With a sneer of disdain, Li Linghai said unhurriedly, "Emperor Shenwu is, at best, an innocent idealist, but at worst, he's too headstrong and self-opinionated to indulge in his own fantasy. He thinks that the glorious victory of the Imperium's counterattack is really his contribution and that he can really restore the glory of Blackstar the Great's age and make all the soldiers and nobles kneel before him.
"All in all, he is a guy who can't accomplish anything but spoils everything. So, it doesn't matter even if he falls into Dongfang Wang's hands."
Li Yao rolled his eyes and said, "Well, he is the queen's … husband after all. Also, you have more than ten children."
With disgust and hatred flashing on Li Linghai's face, he said coldly, "You should know that being the wife of that pig is the thing that I hate most in my life. If it were up to me, I would've watched him die with my own eyes.
"However, considering that the Imperium of True Human Beings will continue for a thousand years, we need an emperor in name no matter what. As long as he does not do anything stupid that will lead to his own destruction, I will continue to respect him as His Majesty after he is rescued. That is my promise.
"Speaking of which, Li Yao, I feel that what you really want to ask is not Emperor Shenwu but me, right? You want to know what kind of position I will be in after the mission of 'renewing the Imperium' is really accomplished, and whether or not I will be a dictator of some sort, like a 'queen of the generation', right? "
Li Yao smiled awkwardly as a tacit admission.
Li Linghai sniffed and said unconcernedly, "I told you a long time ago that everything I do is to save the Imperium, not just to claim power for myself. Even if I do grasp the ultimate power one day, I will definitely do a better job than the four Kurfürst families.
"The reformists have discussed quite a few solutions to the political situation of the Imperium after the partial collapse of the four Kurfürst families. One of them is to add at least two hundred and fifty members of the reformists to the five hundred elders of the Council of Elders to balance the old interest groups.
"However, the operation of the plan is too difficult, and it is likely to raise the intense resistance of the old elders, which will escalate the contradictions. Therefore, we have a new plan, which is to divide the Council of Elders into two parliaments. The Council of Elders right now will be the Upper Parliament, and all the elders will be respected and treated as before, but a Lower Parliament of three thousand people will be established. The elders of the Lower Parliament will be selected by the interest groups that represent the interests of the majority and control the real power.
"The two plans, as well as the other plans on how to divide and balance the power and how to establish a great government that is truly fair, clean, and efficient, have been circulated among the reformists for a long time. Everybody has actively participated in the discussions and agreed with them very much. In any case, they are much better than the oligopoly and dominion of the four Kurfürst families right now. Do you think it is possible for a cruel, brutal, and murderous dictator to emerge on such an ideological basis?"
Li Yao rolled his eyes again and again, but he did not say anything.
"I can understand your concerns as a Cultivator, but those concerns are all groundless."
Li Linghai's tone was even gentler, as if he were talking. "What are the two most important elements to create an iron-blooded dictator? The first factor was an army, and the second was prestige. When the two factors were combined into one, countless experts would have to pledge their loyalty to Li Linghai personally and to Li Linghai.
"But is that really the case right now?
"In terms of the army, the Deep Sea Fleet is completely under the command of General Dongfang Sheng. I never ask about any details, nor do I interfere with his selection and promotion of personnel. It is needless to say that General Lei Chenghu's Thunder Fleet is more independent than ever. They are more like my allies than my subordinates.
"In terms of prestige, I never intended to establish any personal worship in the reformists. Dongfang Sheng, Yue Wushuang, and Jin Yuyan did not join the reformists because they admired or were loyal to me personally. They all had their own reasons and agreed with the ideas of the reformists. That was why we were able to walk together.
"It is even more so for you and General Lei Chenghu. Let's be honest. Do I have any 'prestige' in front of you at all?
"All in all, I am the guide of the reformists, but I am certainly not the unique leader of the reformists. If I really wanted to be a dictator, or a 'queen of the generation' as you described, I wouldn't have built the reformists into what they are today at all, and I would've had the military power in my hands, right?
"After all, no matter how strong my personal combat ability is, it is useless when faced with overwhelming starships and an overwhelming army.
"I have never done that since the very beginning. When the reformists expanded to this day and completely boasted their own will, it was even less possible for me to control the military power and establish my personal prestige. But none of that matters. It doesn't matter whether or not I am the leader of the reformists or the Imperium. It will be enough as long as I can build a new Imperium that is more powerful and eternal!"
Under Li Linghai's vehement speech, Li Yao failed to find any loopholes after a long daze. He could only say, "That does seem to be the case."
"Then, what are you worried about?"
Li Linghai smiled. "Stop thinking nonsense and go make preparations. Trust me. What you are doing is to maintain the balance and stability at the center of the cosmos. More lives will be saved because of you!"
Li Linghai cut off the picture of communication.
Li Yao was left alone in the dark mist.
But he was even more worried than before.
The mental devil said deep inside his brain, "Did you notice that the queen's tone was very gentle today? She was in a hurry to defend herself, fearing that we might misunderstand her. It was completely different from when we met her for the first time."
"Of course I did."
Li Yao said, "She is abnormal. It is definitely not a good sign for a person who has always been as cold as ice to be so gentle all of a sudden."
However, Li Yao and the mental devil thought hard and failed to figure out what the problem was.
Li Linghai was quite right about one thing. Whatever schemes, ambitious plans, or insane ideas, they had to be implemented by the army after all.
However, Li Linghai had indeed given up all his military power. Even the Deep Sea Fleet that he established in person was fully commanded by Dongfang Sheng, an "outsider". He couldn't have been more magnanimous and selfless.
Li Yao had met Dongfang Sheng a few times. He could not tell that the commander of a fleet in the Divinity Transformation Stage had any absolute loyalty or admiration for Li Linghai.
It was needless to mention Lei Chenghu. If Li Linghai did anything wrong, Lei Chenghu would be the first to stand out and destroy him.
The political structure of the new Imperium in the reformists' ideal was indeed much more advanced than the murky governance of the four Kurfürst families. Most of the members of the reformists joined the cause of "renewing the Imperium" because of the inspiration of their ideas. What they pledged their loyalty to was "renewing", not Li Linghai himself.
Therefore, assuming that Li Linghai did have any ambitions and had a great scheme in secret, how could he realize it and make the soldiers in the hundreds of worlds in the sea of stars obey him? It was absolutely impossible!
She was only at the peak of the Divinity Transformation Stage. Even if she was in the Divinity Branching Stage, she was still all by herself after all. It was impossible for her to swallow the entire Imperium.
Li Yao could not figure out the key to it even though he thought hard. However, what Long Yangjun said the other day seemed to make a lot of sense too. He thought so hard that his head was about to explode.
Therefore, he simply summoned Li Jialing. "Come here, little brother. Let me examine your body for you. How's your progress with the Imperial Fire Pearl?"
At this moment, while Li Jialing's hair was still golden, there was a vague layer of bright gold flames at the ends of his hair, making him look both ferocious and glamorous. He truly looked like a magnificent golden lion.
However, in front of Li Yao, who was half a master and half a mentor, the golden lion was as docile as a kitten. He took out half of the fragment of the Imperial Fire Pearl obediently and opened it in his palm.
"Wow. So fast!"
Li Yao was rather shocked, only to discover that the fragment of the Imperial Fire Pearl in Li Jialing's palm was lackluster. The surface that used to be as smooth as a mirror had tiny holes that looked like needles. The texture of the fragment was no different from regular rocks. The strength vaguely flowing inside had all dried up. No, it had been absorbed by Li Jialing!
Li Yao had been through a hundred years of fortuitous encounters. His body of flesh and blood was already indescribably tough. He thought that his training speed was fast enough, but it never occurred to him that Li Jialing's training speed was even higher than his. In only one month, he had absorbed all the dominating aura inside the fragment of the Imperial Fire Pearl!
Although Li Jialing's fragment was slightly smaller than his, the efficiency of training was too … depressing!
"Come on. Let's test your strength right now."
Li Yao extended his hand to Li Jialing, and the two of them held each other's hands tightly.
BOOM!
Around the two of them, two similar bright gold flames rose up, forming spluttering electric arcs. Thick veins protruded on their chests and arms, too, transmitting the terrifying strength from the deepest part of their cells to their palms.
Not long after, their palms became crystal clear. The muscle fibers, blood vessels, nerves, and bones inside could be seen clearly.
After another ten seconds, their palms both turned white, like iron that had been heated to the point of melting!
It was not until this moment that Li Jialing finally put on an expression of pain. He grunted and tried to let go.
But Li Yao did not let go. The strength from the veins on his arms flowed toward Li Jialing's arms and body like tides, truly grasping the guy's internal organs, veins, and even abdomen.
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