Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Yao was very angry, but there was nothing he could say as he realized that the newly-recovered area was indeed a headache for whoever controlled it.

The two emperors supported by the reformists and the four Kurfursten families respectively were fighting for the legitimacy of their right to the throne. For the people of the Imperium of True Human Beings who believed in survival of the fittest, strength was the best justification. If Li Jialing lost tremendous territory just after he claimed the crown, it was true that many people would be disappointed and many experts might change their sides.

The four Kurfursten families certainly wouldn’t hesitate to mock either. Why was the newly-covered area impenetrable when it was under the control of the four families, yet it was immediately conquered when the reformists got it?

If resistance failed and the enemy claimed a few Sectors, it would be easier to explain. But if the reformists retreated from dozens of Sectors without fighting at all, wouldn’t it be treason? The political consequences that it would cause might even collapse the regime of the reformists.

“We have to say that the Covenant Alliance chose the best timing.”

Lei Chenghu said gloomily, “I thought that they would attack when the Battle of Seven Seas or the battle in the capital was most heated, but they waited patiently until two emperors were confronting one another in the Imperium.

“The confrontation of two emperors means that it’s impossible for the reformists and the four families to negotiate. They have to destroy each other and will never work together to resist the Covenant Alliance!”

Li Yao was silent. He had to admit that Lei Chenghu was right.

Royal power was supreme in the Imperium of True Human Beings. Even the four Kurfursten had to exert their dominance through the royal power.

The Immortal Cultivators could compromise in their beliefs. For example, Lei Chenghu could cooperate with Li Yao even though Li Yao was a Cultivator.

After all, Li Yao represented the Star Glory Federation, which did not have an emperor but only a “Speaker”, which was not competitive with the crown and would not jeopardize the brilliance of the royal power.

During the battle of the capital and the Battle of Seven Seas, the reformists and the four families hadn’t elected their emperor yet, and there was still room for negotiation.

If the Covenant Alliance had attacked back then, chances were that the reformists and the four families would have reached a truce and fought the common foe first.

It was definitely the last thing that the Covenant Alliance would like to see.

But now that both parties had elected their emperors, they could only fight each other until they destroyed their enemies even though they knew that the Covenant Alliance was coveting them.

“The Covenant Alliance certainly knows the best timing because the whole Imperium has been compromised by them. The intelligence on the military, politics, and economy of the Imperium is delivered to the Covenant Alliance on a daily basis. There are too many spies for the Association of Demon Hunters to catch,” said Long Yangjun.

Since she had helped the new emperor ascend the throne, her job as the president of the Association of Demon Hunters had been restored. Furthermore, as Yue Wushuang, the head of the other special agency of the Imperium, was involved in Wuying Qi’s scheme and being secretly investigated, Long Yangjun’s rival was gone, and she became the sole leader of spies of the Imperium.

She did not need her fake name, Dongfang Mingyue, anymore. After all, Dongfang was not a popular name among the reformists. She was described to be the reformists’ agent that was sent to the Dongfang family for special missions, and now that her missions were done, she had picked up her old name.

Now, Long Yangjun’s main job was to deal with the spies that the Covenant Alliance had sent to the Imperium. She was doing quite a good job.

Li Yao had seen the spies of the Covenant Alliance on Kunlun more than a hundred years ago. Those spies were emotionless but could simulate the feelings of human beings, and they managed to pass the Imperium’s tests again and again.

The corruption and darkness of the Imperium created the best environment for the spies of the Covenant Alliance. For the people of the Imperium mired in blood at the bottom of the Imperium, it was not the worst option to join the Covenant Alliance!

Therefore, the spies of the Covenant Alliance had never been cleared, and they caused severe harm.

On the other hand, because of the social structure of the Covenant Alliance and the Path of Ultimate Benevolence, it was barely possible for the agents of the Imperium to sneak into the Covenant Alliance.

Previously, the military of the Imperium had sent many strong and determined agents into the Covenant Alliance, but few of them could stand the Covenant Alliance’s repetitive brainwashing. They all ended up as real members of the Covenant Alliance and confessed a lot of secrets of the Imperium.

As a result, the Imperium did not know the Covenant Alliance much even though they had been at war for a thousand years. It was also an important reason as to why the Covenant Alliance remained undefeated after a thousand years when it was in remote worlds and had few resources.

“All in all, it’s impossible for us to negotiate with the four families in this competition of legitimacy. No matter how aggressive the Covenant Alliance, we have to carry on our previous plan!”

Lei Chenghu bashed the table and declared, “His Majesty has personally announced the mobilization order against rebels. He would be a joke if it’s never carried out. Also, our army has been making military preparations since half a year ago, and there is no way to stop right now!”

Li Yao was silent. He also knew that the war between the reformists and the four families was inevitable.

It was not just about the authority of the emperor but also about the implementation of the new policies.

On one hand, the four families were not dead yet, and they were trying to heal their wounds. They were getting stronger each day.

When they were healed, it would be very tricky to deal with them.

On the other hand, the pardon order, the abolition order, and the reformists’ other policies had to be carried out with the fat from the bodies of the four families!

Abolition was more difficult than it sounded. Liberating and educating the people required money. The city that Li Yao, Xiaoming, and Wenwen established in the Great Iron Factory below the ground of the capital planet consumed astronomical investments, and there were too many hominoids and more Great Iron Factories all over the Imperium that were in dire need of help.

As a Cultivator, Li Yao definitely supported the reform of the Imperium. He certainly couldn’t try to get money from the reformists like Lei Chenghu, Li Linghai, or Li Jialing. If they did not kill the four families and acquire their money, where could they find the investments for their reform?

Without money, the pardon order, the abolition order, and the subsequent reform policies would be jokes, and the foundation of the reformists would be changed. Eventually, even the national interests of the Star Glory Federation might be at risk.

So, Li Yao could only agree with Lei Chenghu that the battle against the four families had to be carried out even if the Covenant Alliance was turning the newly-recovered area upside down!

“So, we’re going to fight on two sides at the same time?”

Looking at the map behind Lei Chenghu, Li Yao asked, “To be faced with the military pressure of the Covenant Alliance and the four families simultaneously?”

“Yes. In the best-case scenario…”

Lei Chenghu said, “If the expedition army can stall the Covenant Alliance in the newly-recovered area, and the army that I command can crush the last capable troop of the four families, we’ll be able to take our time to deal with the Covenant Alliance.”

“However, now that the Covenant Alliance has emerged at such a tricky moment, they certainly wouldn’t watch us finish off the four families.”

Li Linghai coughed and said, “I’m very suspicious that the Covenant Alliance’s target is the newly-recovered area. If they really wanted those Sectors, they wouldn’t have burnt those Sectors to the ground when they retreated a few years ago.

“Is the debris of any significance to them even if they can get it back?

“General Lei Chenghu said in his report to the Council of Elders that the Covenant Alliance was implementing a strategy, hoping to win the war once and for all. I agree with him. If it’s true, the Covenant Alliance’s target won’t be the newly-recovered area or the expedition army; it might be the capital!

“That’s right. Skipping the hundreds of Sectors in the middle and stabbing the heart of the Imperium sounds like a suicide strategy and will never work out at other times.

“However, now that most of our forces have to be deployed to eliminate the rebels of the four families, and the remaining forces are scattered in the dozens of Sectors in the newly-recovered area, the capital will be unprecedentedly undefended when the final battle between us and the rebels of the four families begins, and it will be the best moment for the Covenant Alliance to cut our throat!”