"Well …"
Jin Xinyue looked somewhat embarrassed. "Well, masteress, well, well, Mr. Speaker, it seems to be rather difficult."
"Huh?"
Ding Ling Dong couldn't have been more confused. "How difficult can it be? Isn't that what you're best at? Years ago, Li Yao was praised by you as' dominator of three Sectors and father of the Federation 'before he did anything. Now, he has killed Blackstar the Great, the ancestor of the Immortal Cultivators. Wow. Just think about it. Our Li Yao must've been particularly brave, fearless, and resourceful, right? Even if you spread the information exactly as it was without exaggeration, I believe that all the people will be overjoyed, and all the Cultivators will be even more determined!
"Chances are that, encouraged by Li Yao's brilliant accomplishments, the odds of the spiritual root awakening and the success rate of the experts in the Federation will be significantly higher next year. Yes, yes, yes. It certainly will be. So, you must publicize it as much as possible!"
"Hehe. I don't think so …"
Jin Xinyue's smile was even more troubled. "You'd better read the intelligence in the jade chip first before you make a conclusion."
"Huh?"
Ding Lingdang blinked. "Could it be that Li Yao has resorted to some sort of scheme? All is fair in war. To deal with such a formidable enemy as Blackstar the Great, it's only natural that you have to try your best. As long as the boundaries of the Cultivators are not violated, can't you cover up any tricks that you've done? "
"I'm not sure whether or not my master violated the boundaries of the Cultivators, but my propaganda machine is really not working this time."
Jin Xinyue said, "Perhaps, masteress, you can teach me how to … edit and cover up such material in order to announce it to the Federation?"
Ding Ling Dong was somewhat suspicious. She unlocked the jade chip.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Shua! Shua! Countless streams of information crawled into her brain in the form of mystic rays.
Within five minutes, her expression changed from astonishment to shock, from shock to embarrassment, and from embarrassment to stupefaction.
Ding Ling Dong's face was even redder than the exhaust flames of the warships in the sky.
"This …"
She was dumbfounded. "W-what are you doing!"
"Master's wife also feels very troubled, right?"
Jin Xinyue said, "All in all, I've thought for a long time, but I still don't know where to focus on the promotion. Should I focus on the part where my master plays the video to the entire universe in the first half, or the part where my master sings' Mommy is the best in the world 'in the second half? What do you think, Masteress?"
"I think …"
Holding the jade chip, Ding Ling Dong took a deep breath and said, "Forget it. Just ignore all the details and say vaguely … 'Vulture Li Yao, the superhero of the Federation, has defeated Blackstar the Great, the strongest enemy of the Cultivators, with his passion, wisdom, and unyielding belief in justice again'. That will do."
"Is that all?"
Jin Xinyue said, "Isn't it a little too simple?"
"No, that's enough."
Ding Ling Dong rubbed her nose hard. "That's more or less enough. That … guy!"
Holding back their feelings that they did not know how to vent, the two girls looked at each other for a long time and finally burst into laughter.
"Only my master could've come up with such an idea to defeat an enemy like Blackstar the Great!"
Jin Xinyue said.
"Yes. In any case, he's still alive and well. That's good enough. That's good enough."
Ding Lingdang said with a smile, and the corners of her eyes flickered with tears of relief.
"Then, Masteress, what about the other thing that my master mentioned in the letter, the strategy of the Federation in the next step?"
Jin Xinyue asked, "Right now, the civil war of the Imperium is not over yet, and the Holy League's full-scale attack is not far away. Also, my master has the super weapon 'Gold Crystal Pyramid' under his control. I believe that whoever becomes the emperor of the Imperium in the future will not be crazy enough to attack the Xing Yao Federation. The safety of the Federation's homeland should be guaranteed in the next decades.
"However, should we take one step further and send out … the expedition army of the Federation to participate in the war at the center of the cosmos?"
Ding Ling Dong was deep in thought.
Plans could never keep up with changes. A couple of years ago, the Federation, which was still panicked under the threat of the Black Wind Fleet, only wanted to keep itself safe. Even though the sea of stars was their goal, they never intended to realize it anytime soon.
But right now, a rarely-seen strategic opportunity had presented itself to the Federation and the Cultivators. Should they seize it?
Marching to the center of the cosmos, helping the reformists destroy the four families and resist the Holy League, expanding the influence of the Cultivators in the Imperium in the process, helping the Imperium realize the real reform, and even persuading the bottom-level people of the Imperium to join the path of the Cultivators so that the nature of the Imperium could be gradually changed. It seemed to be the best way for the Xing Yao Federation to carry out its path.
The advanced technologies and powerful magical equipment at the center of the cosmos had to be digested by a lot of Cultivators in person, too, which could not be fully understood by the simple data that Li Yao transmitted back.
The great events such as the exploration of the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum in the near future would certainly require the participation of Cultivators.
At the very least, Ding Ling Dong herself, as well as Fiend Blade Peng Hai, Jin Xinyue, Fire Ant, the twelve experts of the Ancient Sages Sector, and other experts of the Federation, were deeply interested in the exploration of the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum. It was impossible for them to allow Li Yao to lead a bunch of Immortal Cultivators to explore the mausoleum by himself. Should anything go wrong, and the Immortal Cultivators turned hostile, Li Yao would not have any helpers, would he?
Therefore, it seemed necessary for the Federation to join the 'era of great competition' at the center of the cosmos.
However, it was not hard to imagine the risks.
The size of the Federation was equal to that of one of the four families at best. The expedition army of the Federation, which was jumbled up, was equal to one of the ace fleets of the four families at best.
Even the four ace fleets had been crushed in the battle of the capital. Who could tell whether or not an even more gory battle would break out in the war between the Imperium and the Holy League?
The expedition army of the Federation marched deep into the Imperium. Both the four families and the Holy League would be on its own. The so-called 'allies' were the Immortal Cultivators of the reformists, and their stances were ambiguous. There were too many variables.
Should the expedition army be annihilated, the Federation would almost lose the ability to protect itself. The outcome would be self-evident.
However, right now, the coordinates of the Federation were no longer a secret. After everything was settled, the reformists, the four families, the Imperium, and the Holy League would certainly shift their attention to the Federation after they consolidated all the resources at the center of the cosmos.
Waiting to be killed would also be a dead end.
It was a great dilemma. No wonder even Ding Ling Dong, who had always been brave and decisive, was caught in deep thought for a long time.
"Masteress …"
Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly. "Even you feel that the next step is very difficult?"
"Yes. Such an important decision naturally requires the opinions of the think tank and the parliament. It is not something that I can decide on my own."
Ding Lingdang pondered for a long time. Looking at the Nuwa warship that was rising higher and higher in the distance, distant flames were surging inside her eyes. She mumbled, "I suddenly remember a long, long time ago, when I was still a little girl, when we were besieged by a beast tide. The overwhelming beast tide swallowed our town. Everybody was shuddering in fear in the howls of the demon beasts …
Jin Xinyue blushed and said, "That was a long, long time ago. At that time, none of us were sober enough to see the future."
"Yes. Nobody can see what the future will be like. At that time, I was shivering and crying in the shadows. How could I have foreseen that I would be like this today and that the Federation would be like this today?"
Ding Ling Dong clenched her fists and said, "But all the changes have only happened in a hundred years. Who knows if or not the new generation of the Federation will be the master of the sea of stars in the next hundred years?
"All in all, there are infinite possibilities in the future, but we have to take the first step first!"
"So to speak —"
Jin Xinyue said in delight, "Masteress, are you in favor of sending an expedition army to support the reformists and establish a brand-new Imperium?"
"As the Speaker of the Federation, I should not show any attitude before I submit such important intelligence to the think tank, the parliament, and the Board of Advisors for discussion."
Ding Ling Dong smiled. Her red hair was dancing in the wind, and her fists were shivering beyond her control. Fighting will was burning on the surface of her fists.
Her eyes pierced through the Nuwa warship and the sky that looked like an ocean of fire, as if they had reached the heart of the Imperium at the center of the cosmos. "However, after being the Speaker of the Federation for such a long time, I've finally gotten the post-war situation under control. I'm not interested in being reelected. You know that I never wanted to be the goddamn Speaker. When I competed with you for the position, I only wanted to help you unite all the forces that could be united. I didn't expect that the pretense would turn out to be real. Over the past few years, I've been processing astronomical files and data every day. I've almost been driven crazy by boredom. I've been dreaming of waiting until the end of my term or going out for adventures in the most dangerous places.
"Therefore, if I were not the Speaker but only your masteress and Li Yao's wife, I would definitely go to the center of the cosmos. If the parliament does not agree to the plan to send an expedition army, I will go to the center of the cosmos and find Li Yao on my own after I resign. In any case, there is no reason for him to fight on his own.
"And I believe that there will be a lot of people who will be extremely interested in going with me."
Ding Ling Dong glanced at the Colossi driven by the twelve experts of the Ancient Sages Sector behind her. She happened to see one of the Colossi waving its longsword at the Nuwa warship in midair, as if it were considering carefully whether or not it could cut the Nuwa warship into halves.
It was exactly the Colossus driven by 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren.
Ding Ling Dong's smile was even more brilliant.
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
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