Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“That is really enough, Bodyguard Li.”

Li Linghai said, “All the maps of the Godly Might Prison, as well as the locations and ranges of all the sentry posts, surveillance cameras, and invisible rays, will be sent to your crystal processor immediately. The infiltration mission this time is highly difficult and requires 100% precision. So, I think you should seize every second and go back to start mock training right now.”

“Understood!”

Li Yao rose quickly. “I will go back and start training immediately. However…”

Li Linghai frowned hard. “Any problem?”

“I did not expect the mission this time to be so arduous. The secret weapon that I’ve been refining seems to be in need of full upgrading.”

Li Yao said solemnly, “But the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures allocated to me last time have been used up. I fear that the secret weapon cannot be whetted to the perfect form.”

“Got it.”

Li Linghai took a deep breath. “Whatever materials you need, just take them. As long as you can accomplish the mission of sneaking into the Godly Might Prison and protecting General Lei, you can have whatever you want!”

“Thank you, Your Grace!”

Li Yao was ecstatic. “I promise you, Your Grace, that the secret weapon will be a great surprise for everyone!”

…

Three hours later, Li Yao returned to the No. 1 maintenance workshop of the Deep Sea Palace.

Since a week ago, the maintenance workshop that was the largest and with the most advanced facilities for the maintenance of the Colossi had entered an unprecedented alert state.

Not only were all the irrelevant personnel blocked hundreds of meters away, but the refiners who had been working in the place were also mobilized to other workshops. Also, a strict order was given in the Deep Sea Fleet that whoever approached the maintenance workshop would be executed immediately!

All that was because of the Colossus that was lying at the center of the maintenance workshop quietly. It was the Tartarean Skeleton, which had been torn apart and utterly deformed.

The Tartarean Skeleton had already revealed itself in the slaughter stream that covered the entire Imperium. Everybody knew that it was the ultimate weapon of the Cultivators.

To show the Colossus publicly in the capital of the Imperium, it must be modified beyond anyone’s recognition.

As it happened, Li Yao had received many rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from Li Linghai that originated from the mausoleum of the Supreme Emperor. It was not his style to keep treasures for collection. Naturally, he stuffed all of them into the Tartarean Skeleton.

For safety reasons, Li Yao only used Li Jialing as his assistant in the entire process. The heavy and clumsy work was mostly shouldered by the engineering spiritual puppets in the shape of spiders.

After Li Yao advanced into the Divinity Transformation Stage, his computational ability was tougher than ever. With the assistance of the super crystal processors, it was not a big problem for him at all to control a hundred spider-shaped puppets to perform the most delicate work on the Colossus at the same time.

Other than that, he had discussed with Master Jin Tianzong on the power system design of the Tartarean Skeleton, trying to apply the hybrid model of energy transmission and power output to the Colossus.

In the first place, Master Jin Tianzong was one of the best specialists in power units in the Imperium of True Human Beings. He was unparalleled in terms of theories, and he stagnated for a while only because of the accident that crippled his hands.

Now, Li Yao had treated his hands with secret techniques and offered him a liquid metal formula that could produce strengthened gloves. Not just his career but also his life had been saved.

Naturally, Master Jin Tianzong gave all the help he could provide and came up with a lot of innovative ideas for Li Yao on the upgrade of the power units.

The brand-new Tartarean Skeleton had been made by the joint work of the two masters of refining in the Divinity Transformation Stage.

It was a… fancy, tycoon-like Colossus.

The predominant black and red that was filled with mysteriousness and invincibility had been modified into a dazzlingly light gold camouflage by Li Yao. Such camouflage was made from a material taken from the mausoleum of the Supreme Emperor named “Star Silicon”, which boasted a very high performance to resist spiritual and magnetic interferences. Also, the mirror effect could reflect the radiations and mystic rays very effectively. More than 80% of the mystic ray attacks could be reflected without the spiritual shield.

The only problem was that it looked too luxury, high-key, and swanky.

As it happened, Li Yao had also produced tremendous highly-rising, unbelievably eye-catching components that had been attached to the plate armor of the Tartarean Skeleton densely. There was even a tall hat or a fin on the head that was also in the dazzling gold color, as if he were worried that people might not notice him from dozens of kilometers away.

It couldn’t be helped. The Tartarean Skeleton in the past had too distinctive a style. If it were not modified to be even more idiosyncratic and unforgettable, the marks of the past would not be completely erased.

“The new pose… will do for now.”

On the control panel, Li Yao controlled the hundred spider puppets to perform the last polishing and painting, while he pondered and said, “This should be called ‘Tartarean Skeleton, Gold Special Edition’, right?”

Li Jialing, the young man who looked like a gold lion, helped him while looking at him in hesitation.

“What are you trying to say?”

Li Yao looked at the control menu to adjust the connectivity among the magical equipment units subtly while he asked, “You have been unsettled ever since I came back here.”

“Brother Yao—”

Li Jialing couldn’t help but say, “Are you really going to sneak into the Godly Might Prison and rescue General Lei Chenghu? It’s too dangerous.”

“Of course it is dangerous. That is why it requires a smart, brave, responsive, and invincible expert such as myself!”

Li Yao replied casually, “Also, I believe in your beloved mother. Although your mother is an insane gambler, she will never take part in the games that she will surely lose. Now that she is confident to rescue General Lei, she will certainly give the most support she has!”

“Stop calling the woman my ‘beloved mother’.”

Li Jialing complained in a low voice, “Do you trust her?”

“Why not?”

Li Yao said matter-of-factly, “If the battle to conquer the Godly Might Prison fails, it will be your mother who suffers the heaviest losses, not me. Is there any reason why she wouldn’t do her best?”

After a long daze, Li Jialing said, “It does make sense. That is a good reason to trust her. But I am still perplexed. Does she have any reason to trust you and ask you to carry out such a critical mission? Isn’t Yue Wushuang, leader of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, more suitable than you?”

“I’m afraid that you are wrong about that. In fact, leaving aside our abilities, I am, in fact, more trustworthy to your mother than Yue Wushuang is, or anybody else for that matter.”

Li Yao said with a smile, “Yue Wushuang, Jin Yuyan, and Dongfang Sheng are more like Li Linghai’s political allies than her subordinates. They have joined each other and established the group of ‘reformists’ because of common interests.

“But interests may change at any moment. Your allies this second may become your enemies in the next second. If the four Kurfürst families can offer more interests than Li Linghai does, anybody may betray her at any moment.

“After all, what your mother can present right now are mostly empty promises. However great the rewards may be, they are not necessarily comparable to the real gold from the four Kurfürst families.

“But I am different. Leaving my personal relation with Li Linghai, I am a Cultivator of honor and integrity. As long as your mother abides by her promises and treats the ordinary people in the Imperium more kindly than the four Kurfürst families do, I will indeed support her all the time!”

“Right, speaking of which, I have another question.”

Li Jialing was greatly baffled. “General Lei Chenghu is an Immortal Cultivator. I have heard countless tales about him from Li Lingfeng. That is a heartless and merciless man who would do anything to achieve his purpose. Are you sure you are going to rescue him?”

“Well, about that…”

Li Yao blinked his eyes and said, “Yes, from the perspective of a Cultivator, Lei Chenghu is indeed an unpardonable Immortal Cultivator and an out-and-out villain.

“However, from the same perspective, your mother is a great villain full of schemes of ambitions too.

“Do you think it is better to face one villain or two villains at the same time?”

Thinking hard for a long time, Li Jialing was greatly enlightened. “Brother Yao, are you suggesting that General Lei Chenghu might not be on the same boat as the queen?”

“Yes. Even if they are on the same boat, their interests might not be the same. I have collected countless files regarding General Lei in the past couple of days. He is definitely not a man to be manipulated easily. The four Kurfürst families cannot control him, and your mother probably can’t either.”

Li Yao said with a smile, “Look, your mother has the Deep Sea Fleet, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, and such a huge Deep Sea Palace, whereas we have absolutely nothing. How can we expect to compete with her? At such a moment, if I am the one who rescues General Lei in person, I will be able to make connections with him and try to force a new balance.”

Li Jialing stared at Li Yao for a long time and said, “So, you haven’t completely trusted the queen after all.”

“Come on. I am not a cold and ruthless man, and I want to completely trust the woman that my foster father deeply loved.”

Li Yao sighed and said, “However, you saw your mother’s intimidating style that looked like a white-haired witch too. Did she leave you the impression that she should be trusted?

“Besides, do you not feel that too many coincidences have been happening recently?

“The moment your mother ran out to hunt her brother, the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance took place.

“When the reformists greatly compromised the Godly Might Prison, General Lei Chenghu was secretly escorted to the place and kept under arrest?”

Li Jialing’s eyes froze gradually. “What are you trying to say, Brother Yao?”

“Nothing. I’m just having some random thoughts.”

With a smile, Li Yao looked at the tackily gold Colossus and said, “However, other than everything else, the secret treasures of the Supreme Emperor that I’ve earned from your mother alone will render the adventure worthwhile enough!”

“Right. You’ve been producing something with the rare materials from the queen, which you claim to be a ‘secret weapon’.”

Li Jialing was a young man after all. He shifted his attention and asked curiously, “What is it exactly?”

“Let me put it this way. You should know that there is a kind of special magical equipment named ‘Ares Extension’. They’re added to the outside of a crystal suit to enhance its combat ability.”

With a more and more brilliant smile, Li Yao said, “Have you considered if the Colossus can have its own Ares Extension?”