Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“The Immortal Cultivators believe in survival of the fittest and infinite evolution,” Heiye Lan explained. “The strong who stand at the peak of evolution are naturally qualified to govern the weak in order to facilitate the high-speed development of the whole civilization.

“If we must surrender to anyone, of course, we are only willing to surrender to the strongest!

“Who else in the entire Star Glory Federation deserves the title of ‘the strongest’ if not Master Li?”

Heiye Lan and Li Yao were in a very subtle relationship. They were both cooperating and in some sort of chain of command.

Li Yao did not intend to recruit a fourth true disciple right now, nor did he think that Heiye Lan could be compared to Jin Xinyue and his other disciples. However, he had taught Heiye Lan some secret arts of refining of the ancient Cultivators. It was not entirely inappropriate for her to address him as ‘master’.

“Is that so?” Li Yao sniffed. “Why do I feel that there are plenty of people in the federation who are stronger than me? I’m only at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. Leaving the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators aside, I am not even confident of my victory if faced with Ding Lingdang or Yan Liren when he’s drawn his sword of ten thousand kilometers.”

“The Imperium pays more attention to practice. The classification of strength does not depend on levels but on accomplishments.” Heiye Lan looked at Li Yao in the most admiring way. “At the most critical moment, Master Li defeated the extraterrestrial devil in Hundred Flowers City first before jumping out of nowhere and destroying the space gate of the Black Wind Fleet. Even my father, the highest commander of the Black Wind Fleet, was killed by you in the eyes of most people in the Black Wind Fleet.

“It is needless to say that you were a mental symbol of the Star Glory Federation in the first place and the most powerful strongman in the country. The so-called Speaker of the Federation or the leaders of the few top-ranking sects are but your puppets.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Li Yao hurried to wave his hands. “What are you talking about? ‘Strongman’? ‘Puppets’? The Speaker of the Federation happens to be my wife, the few top-ranking sects in the federation happen to have my shares, and the leaders of the few secret agencies in the federation happen to have some history with me!

“You know that I am a very low-profile man. The titles such as ‘dominator of three sectors’ are just vain names that were forced upon me. I feel quite bothered, too!”

“Yes, yes, of course. Everybody at the edge of the cosmos knows that Master Li is approachable and prefers to keep a low profile,” Heiye Lan said respectfully. “Anyone who spends a few days with Master Li will know what a man of honor and integrity you are and how you despise money and power. You grew up to be one of the most powerful persons in the Star Glory Federation by sheer luck. It was absolutely not your intention.

“It is a pity that most people are ignorant and best at speculating about great men with their petty mind. They can barely understand your profoundness. In the meantime, most of the people in the Black Wind Fleet have never had the chance to communicate with Master Li deeply, and they could only look at the issue from the surface. If they are to infer everything based on their own experience, how can they believe that it’s just a coincidence?

“Well, a theory seems to be prevalent among the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet right now—when the mantis is hunting the cicada, the sparrow is behind to take them both. But the sparrow is still not the final winner, because a hunter has already aimed a gun at it.

“The federation was the cicada, the Black Wind Fleet was the mantis, the extraterrestrial devils were the sparrow, and you were the hunter, Master Li. In fact, everything was within your calculations and part of your trap. The Star Glory Federation, the Black Wind Fleet, and the extraterrestrial devils were all manipulated by you like toys!”

Li Yao’s eyelids were twitching rapidly. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, of course. I’m serious,” Heiye Lan said solemnly. “Your grand return in the space battle was too stunning and coincidental. All the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet now regard you as a strategist whose scheme never fails and the real helmsman of the Star Glory Federation, some sort of great boss sitting behind the curtain. You don’t know how much they admire you!”

Li Yao was dumbfounded. “Really? They even ‘admire’ me? But we are mortal enemies!”

Heiye Lan shook her head. “We indeed had a fight, but I don’t think that there is really an unresolvable grudge between us, is there? After all, both the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators are humans who stand at the peak of evolution. We are all compatriots. When we are faced with the Pangu Civilization, the extraterrestrial devils, and the alien species, the minor contradiction between us is not a big deal at all.

“The Imperium of True Human Beings always maintains high internal competition. The friction among the Sectors is nothing unusual. However, as soon as the final victor is decided, the weak obey the strong and pledge loyalty to them, becoming part of the strong. This is our strategy of survival and development.

“After all, the purpose of competition is evolution, not dying together with the enemy. The people of the Imperium are no idiots!”

Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense.

Heiye Lan went on. “In order to strike the morale of the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet and motivate them to surrender, quite a few versions of our ‘letters of persuasion’ seem to have adopted such a theory, too. They embroidered and exaggerated the adventures you had in the past hundred years and the grand return at the last moment, giving the feeling that you had everything planned out beforehand. Right. Some of the paragraphs were actually written by Master Han Baling.”

“…Funny!”

“The Immortal Cultivators are very proud of our strength.” Heiye Lan bit her lip. “Before you showed up, Master Li, we were suppressing the federal fleets. Had you not returned with twelve Colossi thunderously, we would’ve smashed the Burning Prairie Fleet into smithereens!

“Do you think that the soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet would agree to surrender to the Burning Prairie Fleet, which they thought they could’ve defeated? You were the key to the failure of the Black Wind Fleet. The members of the Black Wind Fleet will not complain if they are surrendering to you.”Visit on our ReadNovelFull

“Fine.” Li Yao accepted Heiye Lan’s theory, however reluctantly, but the details of the negotiation made him frown hard again.

The defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet, commanded by General Di Feiwen, were willing to negotiate with the Star Glory Federation and even completely surrender on appropriate terms.

However, their negotiation had one prerequisite. Not only did they demand to only negotiate with Li Yao, Li Yao was also to fight three experts of the Black Wind Fleet before the negotiation started!

What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Naturally, Li Yao was not a pacifist, but he was not a barbaric warrior from the medieval age, either.

When two armies were clashing, he would not mind charging forward on his own to slay the enemy’s general and cripple their morale, but the Black Wind Fleet was already at a dead end, and they were still hoping to decide the future of the fleet by personal valor?

That was ridiculous!

“Is there something wrong with General Di Feiwen’s head?” Li Yao scoffed. “He thinks that he can haggle with us because he has a whole Black Wind Fleet in his hands? Our army has such a great advantage right now that we can easily win a war of attrition. Why would I go there and fight the simple warriors of the Black Wind Fleet?”

“Please don’t be hasty, Master Li,” Heiye Lan explained. “General Di Feiwen is the vice commander of the Black Wind Fleet after all and does not have the absolute power and prestige like my father. Besides, the Black Wind Fleet is divided, and his orders won’t necessarily be carried out on every starship.

“While he sincerely plans to negotiate and even surrender to the federation, the captains and commanders of the branch fleets may think otherwise. To convince all the officers, the magnificence of the federation must be shown to the fleet near the brown dwarf that did not participate in the last battle.

“The parties could establish battle formation and have another battle, but that would result in major casualties on both sides. The starships of both the federation and the Imperium have a lot of soldiers who are ordinary people. Since the Star Glory Federation values the lives of the ordinary people, it is unnecessary for the blood of the ordinary people to be shed for nothing. The competition of the experts may seem outdated and stupid, but it will minimalize the sacrifices, won’t it?”

Li Yao did not bother to blink his eyes. “What if I say no? Negotiation requires bargaining chips. Tell me about it. What bargaining chips does Di Feiwen have?”

“He does have some.” Sensing Li Yao’s rising fury, Heiye Lan felt chilly. She calmed herself and said, “General Di Feiwen said that if you reject his demands, Master Li, he will command the fleet near the brown dwarf to split into smaller groups and jump to the other worlds of the federation, especially the underdeveloped ones such as the Water Crystal Sector, the Nether World Sector, and the Forest Ocean Sector.

“Without the navigation of the space gate, it will be impossible for them to remain organized, but it will be unnecessary to keep organized because they will become the most brutal space pirates and flee in the vast sea of stars for the sole purposes of harassment and sabotage. It will take the federal army three to five years to annihilate them.

“Three to five years is more than enough for them to foment panic in the underdeveloped worlds, slow down the development of the federation, and create more conflicts among the Sectors.”

Li Yao narrowed his eyes, with coldness beaming out.

“Besides…” Heiye Lan could not help but gulp. “If you decline, General Di will report everything that happened here to the Imperium dutifully and emphasize on the richness of the federation and its potential threat.

“He will even jump back to the homeland of the Imperium. Even if he has to live under somebody else’s roof, he will try to facilitate the second expedition to the federation!

“In the second expedition, they will bear the lesson they learned this time in mind and will not give the federation a one percent chance of victory. That is the vow of Di Feiwen, an Immortal Cultivator!”

Li Yao’s teeth rubbed softly, uttering three syllables at a fixed pace. “Di… Fei… Wen?”

Heiye Lan almost found it impossible to breathe. It was not until Li Yao slightly retracted his aura that she was able to finish. “Thirdly, right now, the fleet near the brown dwarf is basically intact. It has the most advanced comprehensive supply starships and other models of starships from the Imperium, which are invaluable treasures for the Star Glory Federation.

“If you are willing to negotiate, Master Li, General Di Feiwen promises that all the starships will be handed over to the federal government in perfect condition, without even the damage of a screw or a hominoid soldier. That’s exactly what he said in the letter.”

“Is it a threat?” Li Yao demanded.

Heiye Lan gritted her teeth. “General Di Feiwen prefers to view it as his sincerity for the negotiation. As you said, games require bargaining chips. Now, he has presented all his bargaining chips, and it is up to you if the game will be played.”