Li Yao grew anxious, too. He shouted without giving in at all, "If you were just a soldier or a common general, all you would need to do is to march forward bravely without caring about your own safety. But you are the 'God of War', the symbol of the entire army of the Imperium, and the 'last Immortal Cultivator of the Imperium'. You are even part of the Imperium! If even a military giant like you gives up thinking, wouldn't the Imperium become a raging, brainless beast that does not know when it will step into a trap or even fall into an abyss?
"I know that you have always been proud of your identity as a soldier, and it is a soldier's duty to obey orders, but a soldier should not become an unthinking, unindependent killing machine. Otherwise, would you be any different from the people of the Holy League?
"I know that your hands have been stained with blood in the past two hundred years, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that you have killed countless people. But I would rather believe that you know why you are fighting and killing, and that you are not carrying out somebody's orders without thinking!
"After all, the issue concerns the future of the Imperium of True Human Beings and even the entire civilization of mankind. If it were me, I would have to get to the bottom of it! How exactly does Wuying Qi plan to deal with the ace fleets of the four families? How much will he pay? How will the entire capital be changed beyond recognition? Have you really never been worried about those questions? Do you think that the price of 'the destruction of the capital' is acceptable in order to win the civil war?
"If that is acceptable, let me tell you something else. Just one day ago, Wuying Qi detonated one of his clones, 'Wuying Qinxin', in an attempt to brainwash me with the technology of the Holy League!"
"What!"
This time, Lei Chenghu was truly shocked. Staring at Li Yao, he demanded, "Are you serious?"
"Even if I wanted to spread rumors, I couldn't have made up such an outrageous lie, could I?"
With a bitter smile, Li Yao said, "To be more precise, perhaps it is not that Wuying Qi used the technology of the Holy League, but that Wuying Qi and the Holy League were of the same origin and shared the brainwashing technology of the Pangu from the primeval age. Wuying Qi and the Holy League have always been deeply connected. Even the rise of the Holy League a thousand years ago was partly due to him!"
Lei Chenghu's face turned more and more awful. He gnashed his teeth. "Are you slandering me without any proof?"
"Although there is no proof for now, it is logical!"
Li Yao opened his hands and said, "Although Wuying Qi and the Holy League seemed to be mortal enemies a thousand years ago, the result of their decades of fighting was that they divided the Star Ocean Republic and established the prototype of the Imperium and the Holy League today on the rotten body of the Star Ocean Republic.
"According to the principle that whoever benefits the most is the most suspicious, it is not entirely impossible to say that Wuying Qi and the Holy League worked together to put on a good show!
"As for why the Imperium of True Human Beings never destroyed the Holy League after it was established? It is quite understandable. The Imperium needs the Holy League as an excuse to rule all the Sectors and exploit the ordinary people. The Holy League, the existence of fear, is also the reason for the existence of the Immortal Cultivators!
"Don't be hasty. Also, have you never wondered how Wuying Qi is going to deal with the army of the Holy League, Commander Lei?
"The main force of the Holy League's fleet has not collapsed. Seventy to eighty percent of its available forces are still intact. They have intentionally retreated and abandoned a lot of Sectors in order to lure the enemy to march in and lengthen the supply and defense lines of the expedition army of the Imperium so that they will have a final battle with the Imperium!
"Why are they in such a hurry to take the risk? It is because the Holy League has encountered a great crisis of rigidity, too. If they do not have a final battle, they will collapse on their own!
"Those are all your theories, Commander Lei. They are clearly written in the report that you wrote for the Council of Elders. I believe that Wuying Qi must've read the report and trusted you as a 'great loyal subject', right?
"Then, here comes the question. Wuying Qi was bold enough to launch a full-scale civil war at such a critical moment, knowing that the army of the Holy League was coveting the Imperium in the darkness not far away, ready to deal a critical blow to the Imperium at any moment. What is he up to exactly?
"Even if he can really take down the ace fleets of the four families neatly, what then? How can he deal with the main force of the Holy League with his devastated homeland and the exhausted, broken fleet after the civil war? Is he crazy? Does he want to be an emperor for a year and a half?
"No, it's impossible. He is an unparalleled man who will rule the sea of stars for another ten thousand years. It is impossible that he did not consider the existence of the Holy League.
"The only answer is that he is on the same side as the Holy League in the first place. At the very least, he is deeply connected to a lot of people in the Holy League. He can control a lot of people in the Holy League with the brainwashing technology that is of the same origin as the Holy League. He … He can replace the Pangu in the eyes of some people in the Holy League and become the supreme god of some people in the Holy League!
"Commander Lei, are you still unmoved by such a future? Can such a malicious, insane Wuying Qi be your master?"
Li Yao's saliva was almost sprayed on Lei Chenghu's face.
Lei Chenghu, on the other hand, was deep in thought with a rigid face, having no time to wipe his saliva.
"Nonsense."
Lei Chenghu mumbled, "I've never heard such absurd bulls * it before!"
"Let's go to the capital and figure out whether or not it's nonsense!"
Li Yao said sincerely, "Commander Lei, I know that Wuying Qi is the embodiment of the 'perfect Immortal Cultivator' in your imagination and the only light of hope that can save the Imperium and even the civilization of mankind in the corrupted darkness, but you must see the gap between 'hope' and 'reality' clearly.
"Getting to the bottom of it, do you really know the 'Blackstar the Great' that you believe in and swear absolute loyalty to? Do you really know what kind of person the Wuying Qi standing before you is exactly?
"No, what you worship, admire, and absolutely believe in is just the Blackstar the Great that has been glorified countless times in the history books and propaganda files of the Imperium in the past thousand years. The gap between him and the real Wuying Qi is like the gap between the pictures of a girl who has put on makeup for two hours and her real appearance after the makeup is removed. They are two completely different people, alright?
"Let's say that Blackstar the Great a thousand years ago was truly as magnificent and magnificent as the supreme leader of the civilization of mankind and deserved your loyalty. But how can you be sure that the Wuying Qi right now is the Wuying Qi from a thousand years ago?"
"Huh?"
Lei Chenghu narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I think that you've made a mistake. No, we've both made a cognitive mistake."
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao analyzed calmly, "It's true that we've both figured out his identity from the traces, and he admitted that he was Blackstar the Great. But who knows what the truth is exactly?
"Blackstar the Great perished in the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum a thousand years ago. His remaining soul lurked for a long time before it met Li Linghai in his youth and returned to the Imperium by attaching itself to the latter.
"That's Wuying Qi and Li Linghai's one-sided statement.
"However, during the thousand years of lurking and drifting, was the remaining soul of Wuying Qi corrupted and polluted by something else? Had it become completely unrecognizable, or had it completely distorted his Dao heart? Was it a slave to other … more powerful forces?
"Those mysteries haven't been solved yet, and you've already knelt and pledged your loyalty to him just because he slapped his chest and declared that he was Blackstar the Great, Commander Lei? You're truly broad-minded! He said that he was Wuying Qi, and I said that I was Wuying Qi. After all, I've swallowed the power of the Imperial Fire Pearl and can spurt out the most dominating purple flames. Nobody has 100% proof!
"All in all, I'm not objecting to your loyalty to Blackstar the Great. Really, as a real Immortal Cultivator, it's perfectly normal that you want to pledge your loyalty to the ancestor of the Immortal Cultivators! I'm just giving you a kind suggestion. You should really figure out whether or not the guy who's up to no good in the capital right now is the 100% Wuying Qi from a thousand years ago, and whether or not he deserves your loyalty at the risk of the fate of the Imperium and the entire civilization of mankind! "
Lei Chenghu's eyes and lips were slightly shivering.
"Your sophistry is really giving me a headache."
He said coldly, "It's impossible to find the answers to the questions that you've raised. His Majesty was reborn from part of his remaining soul. Naturally, he is not the 100% Wuying Qi from a thousand years ago. It's not strange that his personality and even his beliefs have changed. But at this moment, is there a better choice than him?"
"There is. It's you!"
Li Yao rubbed his hands and said, "The so-called 'Wuying Qi' right now has ill intentions. God knows if he is another fake Immortal Cultivator or even more dreadful than the real Immortal Cultivators. The sea of stars must not fall into his hands.
"But Commander Lei, you must be a real Immortal Cultivator who is qualified to govern the future of the Imperium.
"Of course, I know that this is not what you want, and it's impossible for you to be the dictator of the entire Imperium. So, we will continue our agreement in the past and hold the banner of 'renewing the Imperium' as a 'legitimate reformist' and stop Wuying Qi's scheme. In the end, we will choose a young emperor who has been educated by you and who inherits the ideas of the reformists. You will assist him as the 'loving father of the Imperium'. Then, everything will be fine!"
"Then, the Cultivators can also take the opportunity to join the reformists and corrupt the theoretical edifice of the Imperium without anyone noticing. You will have a smokeless ideological war."
Lei Chenghu sneered. "Isn't that so?"
"If the true path of immortality is really invincible, you don't need to be scared of our ideological war at all!"
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