"That explains a lot!"
Li Yao was greatly enlightened. "I was wondering why you became so great all of a sudden. I thought that you came to the underground world to stop the war among the wildlings because you were sincerely trying to save all the people. That's not your style at all!
"As it turns out, you are still tricking the wildlings to the surface and turning them into cannon fodder for your scheme!"
"Wrong. Not a scheme, but an uprising. Not cannon fodder, but great warriors!" Long Yangjun said with a smile.
"The people of the Imperium have been living a miserable life under the dual oppression of the Immortal Cultivators and the foreign enemies. It is the same even though they are tens of thousands of meters below the ground.
"The Imperium's counterattack in the past ten years has almost drained the last drop of blood of all the people of the Imperium. The drastic changes in the political situation of the Imperium in recent months, and the fall and collapse of the Dongfang family, have also raised a great storm. It is inevitable that all the classes below the ground are affected. As the saying goes, when the city gate is on fire, the fish in the moat will suffer!
"A lot of magical equipment factories and energy bases below the ground were under the control of the Dongfang family in the beginning. Now that the 'reformists' are trying to eradicate the Dongfang family, the major forces are attacking them together. Naturally, the factories and energy bases are fat meat that everybody covets.
"The high and mighty big shots compete for power and profit in the vast sea of stars. Even the losers have a chance to maintain their basic decency. But for the lowly and unimportant people who live below the ground and depend on the magical equipment factories and the energy bases, as long as the factories are shut down for one day, their families will go hungry for one day. If the factories are shut down for ten days, none of them will be able to survive. That's not counting the battles of the Immortal Cultivators below the ground, which caused the collapse of the towns, the rupture of the tubes, and the leakage of all kinds of fatal gases.
"The critical parts of the underground towns have changed hands multiple times. To make up for the losses, the new controllers have exploited the workers in every possible way. As a result, the workers are either starved to death because of lack of work, crushed to death by the overloaded work, or unlucky enough to be killed by the fierce battles of the Immortal Cultivators and have their internal organs shattered by the tides of spiritual energy.
"In short, most of the hominoids living below the ground right now are starving and can't hold it any longer! Raising an enormous uprising and occupying the magical equipment factories and the energy bases in order to get enough food, compressed air, and temperature coolants is the natural instinct of survival. What's wrong with that? "
Li Yao said in a low voice, "There's nothing wrong with that. If I were there, I would join such an uprising. But what about these savages?"
Long Yangjun chuckled. "Now that we are going to make a big fuss, we naturally have to gather all the forces that we can. The wildlings are part of the underground civilization of mankind, too. They are also natural-born hunters of danger. Of course, we have to invite them to join the great cause!
"Yes, the insurrection is risky, and there is a ninety-nine percent chance that it will be suppressed. However, those wildlings were prepared to kill each other in the first place. There is no winner in the war between the Black Armor, the Night Wings, and the Red Ring. Even if some of them manage to survive, they will go extinct very soon.
"Since we're going to die anyway, don't you think it's more meaningful to die in a righteous act of resistance against tyranny?
"Speaking of which, my mindset is actually based on Vulture Li Yao, the great, glorious, and noble father of the Xing Yao Federation and the dominator of three Sectors! Father Li once taught us that the strength of the Federation was insignificant compared to the strength of the Imperium. If the national strength of the Federation were to collide with the iron fist of the Imperium, it would be destined to be smashed into pieces.
"However, the Imperium is destined to be unpopular when it governs the people with cruel violence and a harsh system. The hominoids, who make up ninety-nine percent of the population, must be very dissatisfied with the governance of the upper class. They are like a barrel of dynamite that contains infinite energy that can be ignited with a single spark.
"Therefore, if we have a chance to sneak into the Imperium, we must find a way to awaken the hominoids and ignite the fire of resistance that illuminates the sea of stars. As long as all the hominoids are awakened and resist the tyranny valiantly and unyieldingly, the Imperium of True Human Beings will collapse on its own no matter how enormous and powerful it is!
"This is the teachings of the almighty Father Li. I have always regarded Father Li as the greatest man in the universe. I recite Father Li's spirit three times before I go to bed every night and carry out Father Li's guidelines dutifully in practice. That's why Nepenthe was founded and why the upcoming world-shaking uprising was about to happen! Why, are you questioning Father Li? "
Li Yao was dazed for a long time before he took a deep, deep breath.
"Why? You seem very angry," Long Yangjun said casually.
"Your nostrils are so dilated that two eggs can be stuffed into them. It seems that you are truly dissatisfied with Father Li."
"Don't misinterpret my words. That's not what I meant at all!"
Li Yao frowned hard, his veins bulging out. "Yes, I did say that the strength of the ordinary people of the Imperium should be mobilized, and they should fight for the power that they deserve without fear of sacrifice when necessary. But there are two points. Firstly, the ordinary people must be really awakened and realize their situation as well as the way to completely change their fate. Then, they will be asked to charge after the Cultivators. The blood of the experts should be shed first! Secondly, there is no reason to suppress the feelings, desires, and will of human beings in any case and turn them into ignorant puppets. That is not the way to cultivate 'truth'!
"Let's take the wildlings for example. They have lived below the ground for ten thousand years. Most of their wisdom has deteriorated. I'm afraid that their IQ is no higher than that of a five-year-old child! You can make them understand the principle of 'resisting tyranny and fighting for freedom' in just half a day? You can understand the essence of the path of the Cultivators? How is it possible? Even if they are willing to follow you on the surface, it will still be a kind of deception in fact!
"Is such an action any different from tricking a bunch of five-year-old children into going to the battlefield with fancy words?
"As for the Nepenthe believers in the upper-level towns, they may boast basic wisdom and judgment, and they are willing to abandon their feelings and desires as your tools. But ask yourself and tell me with your conscience, will you, the 'Serenity Seraph' of Nepenthe, be the first to charge at the thousands of aggressive suppression troops of the Immortal Cultivators or even Blackstar the Great who has come after hearing the news? Will you? "
"I'm sorry, but my body structure is different from yours. I do not have an organ named 'conscience'."
Long Yangjun smiled. "However, I can answer you directly without touching my conscience. Of course not. Of course I won't charge at the frontline. That would be too stupid. Only a fool like you would do such a thing. I can't even lurk in the rear and command. As a matter of fact, the great uprising that is about to break out has little to do with me. The best I can do is to provide guidance and give a small boost. Don't forget that I was in the royal palace first and then with the Association of Demon Hunters and Dongfang Wang in the past two years. It is impossible for me to plan such a meaningless, suicidal uprising in person!"
Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense. Neither Queen Li Linghai nor Prime Minister Dongfang Wang were easy to deal with. Long Yangjun must've exhausted all her efforts to deal with them. She did not have the strength or the need to raise such an "uprising of hominoids".
"As for your question, it may be very reasonable, but it is too idealistic."
Long Yangjun said calmly, "If it were you, how would you deal with the mess below the ground? Are you going to spend ten years teaching the wildlings how to read and be human beings, and another three to five years teaching them the mysteries of the path of the Cultivators before they awaken the will to resist?
"What if the wildlings all kill each other in the past ten years?
"What if they don't kill each other but starve to death because of the lack of food?
"What if the Immortal Cultivators discover your trick and suppress all the wildlings who are half awakened?
"Li Yao, you are a good man and an out-and-out good Cultivator. Perhaps it is because of people like you that I am not completely disappointed in the civilization of mankind. However, 'good man' alone cannot solve the complicated, infinite practical problems. In many cases, the situation is pressing, and time waits for no man. You have to be ruthless and decisive in order to solve the problems. In the drastic changes, sacrificing a few tiny ants accidentally, although it is pitiful and inappropriate, is there anything you can do about it?"
Li Yao completely calmed down.
He suddenly realized that Long Yangjun was intentionally infuriating him, trying to find the loopholes in his belief so that she could break his defense line.
After more than a hundred years of life-and-death training and collisions with the beliefs of so many great men, Li Yao's soul had long been polished into translucent and indestructible, and his belief was as pure as a newborn baby. Even though he seemed to be dumbfounded and infuriated all the time on the surface, his belief and his soul would not be shaken easily.
"What is your purpose exactly?"
Ignoring the details, Li Yao went straight to Long Yangjun's heart. "I don't believe that you are sincerely doing what is good for the underground people. You must've established a 'Nepenthe' after all the trouble and instigated such a big move, but it can't be purely for the good of the underground people. Let me guess. Is it related to the Holy League?"
"Smart!"
With brilliant sparks flashing in her eyes, Long Yangjun looked at Li Yao with great interest. "Therefore, every time I confronted you, I had to remind myself in my heart that it was the extremely smart, sordid, and terrifying Monster Li standing in front of me. Do not be fooled by his seemingly childish appearance. What a tough life!
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