Wuying Qi's telepathic thoughts did turn into dazzling stars in the sky, but those stars were corroded into black by his ambitions and flooded into Li Yao's soul incessantly.
Li Yao felt that he was electrocuted and drowned in an abyss. He struggled to make the last resistance. "But — but your plan will kill a lot of people. In the Empyreal Terminus Sector alone, at least fifty billion people will die. What are they?"
"They are the wounds cut during surgery, the pains of breeding new lives, the fuel for the advancement of the civilization of mankind, and the price that we have to pay."
Wuying Qi's eyes became deep and ancient, as if he could see through the changes of billions of years. He said in a tone that did not sound like that of a human being at all, "In the long run, every one of us will die. Not just us, even the strongest experts of the thirteen carbon-based species in the Pangu's alliance — no, not just the Pangu, but also the powerful civilizations that existed in this universe in the billions of years before the Pangu — have all been swallowed by time and drowned by the universe. Nothing is left of them.
"In the past billions of years, hundreds of the most prosperous primeval civilizations have perished, and the civilization of mankind is about to repeat their mistakes. With such a grand background, is the life and death of a few individuals really that important?
"I can tell that you, Li Yao, believe that we cannot wait to be killed and that we have to find a way out. Then, have you ever considered how dangerous the universe outside is? Have you ever considered that even if we can find our final destination and achieve a certain 'glorious immortality' for the civilization of mankind, the march will still be a torturous one? Chances are that 99% of the people will die on the way, and only 1% of them will survive to enjoy the victory and become the ancestors of new human beings?
"It can't be helped. Even though we know that so many people will be sacrificed, we still have to march forward without hesitation because that is the meaning of life.
"Thinking back to billions of years ago, the first fish clumsily crawled to the land. I believe that it was not unique but had countless companions. But 99% of the fish were all dried up and died in the fatal air.
"Similarly, when the ancient apes came to the plains from the forest in fear, they must have sacrificed a lot under the claws of the ferocious beasts on the plains.
"If both the fish and the ape are intelligent, if you are the commander of the fish and the ape, and you cannot bear to make such a small sacrifice, you waver, you tell your companions that it is too dangerous ahead. Let's go back, let's go back, let's go back, let's go back to the warmth and safety of the nest! Yes, your companions may be safe for now, but the future of our civilization will be ruined by your petty kindness! "
"Please believe me. If possible, I would like to reduce the casualties as much as possible, but this is a war. Not just a war between the reformists and the nobles, a war between the Imperium and the Holy League, or a war between the Immortal Cultivators and the Cultivators, but a war between new human beings and old human beings. It is a war to change the world! Such a conflict between the old and the new could not possibly be as gentle and harmless as one imagined. It was destined to set off the most intense conflicts and crush countless conservative interest groups. People, many people, were going to die.
"The virtue of a general is not to protect the life of every soldier under his command but to make all the soldiers die in a meaningful way so that their lives can be exchanged for the greatest achievements and the final victory. In many cases, knowing that the troops in the vanguard or the blocking will be completely annihilated, the general still resolutely sends his most beloved, elite troops into the fire pit that will certainly be killed. Is the general an unpardonable homicidal maniac? No, it is the duty of a commander! "
Li Yao couldn't hold it back anymore. He bellowed, "The soldiers are ready to sacrifice themselves, but it is not the soldiers that you are going to kill but the civilians!"
"Wrong! The distinction between 'soldiers' and 'civilians' is only applicable to the civil war of the civilization of mankind. In the grand universe war that we are about to face, in the endless bloody battles of countless civilizations, everybody is a warrior who has to fulfill their duty and sacrifice everything for the entire civilization! "
Wuying Qi's voice grew aggressive, too. "Think about it. If we do march out of the grand universe one day and are faced with the full-scale scourge of a certain 'insect civilization', will it distinguish between 'soldiers' and 'civilians' among human beings? Or will it distinguish between 'soldiers' and 'civilians' when we are faced with a certain single civilization whose planet is an unparalleled being, and it crushes our world and is about to rip our planets apart with tidal forces? Or rather, if a certain mysterious force that is higher than the three-dimensional space arrives and tries to raise or lower the dimension of our world, turning us into an indescribable weird state, will it care about 'soldiers' and 'civilians'?
"Don't be silly. From the moment we discovered the grand universe, the old morals were gone. The whole civilization naturally entered a new era where 'everybody is a soldier'. In order to struggle for survival in the dark universe, everybody can be sacrificed, and everybody must be sacrificed! You don't deserve to be the commander-in-chief of the civilization of mankind without such a cold and clear understanding! "
"I — I can't do it!"
Holding his head, Li Yao said painfully, "I can't regard so many living individuals as' fuel ', I can't accept the death of billions of people casually, and I can't view the problem from the perspective of billions of years. In any case, I just can't do it!"
"Yes, 99% of the people can't do it. They can't extricate themselves from the perspective of individuals and view the problem from the perspective of the entire civilization. Therefore, Cultivator Li Yao, no matter how strong you are, even if you are a hundred times stronger, you are destined to be an unqualified leader. If the civilization of mankind is commanded by such a softhearted, cowardly guy like you, it will perish in only a few hundred years!"
Wuying Qi smiled casually. "However, it doesn't matter. You can't do it, but I can. That's why I am the most perfect commander-in-chief of the civilization of mankind, and all you need to do is to assist me.
"Your rationality knows that what I'm doing is right, but your feelings cannot accept it. You can't be the commander-in-chief yourself, but you are stopping me from being the commander-in-chief. What's the point of that? The civilization of mankind always needs a commander who is absolutely rational and therefore absolutely cold. Who else can it be if not me? Would it be better to change to a commander who is as' kind, vulnerable, and compassionate 'as you, who cries or shouts hot-blooded slogans when things are going south? "
Li Yao bulged his eyes and was lost for words for a moment.
"Your kindness, which is limited to your personal feelings and the life and death before you, is just 'kindness' or even 'hypocrisy'. You only see the life and death of the billions of people before you, but you have never considered the life and death of the billions of people in the entire Imperium!"
Hardly had Wuying Qi's voice softened when he suddenly became solemn again. "Don't you understand? The billions of people in the Empyreal Terminus Sector are destined to die. If I don't activate the Next Sun Plan, the ace fleets of the four families will occupy the capital planet and butcher everybody. A lot of people will be killed by the slaughter, famine, and plagues!
"What's even worse is that the four families are too incompetent to resist the main force fleet of the Holy League at all. The Imperium will certainly collapse under the assault of the Holy League!
"By then, not only will the number of dead people be an order of magnitude higher than 'tens of billions', but the survivors will also be brainwashed by the Covenant Alliance in the worst way!
"Look, your 'kindness' can't change anything at all. It will only make things worse. By then, if hundreds of billions of people are really killed in the slaughter of the four families and the invasion of the Covenant Alliance, they will all be killed by you. They will all be killed by your hypocrisy. They will all be killed by your ridiculous sense of justice and moral cleanliness!"
Li Yao was dumbfounded and lost for words.
Even though he was only trying to buy himself more time and "pretend" that he was brainwashed by Wuying Qi at the beginning, his heart was slowly sinking.
However, now, his dao heart really was being corroded bit by bit, infused with countless cold and dark things.
"With everything coming to this point, countless people are going to die, and countless people are going to be brainwashed. Neither you nor I can stop it."
Wuying Qi sighed and said, "I can only stop the death of hundreds of billions of people with the death of tens of billions of people. I can only stop the pale and evil brainwashing of the Holy League with the brightness and justice. I can only try to make the sacrifices of countless individuals for the greatest value so that they can die a worthy death! Even though I will be cursed forever if I do that, I will do it without hesitation as long as it is beneficial to the future of the civilization of mankind. I may kill a million innocent women and children today, but ten billion innocent women and children will live because of my actions tomorrow. That is the greatest kindness, the greatest justice, and the greatest love that knows no bounds!
"Cultivator Li Yao, I'm only trying to persuade you because I appreciate your talents. Are you still going to be stubborn? If you still insist on your beliefs, come up with a solid argument that can refute me. Come up with a way to take care of the four families and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant without bloodshed! "
Li Yao was stunned for a long time. His voice was getting weaker and weaker. "But … But if you do that, you will destroy the entire Empyreal Terminus Sector! If the heart of the Imperium is destroyed, how can it deal with the Holy League? "
"Haha. Hahahaha. It seems that you have accepted my proposal logically, but the details still need to be discussed. It's a trifle that can be easily resolved!"
Laughing aloud, Wuying Qi waved his hands and said, "You've made the same mistake again, which is to view the new world with the old eyes. The so-called 'capital' is only necessary for the political entity of a planetary civilization. A real interstellar civilization does not need or should have a capital at all. Not only is it not the heart of the Imperium, it is also the tumor and the greatest burden of the Imperium!
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