Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Some rumors said that “Vulture Li Yao” was the strongest “secret weapon” of the Imperium’s army, and that he had been fighting arduous battles against the super experts of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant in the dark, desolate space zones in the frontline.

Some rumors claimed that “Vulture Li Yao” was an expert from the royal family and that his ancestors had protected the emperors dutifully for generations. They had been defending the throne since the age of Blackstar the Great. So, they were the first-generation Immortal Cultivators.

This time, His Majesty simply could not hold it back anymore and therefore asked him to protect the generals, veterans, and people who were in the crying ceremony.

The rumors were so vivid and elaborate as if somebody did see this “Vulture Li Yao” raging unstoppably in the frontline or in the royal family.

Encouraged by the rumors and instigated by certain people, countless people were already raising their hands at the gold Colossus and shouted, “A Colossus! His Majesty has sent a Colossus to protect us! His Majesty supports our effort. Long live His Majesty! Long live the Imperium!”

Zhao Zhenwu was both dumbfounded and grew suspicious. As someone who experienced the Imperium’s counterattack in person, he had never heard anything about “Gold Vulture” or “Vulture Li Yao” in his ten years of battles.

On the other hand, the Imperium’s counterattack involved four battle areas, dozens of worlds, and hundreds of resource planets. The battlefield spanned thousands of lightyears and far exceeded the observation of any individual. Nobody was confident to say that they knew every war in every space zone.

Therefore, if the guy was really a secret warrior from the dark frontline, it wouldn’t be unusual that he had never heard the name before.

But one thing was certain at least. Judging from the overwhelming gold flames of spiritual energy, both the Colossus and the user were incredibly strong. He was indeed qualified to be called a super expert of the Imperium!

A super battle-type Immortal Cultivator, using a Colossus that was exceptionally extravagant from whichever perspective, couldn’t have appeared out of thin air, right?

Therefore, chances were that he was really a secret weapon of the army, or a bodyguard who was responsible for His Majesty’s safety!

Zhao Zhenwu peeped at Chu Tianhe next to him, only to discover that Chu Tianhe was staring at the gold Colossus in the midair in obvious astonishment too.

However, the organizer of the crying ceremony soon calmed down. Lowering his voice, he spoke to Zhao Zhenwu, “Brother Zhenwu, do you believe me now? It is very possible that we can win the gamble. If we wager everything on the game, everything we lost will come back to us after we win!”

Zhao Zhenwu realized that it was true. The fire of desire flowing in his eyes was burning more vehemently than ever, and he clenched both the fist of flesh and that of iron.

Chu Tianhe was quite right. With everything coming to this point, there was no need to consider if they were taken advantage of by somebody else. To be taken advantage of meant that they still had value but were not garbage that could not be used at all!

There was no need to bother where the Colossus came from as long as the Colossus was on their side. After all, they only needed to make things big, and he would have his everything… and his wife back!

“Long live His Majesty! Long live the Imperium!”

Zhao Zhenwu waved his arms hard at the Gold Vulture in the midair and roared desperately.

The roars of thousands of generals, veterans, and common people seemed to have been condensed into the purest fuel that was injected into the Gold Vulture, allowing the awe-inspiring Colossus to release the most glamorous gold waves.

Letting out earsplitting explosions in midair, the Colossus lunged at the fleet of the Dongfang family that was deployed on the east side of the mausoleum in a streak of brilliance on its own!

The dozens of kilometers in between meant nothing more than a breath for a Colossus.

The million people on the ground only felt that something flashed before their eyes before the Gold Vulture stopped before the Dongfang family’s fleet majestically. The gold saber cut forward and raised an aura more than ten kilometers long, which turned into a gold wall and blocked the Dongfang family’s fleet from moving forward.

“Ah!”

A competition between a Colossus and a fleet above the Emperor’s Mausoleum!

For most of the people, it was the first time in their lives to witness such a thrilling and splendid scene. They couldn’t help but all exclaim in shock.

The Dongfang family’s fleet was immediately disrupted.

The troop that had come to the Emperor’s Mausoleum for suppression had only the low-altitude assault starships that were designed to deal with ground targets. Resisting a Colossus was not within their battle requirements.

Besides, the most important thing for starships to resist a Colossus was to keep a distance of at least hundreds of kilometers, so that they could block and stall the Colossus with their incessant firepower.

Right now, the two parties were only one kilometer away from each other. For a Colossus, it could march to the middle in 0.1 seconds or even break into the starships for sabotages. Also, their starships were so close to each other that the Colossus could directly sprint from the inside of one starship to the inside of another!

In short, their battle formation right now was not suitable to resist a Colossus at all. Dealing with the most advanced Colossus at such a battlefield would not achieve a good result whatever gory prices they paid.

The arrival of Li Yao with his gold Colossus disrupted their plan, forcing them to retreat for several hundred kilometers and set up defenses again.

Also, Prime Minister Dongfang Wang strictly forbade them from opening fire. At first look, it was almost like Li Yao threatened a whole fleet of the Dongfang family on his own!

Thunderous cheers and ovations burst out inside and outside of the Emperor’s Mausoleum. Everybody applauded Li Yao for his “valiant performance”.

Even the rusted, outdated starships of the Imperial Guards blew their cannons for Li Yao to show their utmost respect for the “loyal Immortal Cultivator” and “Blackstar the Great’s most avid follower”!

…

Inside the Gold Vulture, Li Yao was having mixed feelings and almost filled with tears.

The mental devil said, “Are you serious? You are not moved to tears by them, are you?”

Li Yao: “Of course not. I am moved by myself! A long time ago, I said that my dream was to arrive at the capital of the Imperium of True Human Beings majestically with the strongest Colossus to demonstrate my power in this place!

“And today, after my arduous efforts and determined work, my dream has come true. I can even pee and s*it on the head of the statue of Blackstar the Great! Is this what they say ‘God help those who help themselves’? I have come such a long way!”

The mental devil: “… Do you know what my biggest dream is right now?”

Li Yao: “What is it?”

The mental devil: “I truly hope that the enormous statue up ahead will split apart, and Blackstar the Great’s tomb down there explodes, so that Blackstar the Great will crawl out of his coffin and slap the shameless you on the face!”

Li Yao: “Well, however shameless I am, I cannot be compared to her, right?”

The mental devil: “That… That is very true.”

…

After forcing the Dongfang family’s fleet into retreating, Li Yao returned to the top of the mausoleum on the Gold Vulture right before Blackstar the Great’s statue.

Holding the saber with his right hand, he opened his left hand. At the center of his palm, a person was standing.

The Gold Vulture slowly landed.

The center of the Emperor’s Mausoleum was rather spacious. The generals and the veterans had already ordered the people to clear room for Li Yao to stand.

Li Yao straightened his left hand and raised the person in his palm high.

Through the special modifications, the Gold Vulture shot out a super enormous 3D light beam from the shoulder and the back with a coverage of thousands of square meters, displaying the image of the person in his palm to the sky clearly.

It was a graceful but gaunt woman in plain clothes and without any makeup, who was staring at the million people down below with the most merciful look.

It took the generals, soldiers, and people a long time before they finally recognized who she was. They all exclaimed in disbelief, “It’s the queen!”

“Her Grace has come to support us!”

“Her Grace has come on behalf of His Majesty. She’s on our side!”

The soundwaves congregated into torrents that flooded into the heart of every mourner in the mausoleum.

“Dear generals, warriors, and citizens, I’m sorry that I’m late!”

Queen Li Linghai spoke heartfeltly and almost wept half-way through her sentence, as if she had no time to care about the etiquette of the court anymore. “After learning that everybody spontaneously gathered here to pay tributes to the previous emperors, I came to the Emperor’s Mausoleum as soon as possible. I heard and learned a lot on my way here. The more I learned, the more scared and infuriated I got.

“I never knew that the brave generals and warriors who defended the Imperium and His Majesty in the frontline with blood suffered such unjust treatments after they returned to the rear, to the point that they were killed without anybody knowing!

“This is shaking the foundation of our country. This will chill the hearts of all the people. Some malicious guys are trying to destroy the cornerstone of the Imperium of True Human Beings and the entire civilization of mankind!”

Not expecting the queen to boast such a tough attitude, a lot of generals, soldiers, and people were stunned.

Many of them knew that the emperor and the queen of the Imperium were also puppets who could not master their own fate. They could not help but feel worried for Li Linghai for her outspoken behavior.

“His Majesty and I feel deeply sympathetic to the suffering people and the wronged warriors too.”

As if she were summoning her courage, Li Linghai said, “However, in many cases, His Majesty and I could barely do anything even if we wanted to. We… We are truly sorry for everyone, and we feel ashamed before the ancestors resting in this place and Blackstar the Great in particular!”

As she talked, she almost couldn’t go on any longer because she was sobbing.

The audiences listening to her were also weeping as their emotions were triggered. The tears they shed were like boiling oil that made the fire of wrath burn more and more furiously.

“Living inside the royal palace all the time, I don’t know the first thing about national affairs, and I don’t know how the issue can be properly addressed. But I’m sure that Prime Minister Dongfang Wang will come up with a solution, right?”

Li Linghai wiped her tears and said, “However, after all these years, I do have some personal savings. Until the issue is satisfactorily settled, the generals and soldiers who have come here after a long way need money for food, accommodations, and daily uses after all. My money will help you live through the difficulties. Please don’t refuse it. This is the least I can do as the queen of the Imperium for the generals and warriors who have made great contributions but who have been gravely wronged.”