Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

the mental devil said, “then, what are you going to do? the problem you said just now carries no solutions at all!”

li yao said with a smile, “exactly. the problem that so many ancient monarchs and even blackstar the great have failed to address is certainly too difficult for me who is only good at refining and fighting to resolve, if i can understand it at all!

“so, i have thought everything through. since i do not have the wisdom to solve the problem, i might as well be a pair of dutiful eyes for the federation.”

the mental devil asked suspiciously, “eyes for the federation?”

“yes. the imperium of true human beings is in the middle of an outbreak of conflicts that have been accumulated for a thousand years and an unprecedentedly drastic transformation. i don’t know how to change the federation, and it is barely possible for me to completely change the imperium with my own hands. so, i might as well be the eye of the federation and observe how the imperium of true human beings is going to fix the problems.

“i don’t think that the reformists led by the queen will succeed, but even the lessons of failure will still be very valuable. i will observe everything at the closest distance and record the changes that are happening in the imperium. one day, i will bring what i have seen, heard, and experienced in person back to the federation, hoping that the politicians, educators, economists, and sociologists who are a hundred times smarter than me, and even every future citizen of the federation, can learn something from the lessons of the imperium. everybody can work and think together to prevent the star glory federation from repeating the mistakes of the ancient dynasties, the star ocean republic, and the imperium of true human beings, to avoid the swirl of degeneration that has looped for ten thousand years, and to create a better future!

“if i can really do that well, i will be able to search for earth without any guilt. the things in the future can be left to the hands of the future people. haha. i believe that a new generation of federal citizens who are stronger, smarter, and more excellent than ding lingdang, jin xinyue, and i will show up. they can take care of the upsetting mess!”

the mental devil said, “i sense that your belief is slowly condensing and consolidating. your level seems to have made a minor improvement.”

“of course.”

li yao smiled in his heart. “after knowing what i’m going to do exactly, i am completely relaxed, no longer disturbed by confusion and chaos. it is only natural that my belief is firmer!”

he strode forward. it was not until then that he remembered li jialing was still under his armpit. glancing at the golden-haired young man who was still angry, he couldn’t help but grin and ask him in private, “what’s up? are you still mad at the queen?”

li jialing’s dark golden eyes constricted as he said sullenly, “am i qualified to be mad at the queen? it was already kind enough of her to spare my life.”

li yao blinked his eyes and put li jialing down as he continued talking in secret, “don’t talk like that. the queen’s heart is obviously not as cold as her face. if she is not concerned about your safety, why would she ask me to pick a high-level crystal suit for you from her personal warehouse and to adjust it and train you in person? she could’ve cladded you with a random mass-produced product, couldn’t she?

“also, if she is not concerned about you, why do you think she analyzed the situation of the imperium today so eloquently in such great detail just now?”

li jialing bulged his eyes. “huh?”

li yao said with a smile, “if she only meant to talk me into joining her cause, it would’ve been unnecessary to explain the details so clearly, especially the dangers in the imperium today and the purpose of her many methods. those things were spoken to me on the surface but to you in fact. it is some sort of tutelage of a mother for her son.”

excited, the young man stammered, “is-is it true?”

“how would i know? it’s just a random guess.”

li yao rolled his eyes. “you want to know if it is true? very simple. you can go and ask the queen.”

li jialing was rendered speechless in fury.

“however, there is one thing that neither the queen nor li lingfeng lied about. the imperium is truly a stunning mess right now.”

patting the young man’s shoulder, li yao said seriously, “in such an imperium, you can never find a peaceful life of absolute freedom that you want. in the imperium today, there is only one kind of freedom, which is the freedom of fighting!

“later, i will help you pick an advanced crystal suit and teach you some pragmatic tactics. i hope you can focus your attention because i cannot stay by your side and save your life every time. for yourself, the queen and your birth father whom you never saw, you’d better… not die!”

li jialing was slightly dazed and deep in thought. feeble fighting will flowed out of his dark golden eyes.

while they were talking, tu zhengdao stopped at the end of the pathway. “fellow cultivators, we have arrived.”

shua!

the metal cabin carved with the lightning trident emblem of the imperium of true human beings was slowly opened, and the weird fragrance from the smoldering heavenly materials and earthly treasures, mixed with the scent of metal cutting and polishing, greeted the newcomers.

the fulminations of the various kinds of refining magical equipment also enshrouded them like tides.

the enormous maintenance workshop before li yao was as splendid and profound as a palace, making him feel that he was inside the magical equipment factory on a large planet instead of a warship in space.

as far as his eyes could reach, assembly lines that were swallowing and spitting components were everywhere. the multipurpose, automatic arms extended from the sides of the assembly lines under the control of the crystal processors, performing dazzling operations.

they were carving complicated runes, combining the chips that were as thin as paper to the breadboard, or completing the assembly of hundreds of tiny components within a breath. under the illumination of lights, they were like a silver, exuberant forest of metals.

behind the assembly lines, at least thousands of refiners were dedicated to the manual polishing and maintenance work that could not be accomplished by machines.

li yao’s eyes fell on each of the refiners. he found that their eyes were focused and energetic, their hands deft and steady, and their movements as smooth as the flowing mercury. powerful and stable waves of spiritual energy surrounded them. they were definitely specialists in the standard of the star glory federation.

li yao couldn’t help but compliment in secret. the imperium of true human beings truly had a huge talent base. even a private troop that li linghai secretly founded behind the back of the four kurfürst families boasted such a technological reserve!

however, his attention was soon attracted by the tempest god at the end of the maintenance workshop, which was leaning against a fixed maintenance shelf.

a colossus was always a colossus. no matter how many of them he had seen and touched, and although the wounds on this very colossus were caused by him in person, it was still full of fatal captivation and made it impossible for him to move his eyes away.

“brother li.”

tu zhengdao hadn’t recovered from the fear when li yao pressed his shoulder earlier. as an experienced battle-type expert in the nascent soul stage, he naturally knew that, if li yao could press his shoulder without alarming him at all, the man could certainly cut his throat without blinking.

with such astonishing capabilities, the man should be a revered celebrity even in the imperium that had tons of experts.

tu zhengdao had been working in the military for years. he knew a thing or two about the experts of the hundreds of sectors and fleets in the imperium, and he was no stranger to the spiritual energy models and the skills of killing of the major schools. but he could not figure out li yao’s origins at all.

however, having become the queen’s personal bodyguard and taken part in such a crucial mission such as the execution of li lingfeng, the man must be the queen’s trusted subordinate—if not the most trusted one.

therefore, tu zhengdao was very respectful of li yao. weighing his choice of words, he said, “her grace asked me to provide all the help that brother li needs. whatever you may need, be they heavenly materials and earthly treasures, strengthening drugs, or magical equipment for battles, you can find them here. if brother li is interested in the colossus over there, you are free to examine it at a closer distance too.

“however, if i may remind brother li, the general manager of this maintenance workshop is master ‘jin tianzong’, the chief director of magical equipment of our deep sea fleet. he happens to be on board with us this time to provide technical support for her grace and the battle against li lingfeng and to deal with the ‘tempest god’.

“he is a master of refining in the divinity transformation stage that everybody in the circle knows. the queen went through a lot of trouble to invite him to join the deep sea fleet. his place is rather unique, and he can’t be treated as a simple subordinate.

“therefore, now that we have come to his maintenance workshop, you might want to check with him first if you need anything, brother li. naturally, given the queen’s order, he will certainly not decline your request!

“also, if you make friends with master jin, it will certainly be greatly beneficial for your training and fighting in the future. it is absolutely not a problem for the crystal suit that he adjusts in person to improve your maximal combat ability by 3% to 5%!”

a refiner in the divinity transformation stage!his heart racing, li yao couldn’t help but lick his lips and beam with interest.

as long as someone could advance into the divinity transformation stage, whatever their professions and gifts were, they would definitely be the expert of the experts. even the leaders of the four kurfürst families had to show enough respect for them. they were indeed not common subordinates.

it was just like when the queen tried to recruit li yao, she had to explain her ambitions and principles clearly first, describing the future that she envisioned, in order to seek common grounds. she couldn’t just simply offer a salary or propose other conditions.

li linghai’s private troop that had been hiding in the dark had attracted a master of refining in the divinity transformation stage, which immediately improved li yao’s evaluation of the queen’s capabilities.

of course, more importantly, he felt that his fingers were itching and burning again!

thinking for a moment, li yao narrowed his eyes and asked li jialing with the private-talking technique, “who is this ‘master jin tianzong’? have you heard of him before? is he very impressive?”

li jialing was a super warrior that li lingfeng carefully refined and raised as half an “heir”. having been informed of abundant intelligence in various fields of the imperium, he was naturally not ignorant of such a famous celebrity as jin tianzong. he simply bulged his eyes again and exclaimed in disbelief, “it’s him? he is still alive?”