"What you said just now was very reasonable. What you are worried about is very likely to happen, too. The balance of military affairs and politics is not my specialty. However, I've heard nothing but conflicts of interests in my ears, and I rarely hear you talk about the 'truth'. So, let me talk about the 'truth' and the 'belief' of the Federation!"
Holding his black cane, Gui Suishou lowered his head. He looked both like a stubborn rock on the shore and a rusted ancient bell. Then, he pondered for a moment and said slowly, "To be honest, it does not seem appropriate for me to talk about the path of the federation and the path of the Cultivators with my identity. The so-called 'belief' is a mysterious and unpredictable thing. Countless specialists and scholars have studied it for hundreds of years, but nobody has been able to figure out what the so-called 'belief' is.
"But is the 'belief' really nonexistent, and is it just a self-deception or some kind of strong self-suggestion? I'm afraid that's not entirely true.
"Here, I have the latest research report released by the Life Research Institute. It is a graph obtained by tracking the cultivation and upgrade data of tens of thousands of powerhouses over the past hundred years. It is a comprehensive and detailed analysis.
"From these graphs, it can be seen that the advancement of the Federation's experts in the past hundred years is inseparable from the prosperity of the Federation's national power. They are mutually related.
"The stronger the Federation is, the faster the training speed of the experts will be, and the higher the success rate of their upgrade will be. On the other hand, as more and more experts emerge in the Federation, the comprehensive strength and war potential of the country will be expanding explosively, too.
"Is it just a coincidence? Or is it only because of the abundant resources, the advancement of technology, and the stability of the training environment that the Cultivators are making such rapid progress? Combining a large amount of data, including the mental sketches of the Cultivators themselves, we have come to a different conclusion — apart from the material, what is more important is the spirit. It is because these Cultivators firmly believe that they are walking on the right path, that they are defending justice, that they are the universal Dao in the sea of stars. Under the encouragement of such faith, they are able to advance courageously, like a hot knife through butter, and constantly break through the limits of human beings!
"The Life Research Institute has summarized the phenomenon into one sentence — the training of human beings depends on their own efforts, but what matters more is the torrent of history, the righteousness of a country, and the spirit of a civilization!
"In the past hundred years, countless Cultivators have firmly believed that they are the defenders of justice. Their crazy training and hard work are not just for their family, compatriots, and home but also for the most beautiful, purest, and kindest spirit of mankind. They are not only fighting for the name 'Xing Yao Federation' but also for the name 'justice of mankind'. Or rather, the Federation equals justice!
"Such faith is the source of their strength. It is the biggest reason why the Cultivators of the Federation are much faster in training and upgrade than the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium, and why the Federation has caught up with the Imperium's development speed in only a hundred years and defeated the Black Wind Fleet in the end!
"To be honest, I've lived for almost a thousand years, and I've collected the rise and fall of countless countries and tribes in the past thousands of years from the chroniclers of the predecessors. I've seen all kinds of countries in bizarre shapes and forms, but I've never seen anything like the Federation today … a golden country where the people of various species and life forms can live together without any grudges, where the bottom-level people have an unhindered path of advancement, and where the leadership is relatively honest and ambitious.
"Of course, the Xing Yao Federation is not perfect, but compared to the Imperium, the Holy League, and the insignificant countries scattered at the edge of the cosmos, this place is already the hope of the civilization of mankind.
"Then, if we consider the Xing Yao Federation not as a regular country but as the hope of the civilization of mankind, how are we going to face the war at the center of the cosmos?
"At the center of the cosmos right now, countless people are living a life of darkness that is worse than death.
"Even such miserable days cannot last. The fragile order is about to be completely shattered. Countless Sectors and habitable planets will be mired in the overwhelming ocean of fire. Billions of people will die without a sound, without even leaving their names and screams.
"Those who are lucky enough not to be killed will also become the puppets of the Holy League. Their independent feelings and self-will will be washed away, and they will be branded with the seal of the 'Three Fundamental Laws', leaving irreversible sequelae.
"Or maybe, they will brutalize each other like animals and lunatics in the Land of Sins, where resources are highly scarce and the entire planet is desertified, just like … the Land of Sins in the Martial Meritocrats Sector. They will play the hellish game of survival.
"If we don't stop it, everything will happen in the next couple of years. Nothing can help the poor people at the center of the cosmos to get rid of their miserable fate.
"Of course, I can't say that the 'moderators' are wrong. From the perspective of a dutiful commander and commander of a common country, they have to be responsible for every soldier under their command and the lives of every citizen behind the soldiers. It is only natural that they have to fight for the greatest national interests for their country. It is only natural that they have to do that.
"However, knowing that the billions of people at the center of the cosmos are about to fall into the abyss of destruction, they still watch them die and suffer the most miserable life while calmly calculating the consumption of the Imperium and the Holy League and the best entry point for the Federation to enter the war in two or three years. By then, even if the Federation secures victories on the battlefield and abundant material rewards, how are they going to face the thousands of wronged souls who died miserably? How are they going to face the belief of the Federation itself? When the Cultivators of the Federation try to break into a higher level, how are they going to tell themselves openly that they are training for justice, for all mankind, and for the future of the civilization of mankind? Therefore, justice will protect them, all mankind will support them, and thousands of compatriots of mankind will stand by them and fight side by side with them?
"Don't think that I am suppressing you with groundless theories, everybody. There are traces that can be traced. In the past hundred years, the average training efficiency of the Cultivators of the Federation has increased by 13% compared to the previous hundred years. It is also more than 20% higher than the average training efficiency of the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium in the past hundred years that we collected recently. Do you think that it is just because of good luck that the Federation is blessed?
"In my opinion, this is the core of the problem. The core of the problem is how you view the Xing Yao Federation.
"If you consider the Xing Yao Federation to be a common, ignorant, soulless country, which is no different from the many countries that rose and fell in the sea of stars in the past ten thousand years, and if the wars among the Federation, the Imperium, and the Holy League are just commonplace conflicts of interests for the hegemony of the universe. Then, you are free to continue the discussion of interests that you are worried about. It doesn't matter. It is perfectly normal.
"However, I have to remind you that, as a result, the Federation will completely lose its advantages on the path of belief. The Cultivators, the Immortal Cultivators, and the people of the Holy League will only be the difference between hypocrites and scoundrels. What's the difference? As a result, the Cultivators of the Federation will never be strengthened by their beliefs. They will never be able to achieve a higher training efficiency and a higher success rate than the Immortal Cultivators. They will never be able to win the support of the billions of people at the center of the cosmos.
"How can such a Federation that has lost its belief and its soul compete with the Imperium and the Holy League?
"However, if you, and the millions of Cultivators and warriors, believe that the Xing Yao Federation is not just a common country but a country with a soul, principles, kindness, and justice. It is a country that burns the hope of the civilization of mankind and is destined to liberate all mankind and fight not for interests but for 'justice' and 'liberation', I believe that the faith of all the Cultivators and the warriors of the Federation will be stronger, their beliefs will be purer, and their souls will be firmer. Their training efficiency and success rate will be greatly improved as if they have been injected with cardiac stimulants. Even breakthroughs in battlefields, breakthroughs in battles, breakthroughs in battles, breakthroughs in battles, breakthroughs in battles, and breakthroughs beyond their level will be nonstop. The world of Cultivators of the Federation will undergo brand-new changes and bring you great surprises!
"Hehe. Do excuse me for making you listen to so much nonsense.
"I … I know that it is inappropriate, if not absurd, to talk about 'justice' and 'spirit' in such a high-level and critical meeting without talking about the balance of the enemy's strength and our national interests.
"But it is more like mockery for a demon such as myself to talk about the path of the Cultivators in front of the Cultivators.
"However, other than being a demon, I am also a recorder of history. I am … the maker of the tombstones of the civilization of mankind.
"Everybody dies eventually. Even the most splendid and splendid life is nothing more than a short epitaph on a tombstone. Isn't it the same for a country and a civilization?
"How I hope that the Xing Yao Federation does not forget its original purpose when it is faced with a life-and-death choice and leaves a splendid mark on the tombstone of the civilization of mankind. How I hope that the history of the Xing Yao Federation will not be mixed with the history of other common countries of mankind and vanish into nothingness billions of years later. Instead, it will leave its unique spirit, generous, and fierce ending. With the greatest spirit and the firmest belief, it will become the most brilliant epitaphs and inspire the brand-new civilizations billions of years later!
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