Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Because of the abundant crystal bombs filled inside, the explosion was intense and complete. The cruel fireworks did not shine for long before they perished in the cold, dark universe.

As the light faded away, it also brought all the hesitation in the eyes, blood, and hearts of all the warlords and Sector Masters.

The Immortal Cultivators who were from the remote areas of the Imperium but were equally ambitious became as determined and ruthless as their commander Lei Chenghu!

“Excellent. From this moment on, we will all be fellow Cultivators in the cause of reform!”

His hands in his back, Lei Chenghu stood majestically like a pillar that supported the sky. He declared resolutely, “The Imperium’s life and our future will depend on our attempt. So, there is no need to reserve anything now. Allocate all the assets, ammunition, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and ask your captains to inculcate the ideas of renewing the Imperium into every soldier at the bottom level!”

“Commander—”

Wei Guanghui, commander of the Red Nimbus Fleet, hesitated for a moment and said, “Our fuel, ammunition, and resources for the training of all the Immortal Cultivators can only support one month at best. If we are engaged in a fierce battle, they will probably run out in three days to one week. It is definitely impossible for us to conquer the capital in one week with our forces. What are we going to do next?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I am certain of our final victory.”

Lei Chenghu said casually, “I assure you that inexhaustible resources will be awaiting everyone in one week. Now, let’s take action!”

A military order was certainly not something to be questioned. Now that the sword had been unsheathed, it would not be sheathed until it had drunk enough blood. The warlords and the fleet commanders, without further ado, ended the communication and began their preparations busily.

The space jump units of the starships were tested and charged with energy again to ensure that the soul-stirring jump could be performed in a few hours.

The warehouses of crystals and arsenals were opened, and the glittering crystals and blades were all distributed, even to the hands of the most humble hominoid soldiers.

The barges of the Astounding Thunder Fleet delivered abundant armbands to the branch fleets. The commanders of all levels in the branch fleets tore off their armbands of the expedition army and put on the new armband of the reformists.

For the common soldiers, they did not have enough armbands to replace the old ones. So, they simply threw away the armbands of the expedition army, wrote “Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions” on a piece of white cloth with blood, and tied it around their foreheads, which looked rather serious and intimidating.

On the flagships from the remote worlds of the Imperium, the leaders were speaking to all the soldiers, especially the younger ones at the bottom level, to encourage them.

On the flagship of the Red Nimbus Fleet…

“Our country has been reduced to such a condition, and our people are in such misery that they are all being suffocated. Your families are suffering the same, right?

“Our factories have been crushed and corrupted by the nobles’ capitals from the center of the cosmos! Our farmlands are growing the crops from the center of the cosmos, which have stolen all the living space of the local crops savagely. There is not a single seed that is aboriginal to the Red Nimbus Sector anymore!

“The spiritual puppets from the center of the cosmos that are said to be advanced are also walking in the factories and farmlands of the Red Nimbus Sector blatantly, robbing us of our jobs brutally and shamelessly!

“The proud workers and farmers of the Red Nimbus Sector could stand straight and make a living for their families with their hands and sweat in the past. But right now, they cannot even get the most humble job, and they can only degenerate into beggars, rascals, and prostitutes without dignities!

“Even the Immortal Cultivators whose spiritual roots have been awakened, in order to get the tiniest training resources, have to swallow their discontent and bent their knees as muscles and lackeys for the magnates!

“Tell me, have you not suffered enough such days? Can you take it anymore?”

On the flagship of the Giant Whale Fleet…

“On the Battle Line of Ghosts’ Fury—the gory battlefield that swallowed three fleets, ten thousand starships, and millions of soldiers in only half a month—the warriors of the Giant Whale Sector pushed forward in no fear of sacrifices like moths darting at flames. On the dead bodies of our compatriots, we fought against the Covenant Alliance one bone after another and pressed the charge inch by inch. Eventually, we secured a great triumph!

“However, in the rear, at our hometown, our parents are crying in the middle of the night because of hunger, our children can barely stand on their feet because of the lack of food, and our sisters and wives have to sell their bodies and force their smiles to the nobles and magnates from the center of the cosmos, to be played by them flagrantly!

“Even so, even though we have demeaned ourselves to such an extent, we have still been betrayed, and we are about to be kicked away now that our values are fully exploited!

“Who is our real enemy exactly? Warriors of the Giant Whale Sector, loyal sons, husbands, and brothers of their suffering families in the hometown, open your eyes and see for yourself!”

On the flagship of the Bloody Fire Fleet…

“His Majesty will never bear to watch us suffer like this. This is absolutely not the intention of His Majesty. It is all done by the privileged lords and the corrupted officials next to His Majesty!

“Those villains tricked His Majesty, stole the power of the Imperium, and did all the evil things. They are the traitors of the Imperium, the worms of the civilization of mankind. His Majesty has had enough of their blatant lawlessness too!

“Right now, a secret decree has been brought by His Majesty’s envoy, ordering us to rise, remove the traitors, and renew the Imperium!

“It is the responsibility of us soldiers to die for the cause to cleanse the universe and let it re-embrace justice!”

On the flagship of the Green Frost Fleet…

“Not just His Majesty, most of the elders in the Council of Elders are supportive of our righteous action too. The citizens in the capital of all classes are also waiting for our army to enter the capital and make things right again!

“The group of villains who have been corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils is the only people who are scared of our thunderous march!

“Therefore, as long as our fleet appears at the periphery of the capital, the ambitions and schemes of the tiny group of enemies will be crushed unstoppably.

“Summon your courage and bring out the glory of the soldiers of the Imperium. March, charge, and fight. The victory will be ours. The victory will be His Majesty’s. The victory will be the Imperium’s!”

Countless starships, Immortal Cultivators, and soldiers of the Imperium stood like a dense forest made of iron.

At this moment, the iron forest was already set on fire.

On Iron Torrent, the flagship-general of the coalition fleet, the final battle preparations were being conducted busily too.

Above the grid command system made of ten connected super crystal processors, the names, numbers, and specifications of the starships popped up on the glittering light beam one after another.

Those starships had been connected into the anti-interference local area network of the coalition fleet as part of the “battle net”. Then, by the high-speed exchange of information between the soul and the crystal processors, they became tiny cells on Lei Chenghu’s body.

Lei Chenghu stared at all the appearing starships without blinking. With the massive computational ability of the Divinity Transformation Stage, he melted himself in the data chain and the computation array of the mainframe crystal processors, allowing the thousands of thoughts in his head to be transmitted to every starship instantly.

In such a way, the hundreds of starships from dozens of different branch fleets were mobilized by him as if they were his arms and fingers. Like ants and bees, they were moved and regrouped in an orderly fashion.

It was an enjoyment to watch Lei Chenghu organize the troops.

Standing behind Lei Chenghu, Li Yao hesitated.

“Is there a problem?”

Without looking back, Lei Chenghu asked casually.

“Nothing in particular. I’m just wondering…”

Li Yao couldn’t hold it back anymore and asked it out straightforwardly, “There was not a single guy from the four Kurfürst families on the target starship that was destroyed by the collective bombardment, was there?”

Lei Chenghu was silent for a moment while he gave orders smoothly without any stop. Not giving a direct reply, he said, “The Imperium is too seriously sick right now, and this is not the best opportunity for a great surgery. If possible, I still hope that less blood can be shed to make the Council of Elders change their mind.

“This is not a concession. I’m just trying to… preserve as much strength for the Imperium as possible.”

“Got it.”

Thinking for a moment, Li Yao asked again, “There’s one other thing that I’m very curious about. The Star Ocean Imperium was destroyed by the extraterrestrial devils ten thousand years ago. By logic, the extraterrestrial devils must’ve been very powerful. But why did they never cause too much trouble in the recent ten thousand years?

“This time, the queen and you are using the extraterrestrial devils as your disguises again, but has it ever occurred to you that the extraterrestrial devils might be really lurking in the Imperium waiting for a good opportunity to instigate chaos again? Are you not concerned about that at all?”

Li Yao was still ill at ease about the extraterrestrial devils, because the Star Glory Federation was almost destroyed by the extraterrestrial devils when the Black Wind Fleet attacked.

The extraterrestrial devil that possessed Lu Qingchen, on the other hand, was not necessarily eradicated but very likely had fled all the way to the center of the cosmos.

“I have been fighting in space for two hundred years, and I’ve encountered all kinds of ferocious enemies: the extraterrestrial devils, the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, and all kinds of bizarre alien species.”

Lei Chenghu said slowly, “However, faced with the real dangers, none of those enemies are worth mentioning at all. There is nothing to be worried about.”

Li Yao frowned. “More dangerous than the extraterrestrial devils? What is it exactly?”

“Mankind. Ourselves.”

Lei Chenghu said, “Faced with the puppets of the Covenant Alliance, the accomplices of the extraterrestrial devils, or even the gods themselves, I have never been afraid. Only when I am faced with human beings, as well as myself, will I feel the chill deep down to the bones.”

Li Yao was stunned and did not know what to say.

“Alright, Envoy Li.”

Lei Chenghu sighed and finally turned around. There was no determination and excitement on his face now that a great war was about to begin, only unquenchable exhaustion. He patted Li Yao’s shoulder and said, “The coalition fleet has been gathered. Prepare for the battle!”