by <unknown>
Li Linghai, however, was not entirely convinced. Sobbing, she asked, "Your Majesty, is—is Li Jialing really the only option?"
"Hehe. Rise and look at me!"
Thousands of tentacles suddenly extended out of the shadow and grabbed Li Linghai's limbs and neck, dragging her right next to the shadow.
The shadow had almost turned into a gigantic mouth that was about to swallow Li Linghai. "I have been reborn today not to be a mediocre emperor for another one or two hundred years, but to revolutionize the Imperium and to create an enterprise that will not change for all eternity!
"Why has the Imperium of True Human Beings been corrupted to the point of dying? Why do the local magnates in the universe turn a blind eye to the Empyreal Terminus Sector? Why are the clowns such as the 'four Kurfürst families' bold enough to usurp the power? The only reason is that my ideas were abandoned immediately after I died!
"The bloody lessons in the past thousand years have taught me that to create an enterprise that will not degenerate, I must remain alive forever and be the only emperor of the civilization of mankind in the next thousands of years!
"To achieve eternal life, a perfect carrier is indispensable. I am not pursuing an eternal life for my personal interests, and Li Jialing is not dying to meet my personal desires. Our lives and deaths are all for the Imperium, for the longevity of the realm, and for the civilization of mankind!
"Look at me and tell me, are you not disappointed at the Imperium of True Human Beings today, and do you not want to eradicate all the worthless, selfish, and conspiratorial scoundrels so that the sun will shine in the Imperium again?"
Dark air flowed from the depths of the shadow and split into thousands of streaks, which then crawled into Li Linghai's almost transparent eyes.
Blackness flashed in Li Linghai's eyes. Her face was somewhat inert and stagnant at first, but then it became determined.
"… I do!"
The queen of the Imperium gritted her teeth.
"Do you not want to combine the forces of the four Kurfürst families and hundreds of Sectors into an invincible, indestructible army, to completely annihilate the Covenant Alliance, save the civilization of mankind, and ensure the prosperity of the entire universe?" the shadow continued asking.
"I do!"
Li Linghai's voice was firmer and louder.
"Do you not want the Imperium of True Human Beings to surpass the Star Ocean Imperium in the past or even the primeval civilizations hundreds of thousands of years ago, stomping on all the species that were once gods for us, so that mankind will be the only 'god' in the entire universe?" The shadow's voice was more and more dominating and insane.
"I do! Mankind, as the strongest fighting species in the universe, should be the only true god!"
Li Linghai's eyes were boiling, and countless tiny black bubbles were flowing deep inside her transparent eyes.
"Then, pay sacrifices!"
The dominance and madness of the shadow were suddenly entirely concealed. Calmer than ever, it said casually, "For the Imperium, for the civilization of mankind, everybody can and must be sacrificed, including myself! It is easy to die a hero's death, but it is terribly difficult to live and work for the civilization of mankind for a hundred thousand years. As the supreme commander of all 'true human beings', I will naturally walk on the difficult path, but I also need the sacrifices of a lot of people to give me a hand!
"Besides, I promised you that I would be careful and try to preserve Li Jialing's soul, didn't I?"
The shadow's voice suddenly softened.
Li Linghai was like someone drowning who caught the last straw, although there was no telling whether it was a straw or a viper. Her eyeballs shivering violently, she asked, "Is… Is it true, Your Majesty?"
"Of course it is true. What I want is his body. Is his soul of any use for me?"
The shadow smiled and said, "If everything goes well, after I occupy his body, his soul will be sent into an artificial body, and he will live for another hundreds of years as a spectral Cultivator. Despite the minor inconvenience in training, his daily life will not be greatly affected. Can you not live with that?"
"I-I certainly can."
Li Linghai was overjoyed but somewhat found it hard to believe. She hesitated and asked, "I wonder, how much confidence does Your Majesty have to preserve Li Jialing's soul?"
"Hehe!"
The shadow snorted and became aggressive again. "Are you questioning my abilities?"
"I-I daren't!"
Li Linghai shuddered hard and kneeled deeply again. "I daren't at all. I misspoke because I cared about him too much."
"If you are really concerned about the safety of Li Jialing's soul, go and persuade him to cooperate with me. As long as he cooperates with me obediently without any struggle, nothing will go wrong at all."
The shadow said, "However, if he is obstinate enough to resist his destiny under the instigation of the rogues such as 'Vulture Li Yao', I cannot say what will happen during the transference of souls!
"Therefore, the safety of Li Jialing's soul is not up to me but all lies in your hands. Think carefully about what you are going to do!"
Li Linghai's body trembled. With the craziness of what a mother beast could do to protect her cub, she panted and said, "I-I understand what I have to do now."
"Good. I knew that you wouldn't disappoint me!"
The shadow laughed aloud. "The refinement of the three Divinity Transformation Stage experts is almost done. Right now, five forces, namely the four Kurfürst families and the reformists, have been gathered in the sky of the Silver Moon Ocean. Their strength seems overwhelming, but they, in fact, each have their own plans and are highly wary of each other, exactly like the battle here just now.
"Let's go and tame the forces above the Silver Moon Ocean, find Li Yao and Li Jialing, suppress the entire capital, and then… reclaim the Imperium!"
The raging shadow slowly retreated into Li Linghai's pores and melted into her long shadow, nowhere to be seen again.
Deep inside the black fog, the roars and moans of the three experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage all weakened, but their air was getting stronger and stronger, as well as more chaotic and evil.
On Li Linghai's face, her weakness and hesitation when she confronted the shadow just now were entirely gone. The toughness and solemnity of the queen of the Imperium and the leader of the reformists occupied her face again as an indestructible mask.
She narrowed her eyes at the Silver Moon Ocean, with sparks splashing out. There was no telling what was on her mind.
…
Deep inside the Silver Moon Ocean, Li Jialing was utterly ignorant about his fate to be a "soul container". He was still waiting at the edge of the battlefield obediently for Li Yao who had gone to nobody knew where.
At first, he was indeed clearing the small fries at the edge of the battlefield as per Li Yao's instruction. However, few enemies were able to run to his place after passing so many defense lines. After clearing up the few small fries, he grew bored and stared at the center of the chaotic battlefield in a daze.
His hands and his veins were itching, and he was wondering if he should also go on a rampage and show himself off like Brother Yao did.
To be honest, it was not in his nature to pursue a free, unrestricted life. That was only the reverse psychology after living more than ten years of suffocative life when he was imprisoned and refined by Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan. You wanted to incarcerate me, so I wanted freedom. Nothing more.
Now that he had truly obtained freedom, Li Jialing found that his real nature was… Well, Li Jialing did not know what his real nature was either. After all, it was quite normal for an adolescent who was less than twenty years old to be confused about his life.
However, because of the training with the fragment of the Imperial Fire Pearl recently, his Cultivation had been soaring like the mushrooms after a rain. His strength was almost overflowing from all his internal organs and
veins. His fists were itchier and itchier too. In such a fierce battle, he found it difficult to contain himself from going on a killing spree.
The feeling was almost like his first ejaculation in the middle of a night while he was still in a dream a few years ago. It was simply a natural instinct that could not be controlled at all!
Chapter 2327: What the— |
While he was upset, the mainframe crystal processor of his crystal suit sent out familiar beeps, which were exactly the secret signals that Li Yao and Li Jialing had agreed upon.
Overjoyed, Li Jialing hurried to swim deeper into the ocean where the signals came, only to discover that Li Yao was rising from a deep undersea crack in a crystal suit.
"Brother Yao, where have you been? I was truly worried when I was waiting!"
Li Jialing said, half in complaint and half in expectation, "I've been dawdling at the edge of the battlefield as you instructed, and I did not approach the center of the battlefield at all. But wouldn't it be inappropriate if we slack off from the beginning to the end? Why don't we go to the center of the battlefield and join the party? At the very least, we should be able to see which expert finally kills the supervillain Dongfang Wang and rescues His Majesty. It is perhaps going to be a fierce battle that can be seen only once in a lifetime!"
"Well, if that's what you want, there will be no need to go to the center of the battlefield."
Li Yao said solemnly, "I have already killed the supervillain Dongfang Wang and rescued His Majesty by the way."
"…"
Dumbfounded for a moment, Li Jialing grumbled, "What… What the heck? Didn't you say that you were going to the deeper part of the ocean to enjoy some fresh air?"
"Yes, that was exactly what I intended. However…"
Li Yao was of a mind to scratch his head despite his helmet.
"However, as it happens, I ran into Dongfang Wang in the undersea crack and met His Majesty who was heisted by him. I know that it is very hard to explain and that you want to spit in my face badly from your viewpoint, but that is exactly what happened. It's not like I had a choice!"
Li Jialing took a deep, deep breath and looked around Li Yao, asking, "Then, where is His Majesty?"
"Here."
Li Yao waved his Cosmos Ring.
"What!"
Greatly surprised, Li Jialing immediately realized what was going on. He stammered, "His—His Majesty has died?"
"Yes, it was a few days ago. But he was not killed by Dongfang Wang but… Forget it. This is not the place for such a conversation. Follow me. There's something that is very unbelievable but deeply affects you. I need you to stay calm!"
Li Yao dragged Li Jialing by the hand and swam to the deeper part of the ocean. Very soon, they encountered a crystal suit that was as gorgeous as a mermaid at the entrance of the trench.
The person inside the crystal suit was naturally Long Yangjun.
"Somebody's here!"
Li Jialing was surprised. "Who is it?"
Li Yao replied, "Dongfang Mingyue."
"What!"
Li Jialing was greatly scared again. It occurred to him that he would have a heart attack sooner or later if he hung around his mysterious "brother" Li Yao more often. He stammered again, "Isn't… Isn't she the most evil and sordid expert under Dongfang Wang's command, the president of the Association of Demon Hunters, and the she-fiend whose traces are mysterious and whose Cultivation is immeasurable?"
"Exactly?"
Li Yao led Li Jialing to swim to Long Yangjun. "But don't be scared. This she-fiend has been domesticated by me."
"What's going on exactly?"
Li Jialing did not even know how he should feel right now. Finding it hard to believe, he asked, "How is it possible? You'd been away for two hours at most, but you suppressed Dongfang Mingyue, slew Dongfang Wang, and stole the remains of His Majesty? How did you manage it?"
"Very simple."
Li Yao said, "When I met Dongfang Mingyue, I immediately released my dominant air and said to her solemnly that the trend of the Imperium's renewal was like an overwhelming tide, and that whoever went along with it would thrive but whoever went against it would die. Now that Dongfang Wang had died and the Dongfang family was about to fall apart, if she were to insist on her follies, not only would she die miserably, she would also be forever cursed by the future generations.
"When I said to her righteously, and Dongfang Mingyue thought about it carefully, she naturally found my points enlightening and persuasive. Then, daunted by my overwhelming strength, and since she had been admiring 'Vulture Li Yao' for a long time, knowing that she was no match for me at all, did she have a second option except to surrender to you?"
Li Jialing: "… If possible at all, I really do not want to believe you."
Li Yao: "The fact is right before our eyes. This is exactly the power of the brand of 'Vulture Li Yao' that I have carefully established recently. Now that I have accidentally made my personal image too magnificent and awe-inspiring, the great men in the universe are all coming to me and begging to work for me. I feel rather disturbed too!"
Gritting his teeth, Li Jialing swam to Long Yangjun in silence and observed the crystal suit on her body in suspicion, only to discover that it was indeed an ultimate product of unknown materials and doubtlessly only affordable for the real top-tier experts. He couldn't help but feel even more shocked.
"You are Li Jialing?"
Long Yangjun giggled and sent a telepathic thought to Li Jialing. "Don't be nervous. Just call me Sister Mingyue."
"Sister… Mingyue…"
Li Jialing's brain seemed to have been bombarded by dense bolts of lightning, and he couldn't have been more astounded. Did such a casual tone really come from the leader of the "Association of Demon Hunters", the arguably strongest organization of special agents of the Imperium? Even if she were indeed forced to surrender, she shouldn't have been so relaxed!
Looking at Long Yangjun and then at Li Yao, the young man had ten thousand question marks emerging from his eyes.
"Take it easy."
Li Yao said, "This… Sister Dongfang Mingyue has been touched by Brother Yao's personal charisma. She has decided to do the right thing and be a good person from the bottom of her heart. Therefore, you can trust her as unconditionally as you trust Brother Yao."
Thinking for a moment, Li Jialing said, "But I do not trust Brother Yao unconditionally!"
"…"
Li Yao coughed and said, "There's only limited time for us now. Let's not talk about the unimportant details. All in all, Li Jialing, you must be prepared, because we will tell you the most shocking and devastating news. You must hang in there!"
Li Jialing looked at the… unbelievable combination again and stammered, "Is there anything that can be more shocking than what I've seen and heard just now?"
"Yes. According to our accurate analysis and meticulous deduction, it is very possible that your mother is haunted by a ghost. A thousand-year-old ghost, no less."
Li Yao said solemnly, "That is Blackstar the Great Wuying Qi, the founding emperor of the Imperium of True Human Beings!"
Li Jialing was lost for words. Another thousand question marks popped up in his eyes. Biting his lips and thinking for a long time, he finally managed to ask, "I-I don't know how I should react now. What are you talking about exactly? Haunted by a ghost? What is that? How did you learn it?"
"There is a term about the spectral Cultivators named 'old grandpa'. I think you must know it, don't you? It's basically a seasoned ghost who tails you all the time and who offers you enlightenment in training or treasure-hunting. Of course, some of the malicious 'old grandpas' try to possess a new body so that they can be reborn, or to manipulate the living people as if they are puppets."
Seeing that Li Jialing nodded, Li Yao went on, "We suspect that your mother has run into such a condition, except that her old grandpa is rather unique and indescribably tough, because it is Blackstar the Great!
"Most of your mothe
r's strength and resources came from the Empyreal Transcendence Sector, where the Supreme Emperor was buried. Blackstar the Great, in the meantime, had also been to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum and eventually perished there before his death. Your parents should be the first persons who accidentally trespassed on the Empyreal Terminus Sector and touched Blackstar the Great's remaining soul. But since your father was an emotionless guy from the Covenant Alliance in the beginning, which was perhaps not suitable for manipulation and possession, Blackstar the Great eventually chose your mother as his 'host'!"
Li Jialing was rather astounded. He asked in a hurry, "How did you learn it, Brother Yao? How confident are you with your theory?"
"Before his death, Dongfang Wang told me and Long… Dongfang Mingyue a lot of things. By combining what I knew with her intelligence, we have found the astonishing truth."
Pondering for a moment, Li Yao said, "As for the accuracy, let me put it this way. Based on the known information, it's about fifty-fifty. However, I can guarantee with 100% confidence that it is true!"
Li Jialing was rather confused. "Wait. If the possibility is only fifty percent according to the intelligence, why are you certain that the queen… my mother is really haunted by a ghost?"
"If I did not observe and participate in the matter, it would've ended either well or badly, and the odds would've been fifty-fifty."
Li Yao analyzed solemnly, "However, now that I've been involved in this mysterious swirl, the whole thing will only escalate toward the worst direction, and the truth will only be the worst possibility. Therefore, your mother must've been haunted by the thousand-year-old ghost that is Blackstar the Great. I'm absolutely positive!"
Li Jialing's previously golden face turned pale, and he almost cried out. "What-What are you talking about, Brother Yao? You must save my mother!"
"Of course, I also want to save the queen and destroy the unparalleled monster that is Blackstar the Great."
Li Yao heaved a sigh and said, "However, according to my careful evaluation, it occurs to me that my Cultivation right now seems to be slightly lower than Blackstar the Great's, and I might not be a match for him if I am not in my best combat state. Therefore, for safety reasons, we better make thorough plans."
