Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Well…”

Jin Xinyue seemed rather embarrassed. “Well, Masteress, well… I think it’s a bit tricky.”

“Huh?”

Ding Lingdang was confused. “How could it be tricky? Aren’t you best at propaganda? Years ago, Li Yao was idolized as ‘dominator of three Sectors’ when he hadn’t done anything yet. Now, he has crushed Blackstar the Great for real with his courage and wisdom. Even if you just tell it truthfully without any exaggeration, I bet that all our citizens will still be excited and encouraged!

“Chances are that more people will awaken their spiritual roots because of the motivation of Li Yao’s glorious feat. They certainly will! So, just spread out the news already!”

“Well, I don’t think so…”

Jin Xinyue smiled even more bitterly. “You’d better read the intelligence on the jade chip before you reach any conclusion.”

“Huh?”

Ding Lingdang blinked her eyes. “Did Li Yao use any trick? That’s understandable. Blackstar the Great was too formidable an enemy. I’m sure that Li Yao had to try everything he could. Can’t you cover up for him as long as he didn’t cross the line of the Cultivators?”

“I’m not sure whether or not my master crossed the line, but I’m sure that my propaganda machine can’t work this time.”

Jin Xinyue said, “Perhaps, Masteress, you can teach me how I can edit and modify those materials so that they can be publicized to the whole federation?”

Suspiciously, Ding Lingdang unlocked the jade chip.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Infinite information streams were launched into her brain as mystic rays.

Five minutes later, her expression changed from shock to embarrassment, and from embarrassment to stupefaction.

Ding Lingdang’s face was even redder than the exhaust flames on the warships in the sky.

“This is…”

She was dumbfounded. “What… What the hell?”

“You’re bothered, too, right?”

Jin Xinyue said, “I’ve given it a lot of thought, but I don’t know where I should focus. Should I telecast the videos that my master displayed to the whole universe or the part where my master sang ‘Mom is the Best’ toward the end?”

“I think…”

Holding the jade chip, Ding Lingdang took a deep breath and said, “Forget it. Just ignore all the details and simply say ‘Vulture Li Yao, the superhero of the federation, has defeated Blackstar the Great with his hot blood, his wisdom, and his persistence’.”

“That’s all?”

Jin Xinyue asked, “Wouldn’t it be too simple?”

“No, it’s enough.”

Ding Lingdang rubbed her nose hard. “I don’t know what I should say about this guy!”

The two women stared at each other for a long time and both burst into laughter.

“Only my master could’ve come up with such a way and defeated an enemy as powerful as Blackstar the Great!” Jin Xinyue remarked.

“That’s right. In any case, he’s still as alive as can be. That’s good enough.”

Ding Lingdang smiled, with tears of relief in her eyes.

“Then, masteress, what about that other thing that my master mentioned, about the federation’s strategy next?”

Jin Xinyue said, “The civil war in the Imperium is not over yet, and Master has controlled the Gold Crystal Pyramid. I don’t think the next emperor of the Imperium will be crazy enough to attack the Star Glory Federation. The safety of the federation is guaranteed in the coming decades.

“But the question remains, should we step forward and send an expedition army to join the war at the center of the cosmos?”

Ding Lingdang was deep in thought.

Things were changing too fast. A couple of years ago, the federation only wished to keep itself safe under the threat of the Black Wind Fleet, and it never thought that it could really march further into the sea of stars.

However, a rarely-seen opportunity had been presented to the Cultivators now. Should they seize it?

March to the center of the cosmos, help the reformists eliminate the four families and resist the Covenant Alliance, expand the influence of the Cultivators within the Imperium, and gradually change the nature of the Imperium… That seemed to be the best way for the Star Glory Federation to spread out its doctrine.

The powerful technology and magic equipment at the center of the cosmos had to be studied by the specialists in person too since the simple data that Li Yao sent back were not nearly enough.

Soon, the Supreme Emperor’s mausoleum would be explored, and the Cultivators had to be part of it.

At the very least, Ding Lingdang, Fiend Blade Peng Hai, Jin Xinyue, and many other experts of the federation were all highly interested in the Supreme Emperor’s mausoleum. They would not allow Li Yao to explore it with a bunch of Immortal Cultivators, in which case Li Yao would have nobody to help him if the Immortal Cultivators turned against him.

So, it seemed inevitable for the federation to join the rivalry at the center of the cosmos.

However, the risks were obvious too.

The federation was only as powerful as one of the four families, and the expedition army of the federation was only equal to one of the ace fleets of the four families at best.

Even four ace fleets had careened in the battle of the capital. Who knew whether or not worse battles would happen in the war between the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance?

If the expedition army of the federation entered the Imperium, it would have no trustworthy allies because the reformists could likely change their attitude.

Once the expedition army was lost, the federation would be barely able to protect itself, and it would definitely be swallowed.

But in the meantime, the federation’s location was no longer a secret. After the war was settled, the final victor, be it the Imperium or the Covenant Alliance, would definitely move their eyes to the federation.

So, waiting and doing nothing would mean doom too.

It was too important a decision to make. Even Ding Lingdang was deep in thought despite her decisiveness.

“Masteress…”

Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly. “Do you think that the next step is very tricky too?”

“Yes. It’s a very important decision. I have to listen to the opinions of the think tanks and the parliament. I can’t make a decision by myself.”

Deep in thought, Ding Lingdang stared at the Nuwa warship that was rising higher and higher and murmured, “I remember that when I was a little girl, my town was once surrounded by a beast tide. The overwhelming demon beasts drowned our town, and everybody shuddered in fear…”

Jin Xinyue blushed and said, “It was a long time ago, when we were not clear and couldn’t see the future.”

“That’s right. Nobody can see the future. When I shivered and cried in the shadow, I couldn’t have foreseen what would become of me or the federation!”

Ding Lingdang clenched her fists and said, “But everything has changed after a hundred years. Who knows whether or not the new generation of the federation will be the master of the sea of stars a hundred years later?

“Anyway, the future entails infinite possibilities, but only if we make the first step toward it!”

“So to speak…”

Jin Xinyue said delightedly, “You agree to send an expedition army to reinforce the reformists, Masteress?”

“As the Speaker, I should not express my attitude before the parliament and the staff discussed this piece of critical intelligence.”

Ding Lingdang smiled. Her red hair danced in the wind, and her fists were shivering beyond her control in excitement.

She seemed to be seeing the heart of the Imperium at the center of the cosmos through the Nuwa warship and the reddened sky. “I’ve finally got the postwar situation under control after working as the Speaker for such a long time, and I’m not interested in reelection. You know that I never intended to become the Speaker. I only competed with you because I was hoping to help you unite the forces that can be united. Over the past years, I’ve almost been driven crazy by the astronomical files that I had to process every day. I wished that my term could come to an end sooner so that I could go on adventures again in the most dangerous places. I’m more used to the unrestrained lifestyle.

“So, if I’m not the Speaker, and if I’m only your masteress and Li Yao’s wife, I’ll definitely go to the center of the cosmos. If the parliament does not agree to send out an expedition army, I’ll go find Li Yao by myself when I’m off duty. I can’t let him fight on his own anymore.

“Also, I believe that a lot of people are interested in the Imperium and will come with me.”

Ding Lingdang glanced at the Colossi behind her that were driven by the twelve experts of the Ancient Sages Sector. One of them was measuring the Nuwa warship in the sky with its longsword, as if it were considering if it could cut the Nuwa warship into halves.

It was exactly the Colossus controlled by Yan Liren, the Sword Maniac.

Ding Lingdang’s smile was even more brilliant.

“How I look forward to it!”

She mumbled, “The future federation, the future universe, and the future civilization of mankind!”