The laughter made Li Yao shudder. He felt that he was back to the horror when he was enveloped by Yan Xibei, Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, Elder Nether Spring, and Wuying Qi.
"… No."
Li Yao mumbled. Although his voice was low, it sounded more determined than ever in the middle of Lu Qingchen's crazy laughter and the chaos around him. "I can't do that."
Lu Qingchen's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
He bulged his eyes, which were half cold and half scorching, as if he were cutting Li Yao's soul apart and seeing through his messy thoughts.
"Why?"
Lu Qingchen asked in disbelief. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't consider the possibility because of the heavy wounds on your soul and your computational ability. But right now, I've analyzed the whole situation clearly to you. You should know that I'm not bluffing at all. The Federation has never been so close to the ultimate victory before. Such a victory is beyond our imagination. Even the children of the Federation, who have the most vivid imaginations, only dare to say that 'one day, we will dominate the entire universe'. But right now, there is no need for 'one day'. Today, in this very second, the Federation will secure the ultimate victory as long as you nod your head and move your finger!"
"Well —"
Li Yao raised his whip. "Excuse me, but I don't have fingers."
"…"
Lu Qingchen took a deep breath. The pity and regret on his face were even more intense. He said gloomily, "You have changed, Li Yao. You do not look like a pure patriot and a Cultivator anymore. Why did you turn down my kindness to your motherland and even stop my motherland from destroying its greatest enemy? Are you full of sympathy for the Immortal Cultivators? Have you really developed feelings for your cheap brother? Are you so addicted to such a life that you can't free yourself from it and really consider yourself to be 'Black Wind King Li Yao' of the Imperium of True Human Beings? "
"I'm not."
Li Yao smiled bitterly. "You know that I'm definitely not such a person. That's definitely not what I mean."
"Then what exactly do you mean? Why are you so soft-hearted and hesitant at such a critical moment?"
Lu Qingchen roared in fury. "I still remember that you executed the Pangu in the Kunlun relic more than a hundred years ago. I was still a child at that time, and I couldn't accept the fact that my grandfather was killed because of you. I hated you so much. But even so, when I learned that you could even kill a 'god', I was still deeply shocked by your strength, determination, and ruthlessness!
"You are a hero who can even slay gods and demons mercilessly for the supreme interests of the Federation. Do you know how many children have watched the scene of you killing the Pangu on all kinds of media since they were young? Do you know how many children have watched you killing the Pangu repeatedly since they were young? It has become an unforgettable memory and they regard you as their greatest idol. It is a pity that even the greatest heroes and idols cannot stand the erosion of time. After more than a hundred years, you have changed. You are weak, corrupted, and shameless. You have learned how to compromise with the enemy!
"Hilarious. Truly hilarious. I considered myself an Immortal Cultivator of the Xing Yao Federation and thought that the true path of the Cultivators and the true path of immortality could be melded into the 'true path of immortality'. But even so, I never thought of compromising with the Imperium and believed that only after the Xing Yao Federation conquered the entire universe could the true path of immortality be implemented under the leadership of the Federation. I didn't expect that you, who claimed to be the firmest Cultivator, would retreat, cower, and compromise at such a critical moment!
"I can ignore our personal grudges, and I can ignore your shameless body that is wriggling in front of me. But I did not expect that your 'virtues of an ordinary person' would take effect again when it comes to the rise and fall of our country. You have turned into a stupid and kind-hearted high school student again. I'm so disappointed, Vulture Li Yao. You are such a disappointment!"
Lu Qingchen roared in fury, venting his feelings that had accumulated for years, if not more than a hundred years.
Li Yao was like a dry leaf in a wild wind, or rather, an earthworm in a swirl, rolling back and forth among the surging tides.
"Calm down, Lu Qingchen. Listen to me. I hope to win the battle, too, so that the Federation will become the dominator of the universe immediately, and I will become the greatest hero on the path of the Federation's rise. But things are not so simple. Let's think about it carefully. Let's think about it carefully!"
Li Yao waved his flagella and struggled to say, "I agree to join hands with you, but things can't be done the way you do. Too many people will be killed because of it. Let's think about it. Let's think about it carefully!
"Why? Why are you unwilling to take such a great opportunity?"
Lu Qingchen turned a deaf ear to him. Completely dwelling in his own feelings and logic, he raised thunderbolts and surging tides. Suddenly, his eyes froze. Staring at Li Yao, he said, "I understand it now. You don't believe me."
"Huh?"
Li Yao was too busy grabbing Xiaoming and Wenwen, the two little 'plankton', to understand what Lu Qingchen meant at the moment.
"You don't believe that I am sincerely joining hands with you. You would rather believe the Immortal Cultivators than me. You must think that I am doing everything for my own selfish desires and ambitions, and that I will do whatever I want after I control the Fuxi fleet, right?"
Two drops of tears suddenly flowed out of Lu Qingchen's eyes. They were made of countless sad, wronged, and lonely messages. They were particularly dazzling even in the violent ocean of data. "How can you do that? You can doubt everything about me, but how can you doubt my loyalty to my motherland? 'For the supreme interests of the Federation, the Cultivators can sacrifice everything'. Isn't that what you taught me more than a hundred years ago? "
"Yes, yes, yes. I never said that I didn't believe you!"
Li Yao managed a smile. "My good nephew, listen to me —"
"Shut up!"
Lu Qingchen's eyes were bloodshot, and he almost went crazy. He bashed his chest hard. "Why do you think I went through all the trouble to plan everything? Why do you think I've been fighting a battle of wits and bravery with such a thousand-year-old monster as Fuxi and even suffered the excruciating pain of the self-detonation of my soul twice? Was it only for my own selfish interests and my personal ambitions? No. You were wrong. You couldn't have been more wrong. If the reason that supported me to fight all the way was only for myself, it would have been impossible for me to resist the swallowing and corruption of Fuxi in every reincarnation. It would have been impossible for me to crawl out of the abyss of death and become what I am right now!
"I did not do it for myself but for the Federation. What I said before the second self-detonation was true. They were all from the bottom of my heart. I did not lie to you. Even when I drifted in the sea of stars as a broken soul, I was still thinking hard about the future of the Federation. When I was captured by the old monster Fuxi and sensed the great secret behind the Holy League, I was both surprised and overjoyed. I was surprised that the Federation might not be able to resist such an evil force, and I was overjoyed that the force had a one in a billion chance that it could be used by me and the Federation.
"No matter how many torments I endured and how many reincarnations I suffered, I had to keep the last bit of consciousness. Even if I forgot that I was Lu Qingchen and everything else, I could not forget the Xing Yao Federation and that I was a member of the Federation.
"I had to defeat Fuxi, swallow his strength, and defeat the Imperium with the strength. I would deliver my motherland to the throne of the dominator of the universe. I would burn my life to protect my motherland and become the guardian of the Xing Yao Federation and the civilization of mankind forever!
"This was my brand-new belief. Without the support of the entire Federation, how could I have woken up after billions of reincarnations? How could I have unleashed such immense strength and swallowed Fuxi completely?
"If you are suspicious of my motives, fine. I'm willing to open the most secret data of my soul to you so that you can monitor my every move. I'm even willing to share the control of the entire Fuxi fleet with you so that we can give the order to attack the Fuxi fleet together.
"Furthermore, if you think that I have to be responsible for the losses caused by the 'Virtualization Plan', I'm willing to go to the court of the Federation, too. After all, in retrospect, the plan was indeed a bit rash with a lot of unnecessary omissions. Some of the loyal warriors of the Federation were even killed because of it.
"I'm willing to accept the punishment of the national law, defend the seriousness of the law, and satisfy your overflowing sense of justice. In any case, with my current life form, no matter how harsh the punishment is, I can withstand it. I've even survived countless reincarnations, so what's the big deal?
"However, the premise of everything is exactly what I said just now. We have to take down the Imperium together and completely destroy the military foundation of the Imperium of True Human Beings so that the Xing Yao Federation can become the strongest country in the universe, if not the only one, and restore the glory of the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago.
"With everything I've said, trust me for once, Vulture Li Yao!"
Lu Qingchen was so sincere that he was almost crying.
Li Yao had never felt so conflicted before. Lu Qingchen was obviously a hundred times more difficult to deal with than he was during the 'Virtualization Plan'. Li Yao did not even have the slightest intention to go against him.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Lu Qingchen. I know that you are indeed a true patriot, but — but —"
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