Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Yes.”

Thinking carefully, Lei Chenghu said, “Even if the whole thing is set to public, is it possible that Dongfang Renxin will separate his brother from him and keep the prime minister out of the issue, pretending that Dongfang Wang does not know anything about it?”

“It’s impossible.”

Li Linghai shook her head reassuringly. “Dongfang Renxin is more than a hundred years older than Dongfang Wang. A hundred years ago, the two brothers were unattractive in the Dongfang family and showed no sign that they would rise to power.

“It is safe to believe that Dongfang Renxin’s ‘medical arts’ helped him win the favor of a bunch of big shots of the Dongfang family, who formed a compressed interest group. Eventually, the little circle elected Dongfang Wang to represent their interests and endorsed him to be the prime minister of the Imperium.

“The whole circle will rise and fall together. As long as Dongfang Renxin collapses, nobody will survive. Dongfang Wang won’t be an exception.”

Lei Chenghu said solemnly, “Got it. Dongfang Renxin is the key. We have to take him down quickly and neatly and break into his secret institute to find unquestionable proofs, right?”

“Yes. This is the most difficult thing in the whole mission. We have to capture Dongfang Renxin alive and find critical proofs.”

Narrowing his eyes, Li Linghai said coldly, “Dongfang Renxin is a renowned, prestigious elder of the Imperium after all. If we accuse him of such serious crimes but cannot capture him on the spot with concrete proofs, he will have ten thousand ways to escape and bite us back.

“We have only one shot. Right now, Dongfang Renxin has no idea that we have got our eyes on him yet. If we miss the attack and alarm him, he will definitely destroy all the traces in the secret institute and run back to the Dongfang family’s territory immediately. In that case, there will be absolutely nothing we can do.

“In other words, the capture operation will be the decisive step in this war. If we catch the culprit and the evidence successfully, Dongfang Wang’s cabinet will definitely collapse and raise an avalanche-like chain reaction, and nobody can prevent the fall of the Dongfang family. If we fail, the Yun family and the Song family who are on the fences, as well as the Li family who seems to be on our back, will immediately change their attitude and annihilate us without any hesitation!”

Everybody thought quickly and had to admit that it was indeed a great opportunity for the reformists if the crimes were real, but it was also a dangerous move like a dance on the edge of a saber.

Lei Chenghu looked at Dongfang Sheng and said, “What are we going to do? An assault with a fleet?”

Li Linghai shook her head. “We cannot dispatch fleets. The unspoken agreement we have reached with the other three families is that they will keep an eye on the fleets of the Dongfang family as long as we do not move our own fleets.

“If our fleets are to assault the Empyreal Terminus Sector, leaving the odds of success aside, the Dongfang family’s fleet will definitely intervene. A war will be raised if we get into a huge fight in the capital. Nobody wants that to happen.”

“Exactly.”

Considering carefully, Lei Chenghu nodded his head slowly. “No one wants the Imperium to be caught in chaos, as that will only be in the Covenant Alliance’s favor.”

“Therefore, the capture operation this time will mainly be taken care of by Yue Wushuang’s Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils. Theoretically speaking, as long as they are suspicious that Dongfang Renxin has been corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils, they will have the legal rights to arrest and interrogate him.”

Li Linghai said, “General Lei and General Dongfang, your fleets will stand by and keep the pressure on the Li family’s fleets, forcing them to stall the Dongfang family’s fleet so that none of the fleets will make any bold moves.

“Director Jin, your mission is to continue lobbying in the business groups of the other three Kurfürst families to express the kindness and sincerity of the reformists. For example, they can totally have the largest share in the interests of the Dongfang family after the Dongfang family is split apart. All in all, you will reiterate the idea that the Dongfang family’s collapse will be greatly beneficial for the three families, and that the business groups from the peripheral worlds of the Imperium are all shortsighted bumpkins who will be satisfied by the tiniest benefits.

“Of course, now that everybody’s fleet is not moving on the surface, the dark battlefield in the capital will be very busy for a while in the future. Please dispatch all those that you can dispatch to the capital. There are many sources and informants that we need to buy over, many killers and assassins that we need to hire, and many wavering guys who can only be convinced by the coins.

“This is about our mission. Does anyone still have any confusion?”

This time, nobody asked any questions.

“Then, please continue fighting valiantly in your respective battlefield, fellow Cultivators!”

Li Linghai waved her hands and declared resolutely, “After we win this battle, the ‘new Imperium’ will succeed!”

Everybody rose abruptly, straightened their right arm, and clenched their fists, declaring at the same time, “Long live the Imperium! Long live the Immortal Cultivators! Long live the civilization of mankind!”

The secret meeting came to an end, and everybody left the room in a row except for Li Yao, who stayed under the hint of Li Linghai.

In the enormous antique repair center, Queen Li Linghai and Vulture Li Yao were left alone.

The 3D light beam behind Li Linghai rose up and down and soon displayed a brand-new graph. It looked like a translucent ant’s nest that was brimming with channels and holes. If a trypophobia patient looked at it, their blood would definitely be frozen.

“I would like to hear the opinions of a magical equipment specialist on one issue.”

Pointing at the graph behind her, Li Linghai said, “This is the detailed structure of the blocks two thousand meters below the twenty-seventh district of the capital. According to our intelligence, this is Dongfang Renxin’s secret institute.

“All the studies that he’s running in the Heavenly Star Hospital are naturally legal, open, and flawless. The real clandestine secrets, the facilities for ‘cannibal training’, and all the ‘ingredients’ are all kept here.

“What is troublesome is that Dongfang Renxin is fully aware of the importance of the location too. Therefore, not only is the entire twenty-seventh district heavily guarded by his accomplices, but a series of crystal bombs in delicate structures have also been installed around the secret institute. They are so powerful that they will blow up the secret institute and everything inside once detonated.

“Look, these are the locations and the structures of part of the crystal bombs that our spies have managed to get through after all the trouble. What’s your opinion? Is it possible to dismantle the crystal bombs before the assault?”

Li Linghai zoomed in the picture. Soon, blinking red spots appeared on the translucent map that was as complicated as a maze. As the red spots were enlarged continuously, they turned out to be the most delicate crystal bombs.

“Well—”

Li Yao’s pupils constricted violently, and his fingers trembled beyond his control. He mumbled, “It’s not just the secret institute. The entire twenty-seventh district is essentially sitting on an active volcano. Once the crystal bombs are detonated, I’m afraid that the entire underground town will be blown to the sky. No, they will fall apart and be buried below the earth for all eternity!

“Also, if I am not mistaken, these should be only 30% of the crystal bombs, and the whole array of crystal bombs is yet to be revealed, right?”

Li Linghai’s eyes were glittering as she nodded her head and said, “Exactly. You do have the keen eyes of an expert. It can’t be helped. This secret institute is the lifeline of Dongfang Renxin and Dongfang Wang. It is already the best we can do to get a glimpse at 30% of its self-destruct devices. How about it? Is it possible to break them without alerting anyone?”

Li Yao frowned hard, but eagerness was beaming out of his eyes.

It had been a long time since he last encountered such an interesting challenge.

He closed his eyes, but his eyeballs were rolling quickly below his eyelids, and his fingers hummed hard as they bounced at a frequency beyond the recognition of the naked eye. After repetitive deductions and calculations, he nodded his head first but shook it later. “If the remaining 70% of the self-destruct devices are crystal bombs of the same type, I will probably be able to accomplish the task. But it is obviously an expert among experts who set up these self-destruct devices. So, I’m suspicious that he deployed more sordid traps in the remaining 70% devices. I’ll have to find it out during the operation.”

“I knew that you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

Li Linghai pushed a badge over. “This arrest operation serves the interests of the people and the cause of justice. It should fit the beliefs of a Cultivator perfectly. I don’t think you need to charge for it, right?”

“Removing hazards for the people is definitely not free. If I do not have money and resources, I won’t be able to strengthen myself. Then, how can I remove more hazards for the people in the future? The best I can do is to offer you a discount, Your Grace.”

Li Yao played with the badge and observed it carefully, only to discover that it was a scale under the background of a pair of crossed saber and sword. On the left side of the scale was a bleeding heart, and on the right side was a hideous demon’s head whose eyes were wide open, implying that it was certainly not resting in peace. He asked, “This is… the emblem of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils?”

“Exactly. The operation of the reformists is not a rebellion or a civil war. Now that everybody’s fleet is here, we have to fight the battle legally, or at least legally in name.”

Li Linghai smiled. “As my personal bodyguard, you do not have jurisdiction outside of the royal palace, nor can you arrest an elder of the Imperium easily. So, you are temporarily given the identity of ‘Special Counsel of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils’ so that you can participate in the operation.”

“Right. There’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask Your Grace.”

Holding the badge in his hand, Li Yao thought for a moment and asked, “The Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils claims to have the rights to take part in all the cases nationwide that involve the extraterrestrial devils by capturing, interrogating, and punishing all the Demonic Cultivators who are corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils. The question is, who is to judge if a person is a Demonic Cultivator, if he is corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils, and if the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils is qualified to punish him?”

Li Linghai said casually, “The Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils itself, of course.”

Blinking his eyes, Li Yao said, “That is to say, the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils can totally accuse a random person on the street to be a Demonic Cultivator and capture him back to their dungeon for interrogations?”

Li Linghai said, “Yes.”

Li Yao asked, “What if they discover that the poor guy is not a Demonic Cultivator after the interrogations?”

Li Linghai said, “Rest assured. It will never happen. The Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils has ten thousand ways to make a suspect admit that he is a Demonic Cultivator.”

Li Yao said, “Well, what if there is no tenebrum energy on his body at all?”

Li Linghai said, “That’s because they have been corrupted only recently, or they are Demonic Cultivators that are hiding themselves very well. Is there a problem?”