While the Immortal Cultivators were deeply awed by the Cultivators' fearlessness and selflessness, the emperor and the empress dowager of the Imperium of True Human Beings observed in silence not far away. Both of them were dazzled by Li Yao's madness and Yan Liren's recklessness.
"Your Majesty, don't act recklessly!"
Although Li Jialing had not done anything yet, Li Linghai already knew what the young lion was up to. He reminded him subconsciously, "It is very dangerous down there. Accidents may happen at any moment. If the main structure of Iron Fist completely collapses, it is very likely that the fuel warehouse and the arsenal will explode. Should the Colossus be affected by the explosion and lose a lot of momentum or be pushed deeper into the ancient giant planet, we will be screwed!"
"I know. I know."
Li Jialing watched in a daze. Swallowing hard, he mumbled in an almost inaudible voice, "However, Your Majesty, do you know that most of the specialists and scholars on Iron Fist are from the Imperium? They are all my subjects and Immortal Cultivators."
"Well —"
Li Linghai was stunned for a moment, lost for words.
It was only natural. The Imperium of True Human Beings at the center of the cosmos had a hundred times more specialists in astronomy and spiritual energy than the Federation at the remote area in the first place. Naturally, the specialists in the exploration team were mostly natives of the Imperium.
But right now, the first, second, third, and tenth who had rushed down to save the entire starship of people from the Imperium were not Immortal Cultivators but Cultivators.
"Your Majesty, haven't you and all the Immortal Cultivators been considering the same question? Why is the Imperium of True Human Beings so hard fought in the battle to protect the capital despite having countless experts at the peak of the Yuanying Realm and the Divinity Transformation Stage, the most prosperous planet and the most abundant resources in the entire universe, and a fleet that is as magnificent as a galaxy? We even have to count on a tiny Xing Yao Federation and the Cultivators who are far weaker than us to save us. The answer may be right in front of our eyes."
Li Jialing smiled, with the most intense admiration and envy beaming out of his eyes. He went on, "Your Highness, honestly speaking, after seeing the performance of those Cultivators, do you not want to have such an army, an army that can sacrifice everything for their ideology without hesitation?"
Li Ling was tempted.
Of course, no matter how strong the cultivators were, their will to fight and their spirit of sacrifice were unparalleled in the world. Which ambitious and ambitious person would not want to have such an army?
If the belief of the Cultivators and the strength of the Immortal Cultivators could be combined, they would definitely be invincible enough to charge at the ultimate army of the multiverse!
"But, would such an army fall from the sky for no reason?"
Li Jialing's voice suddenly turned aggressive. "Is it possible that such a loyal, sacrificial army will fall from the sky and pledge loyalty to me from the bottom of their hearts if I do nothing but watch the fire from the other side of the river and ensure that every hair on my body is safe and sound?
"No. Such an army, such an unstoppable 'saber of the civilization of mankind', must be raised and polished slowly. Only those who lead the charge and polish them in person are qualified to be 'saber bearers'!"
"Your Majesty —"
Li Linghai was lost for words. He could only say drily, "Think carefully!"
"I have already 'thought carefully'."
Li Jialing said calmly, "Your Highness, please think carefully too. Go through the list of all the Immortal Cultivators who are involved in the operation in your head and then tell me, if you and I are heavily wounded deep inside the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum and need somebody to save us, who do you think is most likely to come to our rescue without caring about their own life?"
"Well …"
The names and faces of all the Immortal Cultivators popped up in Li Linghai's head, but his heart suddenly constricted, and all the names and faces were gone in the blink of an eye, only to be replaced by a smiling, cunning, and cynical face.
"It's Li Yao, isn't it?"
Li Jialing smiled and said, "Your Highness, the first person you thought of was Li Yao, right?"
Li Linghai was silent.
"Don't you find it ironic?"
Li Jialing said, "So many Immortal Cultivators have reached the peak of the Yuanying Stage or even the Divinity Transformation Stage on average, boasting marvelous arts and unparalleled techniques, and they have all knelt on the ground and pledged their loyalty to us. But at the critical moment, the first person you thought of was still not those 'loyal subjects' but Li Yao, a guy who may or may not be counted as a member of the Imperium, a reckless, idiotic, naïve, and childish 'hot-blooded high school student'. How ironic! It is not just an ironic remark for the emperor and the empress dowager but also the most absurd joke in the entire Imperium of True Human Beings in the past thousand years!
"It's been too long. The most absurd joke has hovered above the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium for too long. Your Highness, isn't your greatest dream to reform the Imperium? Then, let's take the first step of reform by completely shattering the joke!"
The gold lion unleashed such dazzling brilliance that even the halo above his head was eclipsed.
All the Immortal Cultivators sensed the emperor's anomaly and were greatly shocked.
"Your Majesty!"
Li Linghai shouted, "Are you really going to save him?"
"If I don't save him right now, who will save me in the future?"
Li Jialing narrowed his eyes. The brilliance on the Colossus seemed to have unfolded ten thousand golden blades. "… I am the child of the universe, the dominator of the sea of stars, and the immortal emperor of all the stars in the universe of Pangu! Black holes, white holes, supernovae, neutron stars, white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, planets, comets, nebulas, and every grain of dust in the vacuum, I am their dominator!
"If even a tiny giant planet can stop me, what kind of 'emperor of the universe' am I?"
Li Jialing roared and pointed his gold saber at the ancient giant star, cutting apart the debris and the invisible magnetic field as he charged at Iron Fist Ship.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
Although most of the Immortal Cultivators were shocked, they were not prepared to attack at all. They did not expect that their emperor would lead the charge. They were immediately dumbfounded and caught in a dilemma.
"What are you waiting for?"
Having no other choice, Li Linghai roared in the communication channel, "Military credits are the most important thing in the Imperium. The primeval treasures in the mausoleum must be distributed according to military credits, too. Do you really need me to teach you such a simple logic? Do you all want to open your mouths and wait for the primeval treasures to fall into your mouths?
"Immortal Cultivators who swear to follow His Majesty, move out and fight the ancient giant star!"
Hardly had he concluded his sentence when Li Linghai accelerated to the highest speed and followed Li Jialing.
Now that the emperor and the empress dowager had set an example, what choice did the rest of the Immortal Cultivators have?
It was one thing for all the Immortal Cultivators to stay out of harm's way, but most of the Immortal Cultivators had pledged their loyalty to His Majesty, and the few remaining Immortal Cultivators who pretended to be smart enough to do nothing would be idiotic enough to get themselves killed.
No matter how many people could be saved, as long as the Emperor and the Empress Dowager could come back safe and sound, it would be clear who was the most loyal official and who was the selfish coward. Would these "cowards" still have any good fruit to eat?
Not only would they not get any primordial treasures at all, they might also be killed by the emperor and the empress dowager without alarming anyone. In the journey of treasure exploration that was full of traps and dangers, it couldn't have been easier to eliminate the dissidents and purge the team. Li Jialing might've been a beginner, but Li Linghai was definitely an expert who was familiar with the job!
Just like that, with complicated feelings, the battle-type Immortal Cultivators, who were best at preserving their strength, could only grit their teeth and charge at Iron Fist.
Perhaps because of the intense interferences caused by the arrival of human beings, especially the Colossi, a new storm was brewing in the methane atmosphere of the ancient giant star. Lightning, like a volcanic eruption, turned into the sharp claws of devils and snatched at the gravity circle outside of the atmosphere.
It seemed that the ancient giant star was infuriated!
However, even the fury of a giant planet could not swallow the burning will of human beings.
"You're here! You're all here! You're all here!"
Li Yao laughed crazily while vomiting blood. "Honey, Senior Brother, Boss Bai, Long Yangjun, Yan Liren, the emperor, the empress dowager … You're all here. Aya. I knew it. I'm not bragging, but my personal charm —"
"Cut the crap!"
Ding Ling Dong frowned and said, "Even if you are my husband, I would like to kick you into the atmosphere of the ancient giant star on behalf of everybody!"
Li Yao: "Well …"
"Alright. Reckless or not, now that the rescue operation has begun, let's try our best to rescue Iron Fist and everybody on board!"
A Boxing Champion's steady voice came over. He had just completed an unbelievable, super complicated calculation with the mainframe crystal processor of Iron Fist. Not caring that the mainframe crystal processor was about to burn up, he sent out parameters and tasks to all the Colossi that were swarming over. "Li Yao, you will lead twenty-two Colossi and deploy them around the shell of Iron Fist as temporary auxiliary power sources. Remember the magnitude and direction of the thrust that you will output. Make sure that everybody is exerting their strength in the same direction so that Iron Fist can be pushed outward without damaging its main structure!"
"Understood."
Colorful numbers were flashing inside Li Yao's eyes, too. "I've already calculated everything!"
"Ding Ling Dong, Yan Liren, your attack ability is relatively high. Lead thirty-eight heavy-firepower Colossi to block all the rushing meteoroids in the stone belt."
A Boxing Champion went on. "Remember, do not let even a speck of dust pass through your defense line. At such a high speed, the collision of any speck of dust will be no worse than the bombardment of cannons. Iron Fist right now cannot withstand such collisions."
"Rest assured."
Yan Liren smiled. "Nothing can escape the cover of my sword aura, neither the electric arcs on the ancient giant star nor the dust inside the halo!
"The emperor, the empress dowager, you will lead all the remaining Colossi and the Crystal Suit Legions that they belong to and pay attention to the situation inside the atmosphere of the ancient giant star.
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