Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Marquess Weiyuan, where is your fleet, and why is it still not coming close to me? What? It is still stalled by the main fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, which probably has more than two thousand warships? You cannot get rid of them but have to ask the allies nearby to reinforce you as soon as possible? You-You-You—

“Then, pack the real-time battle data on the battlefield and send them to me. As soon as I confirm the number and level of the hostile warships, I’ll immediately dispatch reinforcements to you!

“What? Due to the strong interference that the enemy imposes on you, your network is on the brink of collapse, and you cannot send out any data? You are even unable to sustain the ‘Flying Lightning Super Command Chain’ anymore, and you are about to exit the system and fight on your own? Marquess Weiyuan? Marquess Weiyuan!

“Leader Peng, where is your fleet? What? You were at Coordinates 233.343.445 six hours ago, where you gathered more than five hundred starships, and you are still lingering there now? What are you doing exactly, and why haven’t you approached me yet? What? You just suffered an assault from the main force of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, and you are in dire need of immediate maintenance due to the heavy losses, which will probably take seventy-two hours? A*shole, tell me, where did the main force of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors show up when you had allies all around you? Have they mastered such advanced short-distance space jump technologies that they are able to be teleported right above your head?

“Elder Zhao, please lead your fleet to join ‘Landslide’ immediately. I repeat, for the sake of the Imperium, hurry and approach ‘Landslide’ with your fleet so that we can fight together!”

After every five minutes, Yun Xuefeng would refresh the fleets that were connected most recently on the command chain and yell at the temporary commanders of those fleets, demanding them to approach him as soon as possible or to directly march at the Seven Seas Grand Market when enough starships had been gathered.

It was a pity that most of the temporary commanders hesitated, replying that it was beyond their abilities. Their loyalty to the Imperium, the four families, and to Commander Yun was certainly unquestionable, and they were fearless of death. The problem was that their starships were either seriously twisted and damaged during the jump or hit by the defenders brutally immediately after the jump. At this moment, they were still dealing with the hunting fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, unable to get away at all.

Together with their convincing bulls*it, the bridges of many starships were filled with smoke and even minor explosions, as if they were truly in such a fierce battle that even the flagship had to charge in person.

However, when Yun Xuefeng requested those people to send over the real-time data on the battlefield so that he could learn the battle better, they simply gave excuses like their Spiritual Nexus had been torn apart due to the severe interferences and it was barely possible to keep the basic communication, let alone delivering astronomical information.

When Yun Xuefeng pursued further, those people simply cut off the communication quickly, not obeying Yun Xuefeng’s command at all.

Yun Xuefeng was so mad that he was almost smashing the dashboard into pieces. He really did not see it coming that those wretched Immortal Cultivators would be preserving their own strength with no regard to the big picture in such a shameless way!

Thankfully, even though other troops were indifferent, the Yun family’s own troops were still loyal and tough.

Of the four Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships that belonged to the Yun family, the other two apart from his “Landslide” had been reached.

The two Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships had also attracted starships of a thousand different models, which formed two temporary fleets around them and were marching at Yun Xuefeng’s coordinates fast.

Besides the Adamantine Super Arsenal Warship, the other starships of the Yun family had also been given a very high permission in the “Flying Lightning Super Command Chain”. They were, without an exception, the centers of the temporary fleets. Managing dozens of temporary fleets large and small, they joined him from all directions.

As long as those fleets were in position, he would never fail. By then, he would be able to fight a neat battle of annihilation with only the strength of the Yun family and claim all the credit. The guys of the Song family, the Li family, and the Dongfang family would all be dumbfounded and regretful by then!

While Yun Xuefeng was fantasizing, a series of hasty messages suddenly came from the communication channel. It was the commander of another Adamantine Super Arsenal Warship who wanted to speak to him.

“Song Yushi?”

Yun Xuefeng found it hard to believe.

Song Yushi was an elder of the Song family, an earl of the Imperium, an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage, an experienced fleet commander, and an extraordinary person who was one generation senior to Yun Xuefeng. He was also a strong competitor for the commander-in-general of the four families’ coalition fleet.

From many perspectives, Song Yushi, as a battle-tested general, was even more suitable as the commander of the battle than Yun Xuefeng.

However, during the competition for the commander-in-general, Yun Xuefeng was determined to get it, while Song Yushi acted rather indifferent to the outcome. Eventually, he simply gave the job away to Yun Xuefeng.

At first, Yun Xuefeng felt good and thought that Song Yushi’s age had worn out his ambitions, making him scared to compete with a “rising star” like himself.

After he did become the challenging but unrewarding “commander-in-general”, and especially after he was faced with the mess and the rogue subordinates after he jumped to the Seven Seas Space Zone, he finally realized how hot the potato that he snatched voluntarily was, and how many thorns had been buried in it.

Song Yushi, on the other hand, did reach out to him immediately after the jump. He did not make up any lie that he had encountered massive hostile forces.

However, the fleet commander of the older generation of the four families told Yun Xuefeng coldly that he would search for the hunting fleets on the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors’ side after gathering a temporary fleet and fight them immediately in order to ease the pressure of the allies.

In the meantime, he would very likely keep radio silence and the Spiritual Nexus offline. He asked Yue Xuefeng not to contact him unless there was an emergence, and it was possible that he could not be reached even if Yun Xuefeng tried to.

“When Commander Yun was still being breastfed, I was already a general shedding my blood on the battlefield. I have my own plans to annihilate the insignificant rebels. Commander Yun might as well focus your attention on the starships of the Li family and the Dongfang family!”

Song Yushi simply slapped the blunt words on Yun Xuefeng’s face.

Yue Xuefeng, however, could barely do anything about the old man who was more experienced than him, had more connections than him, and was as strong as him, if not better. He could only watch the guy’s Adamantine Super Arsenal Warship disappearing among the glittering icons of the command chain.

Yun Xuefeng had thought that the guy would be hiding at the edge of the Imperium until the garrisons of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and him were exhausted in the battle. Out of his expectation, the old man had popped up on his own after only thirty hours. What was the meaning of that? Had his conscience got the better of him, and he was finally ready to show his loyalty to the Imperium?

While thinking, Yun Xuefeng activated the communication channel, allowing Song Yushi’s hologram to emerge before him.

Song Yushi at this moment, however, did not have the slightest calmness as expected of an experienced general. Instead, he looked like a firecracker that would explode at first touch.

His hair and his beard were rising, as if hundreds of black blades had been stabbed to his head and his chin. Before the hologram took the full shape, he already pointed at Yun Xuefeng’s nose and cursed aloud, “Yue Xuefeng, you are truly bold! I did not know that you were as insane as such! Are you out of your mind, or is the whole Yun family? Are you going against the other three families, planning the turn the universe upside down?”

Yun Xuefeng was utterly baffled under Song Yushi’s saliva that almost shot through the light beam. After a long daze, he replied, “… Elder Song, what do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Are you still pretending?”

Song Yushi was more than infuriated. “You incited your ‘National Protection Army’ and Li Wuji’s fleet to swallow the temporary fleet that Song Changlie, Marquess Hushan, had just regrouped. ‘Tiger Roar’, Song Changlie’s flagship, was even blown into pieces, and none of the Immortal Cultivators, including Song Changlie himself, escaped! Yun Xuefeng, a great foe is ahead of us. As the commander of the coalition army, you have done such insane, unpardonable things. How are you going to explain yourself?”

“What?”

Ten thousand bolts of lightning seemed to be bursting out inside Yun Xuefeng’s head, which completely went blank. He said subconsciously, “How-How is it possible? It must be a misunderstanding. Don’t be instigated by the bad guys, Elder Song!”

“Misunderstanding? Instigated by the bad guys? Damn you!”

His eyes bloodshot, Song Yushi spat hard.

Song Changlie, Marquess Hushan, was not only a central member of the Song family but also a nephew to Song Yushi. The three Colossi on Song Changlie’s flagship were also jumbled under his support. Never had he expected that they would be wasted for no good reason in a civil war. No wonder Song Yushi was so mad that he was almost on a rampage.

“Many Immortal Cultivators of the Song family who escaped told me in person that Song Changlie’s warship was blown up because the ‘National Protection Army’ and Li Wuji’s fleet attacked it from the front and the back together. Everybody knows that Li Wuji has been very close to you recently. He is your trusted subordinate. You also offered abundant resources to arm his ‘National Protection Army’. Are you still denying that it was your instruction?”

Song Yushi gnashed his teeth and said, “I know Song Changlie’s strength very well. If it were not for your strong support, how could Li Wuji and the Bai-surnamed space pirate have done anything to him?”

“W-Well… Please hold your anger, Elder Song. I really did not know anything about it!”

Yun Xuefeng’s forehead was covered in a cold sweat. He understood the consequences of pissing off the older-generation experts like Song Yushi too well. Besides, such an insane thing as swallowing allies when a great enemy was ahead could not be justified at all.

Even more fuel had been added to the fire on the chaotic battlefield. Yun Xuefeng started to regret that he had been too close to Li Wuji and Boss Bai. Who could’ve thought that the two ambitious guys would be so senseless?