Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

by <unknown>

  The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were not used to the way Heiye Lan talked yet. The weird phrases such as 'future of humanity' made all of them frown.

  "I have told you everything without any reserve as a gesture of the sincerity of the Imperium!"

  Heiye Lan struggled hard, the veins on her neck and her forehead jumping crazily. Her face red, she shouted at the top of her voice, "Join the Imperium of True Human Beings, the most powerful nation in the sea of stars! The Imperium values meritocracy. Everybody here is at least in the high level of the Nascent Soul Stage. You are the elites of the elites! The Imperium is in dire need of experts such as you.

  "After you join the Imperium, you will definitely receive a hundred, thousand, million times more training resources and powerful magical equipment than you can possibly get from the Ancient Sages Sector! It is definitely going to be a win-win!"

  Chapter 1522: The Rise of An Imperial World |

  "Win-win?" The brilliance in Meng Chixin's eyes was swirling quickly. "You mean that we will both benefit from our cooperation, right? But the way I see it, your intention in the beginning did not seem to be a… win-win. You were planning to suppress and conquer the entire Ancient Sages Sector and fool the experts of the Ancient Sages Sector such as us to sell our lives to the Black Wind Fleet as cannon fodder, weren't you?"

  "Yes!" Heiye Lan did not deny it at all. Breathing quickly for a moment, she bellowed, "There was indeed a time when my main purpose was to summon the Black Wind Fleet, conquer the Ancient Sages Sector, and turn all of you into slave soldiers! It is the right of the strong to prey on the weak. What's wrong with that? The weak deserve to be suppressed, conquered, and enslaved. Isn't it a well-tested truth on the prairies, in the central plateaus of the Great Qian Dynasty, and also the bloodstained sea of stars?

  "If you are foolish and idiotic, it is your destiny to be conquered and enslaved!

  "But given how things progressed, you have proved yourselves strong enough. Also, you were smart enough to discover my scheme, and you have gathered so many… Colossi. So, it is no longer a profitable action to attack the Ancient Sages Sector in a head-on clash.

  "Then and now are different. Now that you have already proven the formidability of the Ancient Sages Sector, of course, we will be able to carry out our cooperation on relatively equal terms. You can even join the Imperium with dignity and part of independence. Isn't it only reasonable?

  "The Imperium of True Human Beings has acquired hundreds of Sectors and thousands of planets large and small after only a thousand years. Naturally, not every Sector and every planet was taken by brute force through bloody battles. Such a way of expansion is too stupid, low-efficient, and costly! The cost of war and the cost to maintain the reign, suppress the resistance, and collect resources are all shockingly high. It is an action whose profits cannot cover the investments!

  "Quite a large number of Sectors voluntarily join the Imperium after realizing the power of the Imperium and the possible gains that the Imperium could offer them, including the Black Wind Sector. That's exactly what happened to us in the beginning! So, there's no need for the Ancient Sages Sector to worry about that. This is a tradition of the Imperium!"

  Deep in thought, Meng Chixin pointed at Li Yao and asked, "Are you suggesting that the Imperium of True Human Beings treats the… remote Sectors such as ours like how the Great Qian Dynasty treats the local tribes in Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture's Southland of Sorcerers? Because the cost of invasion and garrison is too high, they simply decree the local leader to be a chieftain, who is nominally a subject of the central dynasty but in fact governs the local region on their own, right?"

  Heiye Lan's eyes suddenly shone, and she nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes! Just like that! If the remote worlds are extremely weak and inhabited by uncivilized barbarians, the imperial fleets will naturally occupy them without any trouble! However, for the worlds such as the Ancient Sages Sector, where there are tremendous experts, some of whom are even in the Divinity Transformation Stage, the Imperium of True Human Beings will often declare the local experts as Sector Masters and grant autonomy to the local world, as the arrangement for the Southland of Sorcerers. The best that the Imperium can do is nominate a few officials who are similar to the 'Appeasing Ambassador of the Fifth Prefecture of the South Land of Sorcerers' as correspondents between the remote Sectors and the capital city!"

  Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun looked at each other. Chuckling, they said, "The court will have to bring tremendous rewards to the local leader of the Southland of Sorcerers during the declaration. I wonder, what benefits will the Imperium of True Human Beings give us if the Ancient Sages Sector is willing to join the Imperium?"

  "There will be too many benefits to count!" Heiye Lan replied in a hurry. "The spiritual energy in the Ancient Sages Sector is extraordinarily dense. You have not been troubled by the extraterrestrial devils in the past tens of thousands of years, either. So, a great number of Cultivators in the Core Formation Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, and Divinity Transformation Stage have been born in this Sector.

  "However, your training system and your techniques are still at an extremely crude and underdeveloped phase. Even crystal suits, the well-acknowledged 'king of magical equipment' in the universe today, have not yet been grasped by you, not to mention the Colossi!

  "As long as you join the Imperium, it's very likely that you will receive the assistance of techniques, resources, and magical equipment from the Imperium. Your civilization will realize a leap of thousands of years in only decades!

  "The ever-emerging new techniques and magical equipment invented in the modern civilizations of the Immortal Cultivators are utterly unimaginable to you! Training with those techniques will further improve your Cultivation, even if it's been stagnant for years! Using the latest magical equipment will allow you to demonstrate your extreme potential in the most violent ways!

  "In short, the Imperium is definitely able to make you reborn. You will set foot in amazing levels that no one in the history of the Ancient Sages Sector has ever visited!

  "Moreover, if you accumulate enough military credits, you will be given a chance to further study in the Empyreal Terminus Sector, the capital of the Imperium. It is the center of the universe and a sacred sanctuary that all Immortal Cultivators in the sea of stars dream of visiting! You will be promoted and awarded by the Imperium there, becoming earls and generals of the Imperium of True Human Beings. You will be supreme existences ruling over hundreds of Sectors, thousands of planets, and billions of creatures!"

  "All that you said is about our personal gains," Wu Suiyun coldly interrupted. "What will the Ancient Sages Sector as a whole benefit from the cooperation?"

  "The gains are even more!" Heiye Lan licked her bloodstained lips and smiled. "The Ancient Sages Sector has been enveloped by the dark nebula for hundreds of thousands of years. You are like a bunch of prehistoric animals on a lone island that have stopped evolution. Faced with fewer and fewer resources, you don't have any choice except to fight each other.

  "Do you not want to communicate with the other worlds out there? Do you not want to conquer more Sectors to mitigate the crisis within your own?

  "Hehehehe. The internal contradiction of the Ancient Sages Sector has been aggravated to the point that it is already irresolvable today. Han Baling, Qi Changsheng, and Wan Mingzhu, I believe that the three of you must have a profound understanding about that, mustn't you?

  "I can tell you honestly right now that, based on the history of the three thousand Sectors in the outside world, there isn't a way out for a single Sector no matter how hard you struggle and strive on your own! The dual pressure of population booms and technological bottlenecks will crush every self-secluding world! The only option is to march outward and break into the stars, turning the planetary civilization into a universal civilization!

  "The Ancient Sages Sector has been deprived of the opportunity for spontaneous evolution
because of the dark nebula enveloping you. But right now, the Imperium can generously give you a hand. As long as you seize the opportunity and break into the space, there will be a good chance for you to save your world!

  "For remote Sectors such as yours, the Imperium normally does not have any interest in governing them directly. It is very possible that one of you will be nominated as the Sector Master, and your world will be run under autonomy!

  "If the relationship among yourselves… isn't very good, and you cannot accept a single leader, the twelve of you can also be granted the title of founding members. You will be knighted and reign over the Ancient Sages Sector together in a curia!

  "Moreover, other than the Ancient Sages Sector, the Imperium will also grant you the power to expand your territory. You will be conscripted as a Gamma legion of the Imperium and granted tremendous military assistance that will enable you to wage wars across the universe. The resource planets and Sectors that you conquer will all be governed by you!

  "Think about it!

  "Right now, the situation in the Ancient Sages Sector is unprecedently tense, and the contradiction between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Ghost Qin is sharper than ever. The Heaven Battering Army, the White Lotus Cult, the six major sects, and all the other forces are all causing trouble. Isn't the source of all the pressures the insufficient resources?

  "If you are willing to join the Imperium, you will be able to sweep across all the space zones in the thousands of lightyears nearby together with the Black Wind Fleet. You can conquer a few vassal worlds for yourself. After that, what's there to be worried about?

  "By then, Han Baling, Qi Changsheng, Wan Mingzhu… and everybody else will each have your own planet. You will have countless slaves to collect resources for you as the 'Sector Master', a dominator of the remote worlds. Won't it perfectly solve all the problems in the Ancient Sages Sector?"

  Heiye Lan was not a well-trained negotiator.

  She spoke too earnestly and straightforwardly. She was even a bit anxious, like an impatient cardplayer who threw in all the best cards at the very beginning of a game.

  But it was also for the same reason that her words sounded awkwardly genuine and convincing.

  The two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators and the ten super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators looked at each other, all deep in thought.

  "You are highlighting all the benefits that we can possibly get, but does anything in the universe come free?" Li Yao's eyes were bloodshot. "The Imperium of True Human Beings certainly demands an extremely high price for all the benefits that it offers us, doesn't it? What is the price? Tell us!"

  "It's true that there is no free lunch in the universe despite its vastness," Heiye Lan said. "This is a fair deal. When you enjoy the privileges in the Imperium, you will have to fulfil the responsibilities as a citizen of the Imperium and a noble warrior!

  "The responsibilities are very simple. Military credits!

  "All the Cultivation arts, techniques, magical equipment, and intelligence in the Imperium can be exchanged for contribution points, which can be accumulated by earning military credits in the battlefield. Accomplishments as great as conquering a brand-new world and discovering a resource planet and those as insignificant as slaying a hostile Exo and releasing a new Cultivation art that you have invented to public will all be considered military credits, which can then be exchanged for contribution points.

  "Therefore, after you join the Imperium, as long as you are willing to help the Black Wind Fleet capture Firefly and the 'government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic', and then clean up the local force—the Star Glory Federation—lurking in this area, you are guaranteed to earn tremendous military credits. It will be the first bucket of gold for the development of the Ancient Sages Sector!

  "After you earn the first bucket of gold, you will be able to redeem a great number of contribution points with which you can purchase advanced starships, crystal suits, armed shuttles, Cultivation arts, techniques, and even slave soldiers from the homeland of the Imperium. You will be able to upgrade your expedition fleet and conquer more worlds. After making more military credits, you will have more contribution points for you to purchase the magical equipment and Cultivation arts that are even more advanced, which will allow you to conquer more and more worlds. Your world will grow stronger and stronger like a snowball. This is the typical path for a rising Sector in the Imperium of True Human Beings!"

  Chapter 1523: A Country Born for Wars! |

  Seeing that the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were all listening very attentively, Li Yao could not help but grew anxious. He chuckled in amusement and said, "Stop beating about the bush. You are just asking the Cultivators from the Ancient Sages Sector to sell ourselves to the Imperium of True Human Beings!"

  "Exactly," Heiye Lan admitted frankly again, making Li Yao wonder whether she was honest or downright shameless. "It's true that you will be sold! However, who isn't struggling to survive in the middle of the bleeding stars in the dark universe, fighting for a slim chance of survival at the risk of their lives? The Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector are selling yourselves, but are the Cultivators of the Black Wind Sector not?

  "It's actually not bad that you are qualified to sell yourselves because it means that you are at least worth a penny. The most terrible situation is where you don't have anybody to buy you when you want to sell yourselves, in which case you can only wait to die!

  "Mark my words. In the universe that we are living in, individuals are not pricey assets. The 'experts' who are qualified to sell themselves are few. The majority are pitiful creatures who don't even have a chance to sell themselves!"

  Li Yao furrowed his eyebrows greatly.

  At first, he had thought that Heiye Lan would be relatively easy to deal with. It had never occurred to him that the woman's innocent candor that bordered on shamelessness would nearly render him speechless.

  Meng Chixin's eyes suddenly shone. "If—I'm just saying if—we truly surrender to the Imperium and help the Imperium conquer many new planets, will all the places belong to us without any interference from the Imperium?"

  "That depends," Heiye Lan replied dutifully. "If the Ancient Sages Sector or the new worlds that you conquer contain strategically important resources—say, super fuel that can bring up the cruise speed of the starships or rare metals that can improve the hardness of crystal suits and Colossi—the colonies will certainly not be devoured by you exclusively. Most of the resources will still go to the Imperium.

  "However, the odds of such things are not particularly high. You people don't strike me as lucky dogs, either.

  "Under normal circumstances, all you need to do is submit a certain amount of resources as taxes to the Imperium and ensure the constant and stable output. As long as the requirements are met, the Imperium will generally leave any trivial issues in the remote Sectors alone. After all, our archenemy is the Alliance of the Holy Covenant!"

  "We'll have to submit taxes?" Meng Chixin nodded. "That makes sense. It is impossible for a tribe not to offer tributes to the court after it surrenders. I wonder, what are the taxes in the Imperium? What's the rate?"

  "It all depends on the specific Sector," Heiye Lan said. "The environment and characteristics of every Sector are different, and the resources that they yield aren't the same, either. So, the tax officers sent from the capital will have to measure, calculate, and rank the resources first. In general, the taxes include crystals, minerals, slaves, and such. Compared with the benefits you can gain from the Imperium, the taxes are certainly not high!"

  "Good heavens!" Master Bitter Cicada's voice sounded cold. "Does the Imperium want us to capture the folks of the Ancient Sages Sector like piglets and ship them off as slaves?"

  Observing his face, Heiye Lan quickly responded, "Not necessarily. Not necessarily at all. All the taxes can be exchanged and adjusted based on the real situation. For example, if your Sector have tre
mendous crystals and a small population, it won't matter at all if you submit more crystals and do not provide any slaves. Later, after you have accomplished great military credits, you will be able to offset your taxes with the military credits directly! Also, for the underdeveloped Sectors in remote areas, the Imperium has a lot of tax reduction policies that are in your favor. There will even be oriented investment on you to better help your development!

  "After all, the Imperium is the most powerful country of mankind that is ready to live on for millions of years. Sustainable development is highly valued. We will certainly not foolishly kill the goose that lays golden eggs!"

  Master Bitter Cicada finally lowered his eyes and stepped back.

  Meng Chixin observed Heiye Lan with great interest. He appeared to be more and more curious about the Imperium. "I don't find too many fallacies in everything that you've told us so far. I do not reject the notion of cooperating with the Imperium, either. However, I do have one minor question.

  "The first bucket of gold is a very vivid phrase. As long as we secure great military credits, we will be able to exchange them for starships, crystal suits, and techniques from the Imperium. Then, we will expand like a snowball and eventually be a dominator in the infinite sea of stars!

  "However, as of right now, we don't even have a starship of our own. How are we going to collect our first bucket of gold? Will we not be at your mercy and simply work as your cannon fodder?"

  "You can apply for a loan if you don't want to be cannon fodder!" Heiye Lan said quickly. "The Black Wind Sector has our own bank named 'Black Wind War Bank'. One of its main businesses is war loans. After the Black Wind Sector was occupied, the headquarters of the bank was moved to the fleet and marched all the way to this place, too!

  "You can apply for a loan from the Black Wind War Bank. After various evaluations, the bank will present you a tailor-made 'cross-universe expedition proposal'. However many starships, crystal suits, and small assault shuttles you need, they can all be offered to you in a package deal!"