot waves were vaguely surging over from the branches and maintenance channels in all directions.
Li Yao spat and put his saber back into his Cosmos Ring while he cursed and warmed up his fingers.
He did not want to use a saber right now.
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