by <unknown>
After having enjoyed himself, Li Yao began to worry. "Really? The little young lion should be sturdier than this, right? Wuying Qi 2.0's heritage can't be that unremarkable. Huh, wait. This is…"
Boom!
The metal garbage made of countless remnants suddenly exploded, and a brand-new Li Jialing flew out. He had restored the appearance of a human, but he looked completely different from before. His hair became golden in color and extended all the way to his waist, and his eyes were filled with a gold ocean. The gold stripes all over him formed a flawless armor, with purple electric arcs dancing on it like dragons, making him look more magnificent than ever!
"Wow!"
Li Yao was dumbfounded and dazzled. "How can you be so cool?"
"Excuse me, Brother Yao."
Li Jialing wiped off the dirt on him softly and said, "After I digested Wuying Qi 2.0's heritage in the past three months, I've developed a new shape. The lion demon form just now was only my transitional form, and this is my perfect ultimate form!"
Chapter 2683: Brother Yao's Support! |
"What?"
Every inch of Li Yao's skin was under the bombardment of Li Jialing's storms, as if thousands of needles were poking him.
His bloodshot eyes were filled with disbelief. "This is so cool. Tell me exactly how you trained yourself to get it. Why could you have developed such a cool form? It's even more awesome than me in the peak of the Divinity Transformation Stage. How can it happen? I won't allow it!"
"Huh…"
Li Jialing thought for a moment and said in embarrassment, "Actually, I didn't do anything on purpose. I just trained casually, and I became as handsome as this."
"Ah!"
Li Yao shrieked, and the bloodiness from his left eye surrounded him and picked up the remnants all over the ground, gathering them into an appalling enormous saber.
Boom!
The saber of remains was slashed at Li Jialing, while Li Yao said in a heartfelt way, "Jialing, you're on the wrong way! Such precious spiritual energy should be used to fulfill your cells and your soul, instead of making those cool sounds and visual effects!"
"I don't want that either!"
Li Jialing crossed his arms, and the golden fire and the purple dragons entwined and protected his face, blocking Li Yao's unstoppable slash and even crushing the saber of remains into pieces again.
The young man roared, "I think this is too eye-catching too. I'll definitely be the center of attention if I transform in a battlefield. But I can't control myself. Whenever I upgrade myself to the ultimate form, some of my spiritual energy will flow out naturally and get me into this look. What can I do?"
"It's alright. Let Brother Yao help you!"
Li Yao grinned hideously. His bulging veins circled before his chest like nine bloody dragons and unfolded a pair of bloody wings on his back. Two crystals the size of goose eggs appeared in his hands again, with dazzling electric arcs in them. "Actually, Brother Yao was ten times cooler than you before, but I've learned to abandon the superficial things. Now, let me teach this precious lesson to you!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Li Yao stepped forward quickly.
After every step, the enormous training field would shake as if it were about to fall, until he disappeared in the end, replaced by an overwhelming tsunami of blood!
Li Jialing, on the other hand, unleashed his light and heat nonstop like a gold volcano that was erupting in the blood ocean.
The two of them fought a hundred rounds in the blink of an eye. While Li Jialing was knocked away by Li Yao dozens of times, Li Yao had been hit by Li Jialing's magnificent purple dragons too. Neither of them was really hurt, but the wall, the floor, the gravity control units, and the defense rune arrays all over the training field suffered. It was not like the training of two experts, but more like the mutual bombardment of two super arsenal warships in this tiny room!
Very soon, shocking footprints, dents, and cracks had appeared on the floor, which was as soft as mud now.
Enormous human-shaped marks could be found on the wall too. Some of them were even half a meter deep!
Noises were bursting out everywhere. Both the gravity control units and the defense rune arrays were about to be crushed by the aftermath of their battle.
The lights were also flashing, until all the illumination rune arrays exploded and the training room fell into darkness. However, a golden fire and a red tide were still colliding in complicated shapes, as if they were two lines that had tangled.
Boom!
After another astounding explosion, the defense rune arrays finally collapsed, and a huge part of the dome fell too.
The whole training field was as vulnerable as if it had been soaked in water for three days, and it might collapse at any moment.
"Hu… Hu… Hu… Hu…"
Both Li Yao and Li Jialing panted quickly in the darkness.
"This is exhilarating!"
Li Yao couldn't have sounded more excited. "This is more like what Vulture Li Yao's brother and Wuying Qi 2.0's heir can do!"
"I'm never more satisfied either!"
Li Jialing was even more ecstatic than he was. "It seems that only Brother Yao can make me unleash all my potential! I feel great! I think I can still fight! Brother Yao, I know that you're not trying your best, are you? Just bring it on. Don't fear that you might hurt me. I'm fine!"
"Really?"
Li Yao sounded doubtful. "I've made some breakthroughs in the past months. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself if I unleash all my power!"
"It's fine. I can handle it!"
Li Jialing said eagerly, "I'm confident in my ultimate form!"
"Fine then!"
Li Yao took a deep breath and closed his eyes in the darkness.
Then, thunderous music burst out from his abdomen, his head, and the air around him at the same time.
"This is…"
Li Jialing gasped hard. "What's this?"
"Music."
Li Yao said matter-of-factly, "Do you not know that my domain is triggered by music? The louder my background music is, the more powerful I will be. Together with the mental attack that I launch with my song as the medium, I'm unstoppable!
"In the past months, I've reviewed the battle with Wuying Qi and realized that cultivating and singing can definitely work together! So, I practiced a few new songs, but nobody was willing to listen to them. Long Yangjun, Boss Bai, and the Fist King ran away whenever I told them that I got a new song. Even Xiaoming and Wenwen have no time! It's great that I still have you, my good brother!
"Are you ready? If you are… Behold my 120% soundwave attack!"
"…"
After a half-second daze, Li Jialing suddenly spewed out blood. "Ouch, it hurts so much! No, Brother Yao, I don't think I can handle it anymore! I think I just suffered internal wounds. I can barely control myself anymore. I'm vomiting blood. I give up!"
"Huh?"
Li Yao was disappointed. "Seriously? I thought that your ultimate transformation should be something better."
"Yes, it should be. Brother Yao, you're right that strength is more important than superficialness. I'm too… weak after all."
Li Jialing said quickly, "It seems that Brother Yao is always Brother Yao however stronger I've become. I'm no match for you at all. I can't take it anymore. Brother Yao, I have to treat my wounds!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Li Yao was suspicious. "Did I really hurt you so heavily?"
"Of course! The whole training field was almost blown up by you, and you think it was not heavy?"
Li Jialing hurried to run out. "This is just a minor training game. We really shouldn't have torn this place down. I can't carry on anymore. Brother Yao, you're so much stronger than me!"
The young man turned back to what he was as he slipped out not like a lion but more like a weasel.
Five minutes later, in the medical room next to the training field…
Both of
them were experienced fighters, so none of their wounds were critical. So, they simply treated each other without asking for a doctor's help. After they were done, they sipped medical drugs on the top of the medical cabins.
Both of them laughed when they saw each other's miserable looks, but they grimaced in pain as their wounds were stretched when they laughed.
"Hey…"
After a while, Li Yao nudged Li Jialing and asked, "The queen said that you had something important to tell. What is it that you're keeping so mysteriously?"
Li Jialing coughed and lowered his head in embarrassment without saying anything.
"Huh?"
Li Yao said, "That's a rare reaction. It must be something special and important. Come on, tell Brother Yao!"
"Brother Yao…"
Looking at the stripes that were vaguely flowing on his palm, Li Jialing made up his mind and said, "After the battle just now, you should see that I'm no longer a boy but a real man. If I make a tough decision as a man, will you support me, Brother Yao?"
"Ohhhhh!"
Li Yao blinked his eyes and grew excited. He patted Li Jialing's back and said, "I completely understand you. Hahahaha! Congratulations! It's indeed very important! What's her name? Whoever she is, Brother Yao will definitely root for you!"
"Huh?"
Stunned, Li Jialing stammered, "S-She? What are you talking about, Brother Yao?"
"The girl who turned you from a boy into a man!"
Li Yao found it odd. "Weren't you going to share it with me? How could you have turned from a boy into a man without a girl? Could it be… Hiss… Are you saying…? Oh, I got it. No wonder you seem so reluctant and hesitant and ask for my support. Well, it's actually fine. I… I totally support you. Really. We're in a different time now, and men and women are the same. This is an age when human beings are about to get rid of their shells, and the communication of minds instead of bodies is more important. Maybe human beings will fall in love with information lives in the future. So, I definitely support you!"
Li Jialing opened his fingers and buried his face in his hands.
"It's my fault. I really shouldn't have put it so subtly."
The young man said helplessly, "Let me just be straightforward. Do you know that Emperor Chengwu, the fake emperor that the four families elected, has been crowned on the Song family's base?"
Chapter 2684: Great Emperor! |
The news of Emperor Chengwu's coronation came to the capital three days ago.
Together with the news was a grand ceremony and parade.
Under the fear of fall, the four Kurfürst families had invested whatever they had left and established a new army. Although it was not as astounding as the ace fleets that they had earlier, the new army did look rather powerful on the surface.
This Emperor Chengwu was Emperor Shenwu's cousin. His bloodline was unquestionable, but he was utterly useless and was only the four families' puppet.
The four families wished that they could reunite the Imperium under his name.
They sent the message of the new emperor's coronation and the parade throughout the Imperium to expand their influence.
People in the Imperium generally believed that a country needed a monarch. Even though they knew that Emperor Chengwu was only a puppet and the coronation ceremony was not even held in the capital, the emperor looked sacred and inviolable after he ascended to the throne, making the Immortal Cultivators have second thoughts.
When the Imperium was so chaotic, the authority of an emperor could be a weapon more powerful than a fleet.
"I'm aware of that."
Li Yao nodded his head. "This Emperor Chengwu is nothing but a new puppet."
"A puppet he is, but convention is such a powerful thing. For a thousand years, the people of the Imperium have been taught to be devoted to their emperor. It cannot be changed overnight."
Li Jialing paused for a moment and said, "It's been almost a year since the late emperor's demise. Now, a fake emperor on the four families' side is claiming the crown, but the reformists do not have an emperor to lead them when their slogan at the beginning was to respect the emperor and renew the Imperium. How can the reformists unite the Imperium without an emperor?"
"That's indeed a headache. Hasn't General Lei Chenghu been looking for a new emperor? He even asked me to take part in the inspection several times, but the candidates were hardly satisfactory."
Li Yao was one of the most powerful people in the Imperium. Leaving aside the backup from the Star Glory Federation, he was the legitimate King of Black Wind, had the support of the Arsonist Fleet, and was one of the strongest warriors in the Imperium. He was definitely among the most influential people in the Imperium, and Lei Chenghu was probably the only person who could compete with him. The smaller warlords in the Imperium were not a match for him at all.
Therefore, though Li Yao was not a Kurfürst, he had the power of one. Both Li Linghai and Lei Chenghu had to respect his opinion when they were electing a new emperor.
However, the royal family had been turned into a wasteland by the generations of Kurfürsten who intentionally indulged them. The candidates in the royal family were hardly normal, much less competent enough for the title.
"Like I've told General Lei Chenghu many times, the election of a new emperor is an internal affair of the Imperium, and I shouldn't intervene much as an outsider."
Li Yao sighed and frowned, "However, those candidates are simply too unworthy. Some of them are greedy and ambitious, and some cannot think clearly at all. In short, they cannot contribute to our cause at all!
"Even a puppet should have some wisdom. I really don't care who's going to be the emperor, as long as he understands the simple idea that there are no eternal friends but only eternal interests, so that he can leave aside the differences between the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators for now. However, none of the candidates can meet such a simple requirement!"
Li Jialing smiled. "It seems that you're really angry with all those candidates, right?"
"Angry?"
Li Yao said, "I helped General Lei Chenghu devise a few tests, and those guys all revealed their ambitions. They hated Cultivators so much that they wished they could swallow the Arsonist Fleet and the Star Glory Federation in the next second!
"I'm not saying that the emperor of the Imperium can't be hostile to the Star Ocean Imperium, but you'd better figure out who's a greater threat first, alright? Now, the four families are not destroyed yet, and the Covenant Alliance's hasn't revealed itself, but you're hoping to slaughter all the Cultivators, devour the Arsonist Fleet, and march to the Star Glory Federation? You could ask for a better way of death!
"If they can slightly hold themselves back until we finish off the four families and the Covenant Alliance before they attack the Cultivators, I would think more highly of them. But now, not just me, even General Lei Chenghu is not satisfied with them."
"Yes. General Lei has talked to the queen a lot in the past days about the new emperor. I heard his complaints all the time."
Li Jialing smiled and said, "Actually, General Lei attaches much more importance to the new emperor than you do, Brother Yao, and he's not just electing a new puppet."
"Huh?"
Brightly stunned, Li Yao asked with a smile, "No puppets? Does Lei Chenghu intend to elect a 'sage emperor'?"
"That's General Lei's plan."
Li Jialing nodded and said, "General Lei believes that the decline of the Imperium in the past hundreds of years boils down to the imbalance between the monarch and his subjects, where the monarch was too weak and the subjects were too powerful.
"If the reformists elect a new puppet, would he be any different from the four families' puppet? Where would the reform be?
"Yes, General Lei Chenghu and the queen can ensure that the ideology of the reformists are unchanged with their prestige when they are alive, but General Lei is old and may die within a hundred years, and it remains to be seen if the queen can turn in
to a spectral Cultivator. They can't protect the puppet forever.
"If one day both General Lei and the queen perish, and the new-generation warlords grow powerful, what can the puppet emperor do? Would the reformists not degenerate into the new-generation four families by then?"
What Li Jialing said made Li Yao grow respectful for Lei Chenghu. "That's quite right. General Lei Chenghu is quite a visionary. Even though we're on different sides, I have to admit that he's a pure soldier who's devoted to his country!
"However, although it's great to have a wise emperor instead of a puppet, how can you find a wise emperor so easily? Hasn't General Lei Chenghu looked into the files on the members of the royal family already? I've read the files myself. Few of them are worthy enough. It's not like we can find several toddlers and groom them into a wise emperor in the coming decades, right? No, by General Lei Chenghu's rigorous standards, I'm afraid that a baby has to be groomed since when he was back in his mother's womb in order to meet his demands. Hahahaha!"
Li Yao cackled, but Li Jialing did not respond. The atmosphere was weird and awkward.
"Wait, why are you talking to me about that?"
Feeling that Li Jialing's face was weird, Li Yao had a mouthful of the strengthening drug and said, "Let the queen and General Lei Chenghu worry about the election of the emperor. What exactly do you want to talk to me and ask for my support?"
"Brother Yao…"
After a long silence, Li Jialing made up his mind and took a deep breath before he said, "If General Lei Chenghu and the queen would like me to be the new emperor of the Imperium, will you support me?"
"Pu!"
Li Yao spewed out the strengthening drug and coughed so hard that his tears were running out. "Cough, cough, cough. You… You've got to be kidding me. Cough, cough, cough. Did my ears just deceive me, or is something wrong with Li Linghai's and Lei Chenghu's heads? You, the new emperor? Your family name is not Wuying at all!"
"That's not important."
Li Jialing said casually, "You wouldn't think that General Lei Chenghu is one of those stubborn men who have to kneel before the Wuying family, right? The Imperium does not belong to any family, and General Lei is loyal to the Imperium, not Wuying Qi or his unworthy offspring.
