Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Lei Chenghu closed his eyes. Leaning his head to the dent on his seat, he was caught in a deep and disturbing thought.

“Even if—”

Pondering for a long time, he finally said cautiously, “Even if we really want to find out what’s going on in the capital, or even to stop His Majesty’s operation, it is still technically impossible.

“First of all, with my Astounding Thunder Fleet and your tiny fleet, it is impossible to soothe the chaos in the Seven Seas Space Zone. If the chaos here is not restored to peace, we will not be able to mobilize enough forces to interfere with the battle in the capital.

“Even if we find a way to stop His Majesty’s operation, we will still be faced with the ace fleets of the four families as well as the enormous fleet of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant. The military pressure will be too huge for us to resist.

“Therefore, I stand by the conclusion just now. At this moment, only His Majesty can save the Imperium and the civilization of mankind. Our reckless moves will bring nothing but disasters.”

“No, Commander Lei, you are mistaken. If we join our hands, it will be absolutely possible to crush the main force of the four families’ coalition fleet, including Yun Xuefeng and Song Yushi, in three days and to unite all the warships scattered in the Seven Seas Space Zone with a network that is more effective and robust than the Flying Lighting Super Command Chain!”

Li Yao hesitated for a moment but decided to take his chances. “If I’m being completely honest, Commander Lei, our strength is much more than what you have seen. Quite a few branch fleets of ours are still hiding in the dark. Also, we boast—we boast the cyber technologies above the best level of the Imperium, which can combine a tray of loose sand into the most indestructible iron instantly!

“As long as we let go of our disagreement for now and work together, we will definitely be able to dig such a great trap that all the commanders of the four families in the frontline, including Yue Xuefeng and Song Yushi, will fall in. Their starships will be seized and built into the national defense army you have in mind.

“Look at me in the eyes and trust me, Commander Lei!”

Li Yao and Lei Chenghu’s gazes met in the narrow space.

As if two giant cannons had barraged each other, electric arcs and magnetic fields were rising.

Neither of them was planning to move their eyes away. An indestructible bridge was formed between them.

“The first time I saw you, I had this strange feeling that you were utterly unfit for the world around you and that you were no ordinary Immortal Cultivator.”

Lei Chenghu sighed and said, “At that time, I really took you for a dark warrior that the queen raised in secret. I thought that your unique vibe was because you were isolated from other Immortal Cultivators for too long.

“At that time, I could never have thought that you were one of the Cultivators who had vanished for a thousand years, or that the Cultivators still had such enormous strength after a thousand years.

“Tell me, Cultivator Li Yao, why do you want to cooperate with me? Are you scared that you will be killed by me in the end after all your trump cards are revealed? Your decision seems a bit… idiotic!”

“That’s right. We, the Cultivators, tend to be silly sometimes. It can’t be helped. All the ‘smart people’ have joined the circle of the Immortal Cultivators, but you have seen the world that they have built up yourself, Commander Lei.”

Li Yao said, “Therefore, I think human beings, as individuals, should be silly once in a while so that humanity, as a whole, will enjoy a better future, right?

“I do not deny the disparity between Commander Lei’s beliefs and mine. We are indeed enemies, and our paths will collide brutally sooner or later, but not necessarily now.

“There are many kinds of enemies. The primary ones, the secondary ones, the dangerous ones, the shameless ones, the negotiable ones, the sworn ones… Cooperating with the secondary enemies to deal with the primary enemies first, or cooperating with the enemies who are less dangerous to deal with the enemies who are most dangerous, aren’t they perfectly normal options?

“At the very least, despite our different beliefs, I believe that Commander Lei and I share many things in common.”

“Is that so?”

Lei Chenghu couldn’t help but ask, “What things do we have in common?”

“We are both determined, stubborn, forthright, and we never bother to use shameless tricks.”

Li Yao said, “Most importantly, we have both dropped personal and lowly interests. We are men of integrity and charisma, who have the whole universe in our mind. We are fighting for the future of mankind and for the peace and unity of this universe!

“All in all, we share the same target, except that our methodologies to achieve the target are polar opposite. While I cannot agree with Commander Lei’s approaches, I have also made certain decisions that may prove to be horrible in the future. Therefore, I find what Commander Lei thinks and does understandable.

“In short, Commander Lei and I are both great heroes, and we should cherish and appreciate each other. It’s already a shame that we cannot be sworn brothers. How can we not cooperate well?”

“Is that so?”

An indescribable expression popped up on Lei Chenghu’s face. Perhaps in his two hundred years of battles and conquests, he had never encountered such a unique enemy… or ally like Li Yao, and he did not know how to react for a moment.

“There’s no need to doubt me. It’s absolutely true!”

Li Yao waved his hands and declared resolutely, “This is all I want to say. You can make a decision now, Commander Lei!

“There are only two ways ahead of you, Commander Lei. You can either walk out of this space shutter and order your subordinates to shoot me into a beehive. I guarantee that I will not dodge or resist. I will not even activate my Cosmos Rings. When I took the gamble, I was already braced for failure!

“Or, after you walk out, Commander Lei, you can drop our conflicts for now and work with the Cultivators’ fleet. We will settle the Seven Seas Space Zone first and the capital later before we create a brand-new Imperium!

“If Commander Lei needs to think about it, you can consider it carefully after you’re out. I’m not persuading you to betray Blackstar the Great right now; I’m only asking you to give the new Imperium an opportunity, give peace an opportunity, and give the future of mankind an opportunity!”

While he talked, Li Yao truly took off all the Cosmos Rings on his fingers and tossed them to the ground heavily, before he looked at Lei Chenghu sincerely and earnestly.

Lei Chenghu’s thoughtful eyes blinked for a long time. Finally, he heaved a long sigh and was ready to walk out.

Li Yao clenched his fists; his Adam’s apple moving up and down. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat, but he did not stop Lei Chenghu.

From the perspective that he could not see, astonishment beamed out of Lei Chenghu’s eyes. He pondered for a long time, but he still left the space shuttle without saying anything.

“Commander Lei!”

His advisors and his guards all moved to him. Seeing that he looked solemn but remained unhurt, they were all relieved. They asked, “What about it? Is Li Wuji willing to surrender?”

Lei Chenghu was silent. After several steps, he couldn’t help but turn around and look at the Hummingbird-level shuttle again.

Despite the alloy shell, he could still sense Li Yao’s eyes that were as scorching and dazzling as a supernova outbreak.

Cultivators were truly enemies that he had never seen and could never understand!

“No.”

Lei Chenghu said, “Fire and take him down!”

…

While the battle in the Seven Seas Space Zone was heated at the edge of the cosmos, black waves that looked like bottomless abysses were also raised at the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector at the center of the Imperium.

As the waves entangled and combined, the stable three-dimensional space was soon torn apart, connecting two locations that were supposedly tens of thousands of lightyears away.

Abundant materials traveled through the tunnel whose length was close to zero. After passing the brief stun phase, they emanated destructive brilliance again.

After only three days, more than ten fleets that belonged to the four Kurfürst families finished the teleportation, including the ace fleets that the four families relied on to dominate the universe.

The battle in the capital was officially on.

It was a campaign beyond the expectation of all forces.

Almost at the same time when the Astounding Thunder Fleet mysteriously disappeared from the heartland of the four families, the leaders of the four families reached the consensus to march at the capital and start a strategic battle with the reformists.

It was now or never. Faced with the glory and the desire to reclaim the capital, the four families were unprecedentedly united and effective. Many new warships that were loyal to their families had already jumped over when the situation in the capital was not entirely clear.

At first, the battle in the capital was almost a duplication of the battle of Seven Seas.

The ace fleets of the four families did not control the space gate of the Empyreal Terminus Sector. Therefore, they were unable to jump over in an organized manner. When the space jump was completed, every starship was randomly distributed in the entire boundless Sector, like dandelions blown by the wind.

The Imperial Guards loyal to the emperor and the Deep Sea Fleet loyal to the reformists attacked everywhere like rabid dogs that had been injected with excitants, hunting the invaders scattered in the entire space zone and trying their best to prevent the regrouping of the invaders. Many blood-boiling and cruel tragedies had already taken place in space during the few days.

However, the coalition fleet of nobles, with four ace fleets as the cores and a dozen main fleets as the skeletons, were multiple times stronger than Yun Xuefeng’s fleet that invaded the Seven Seas Space Zone.

The determination of the soldiers in the fleets to die for their families was much greater than the border warlords who each had their own malicious plans too.

Even though they had only one starship, they still did not hesitate to charge at the enemy when faced with overwhelming defenders.

Thanks to the incessant resource support from the heartland of the four families, abundant logistics and engineering troops had leaped to the Empyreal Terminus Sector. While the defenders were moving in exhaustion, they occupied the planets and space fortresses at the edge of the space zone, establishing their own temporary space gates.

When three temporary space gates blossomed at the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector slowly, unleashing the brilliant light that could illuminate dozens of Sectors, the battle did not seem to have any suspense anymore. For the reformists who were lurking in the capital and resisting doggedly, the situation was escalating beyond their control.