by <unknown>
"Of course, most people of the Imperium can't accept an emperor with a different last name, but it's fine because few people really know me.
"I'm the queen's biological son. The queen, Lei Chenghu, and the King of Black Wind will endorse that I'm the thirteenth son of the late emperor and that I was secretly sent out of the palace to avoid political conflicts. Now, I've returned to the capital after growing up in the Li family. Who can question my legitimacy?"
Chapter 2685: Change the Universe! |
"But…"
Li Yao's head was a mess, and his computation ability was blocked, making it impossible for him to say anything.
Never could he have thought that Li Jialing would bring up such a shocking topic!
"Brother Yao, do you want to say that the four families will expose me, or that the royal family can examine my bloodline with advanced technologies?"
Li Jialing smiled and said, "When Li Lingfeng brought me to the Li family, he changed my personal files, and the truth can never be found now that Li Lingfeng is dead. How can the four families find out my real identity?
"Even if they do, so what? It's only natural that they demean the emperor that their enemy elects as 'fake emperor'. I know that the propaganda machines controlled by the reformists are about to attack Emperor Chengwu fiercely. The four families' attack on me will only be the same. Nobody will believe it.
"The bloodline test is even less of a problem. The queen still has her influence. She and General Lei will definitely take charge of the bloodline test, and they can make up whatever result they want. Who will dare to object?
"In the Imperium of True Human Beings, strength is what matters most if you want to be the emperor! Now, General Lei, the queen, Jin Yuyan, and Brother Yao all support me on the reformists' side. Do you think any idiot would jump out and argue that I'm not qualified?"
Looking at Li Jialing's confident face, Li Yao tried to calm himself down. He asked solemnly, "Tell me whose idea it is. Did Lei Chenghu come up with it? Why?"
"Yes, it's indeed General Lei's proposal."
Li Jialing said calmly, "Brother Yao, have you not realized yet what kind of person General Lei is? He's an out-and-out Immortal Cultivator, the most stubborn militarist, and Wuying Qi's greatest devotee. His admiration for Wuying Qi is deep to his bones, and he dreams to restore the glory in Blackstar the Great's age!"
"But Wuying Qi is dead!"
Li Yao said coldly, "Also, what he worships is the Wuying Qi in his imagination, which is nothing like the real Wuying Qi!"
"Yes, General Lei realized that too. That's why he worked with you and disrupted the Next Sun Plan."
Li Jialing said, "However, joining hands with the Cultivators does not mean giving up his faith. He still believes in Blackstar the Great—not the dead one but a new, more perfect emperor who can 100% represent the true path of immortality!
"Do you see? General Lei believes that he can create another 'Blackstar the Great', the most perfect sovereign that rules over mankind! Of course, that is on the premise that this sovereign has got the heritage of the old Wuying Qi so that he can be approved by most Immortal Cultivators including General Lei himself."
"I-I think I'm getting it."
Li Yao murmured, "Lei Chenghu always worshiped Blackstar the Great as a god, but he discovered that the god he believed in was a devil. Other people would've given up their faith under such circumstances, but Lei Chenghu has crazily decided to create a true god and reshape the faith of all the Immortal Cultivators!"
"Yes, it can't be helped. It was really sordid of you to play Wuying Qi's porn videos to the whole Empyreal Terminus Sector, which shook the belief of too many Immortal Cultivators in the true path of immortality. They're even considering taking the Cultivators' side."
Li Jialing said, "Do you really think General Lei, an unyielding Immortal Cultivator, will watch the Immortal Cultivators change sides without doing anything?
"While he would never admit that the devil who initiated the Next Sun Plan was Wuying Qi, it's not enough. He has to introduce a charismatic new emperor who's directly related to Wuying Qi so that the collapsing belief of all the Immortal Cultivators can be recovered."
"Got it. Now, Blackstar the Great has two direct heirs in the Imperium, which are you who got 2.0 and me who got 3.0!"
Li Yao slapped his thigh and said, "Damn it, but it doesn't mean that he has to go to you, right? You're too young for such complicated power struggles. Why didn't he come to me? I can also… Well, I don't think I'm suitable to be the emperor of the Imperium, right?"
"I'm afraid not…"
Li Jialing nodded slowly. "General Lei is not the only one who needs a healthy, vigorous new emperor who boasts Wuying Qi's heritage and infinite potential. The young officers in the army also need such an emperor, a person that they can understand and who can renew the Imperium. I'm the best candidate for that. Don't you think so, Brother Yao?"
"I…"
Li Yao was briefly lost for words.
Though his head went blank after Li Jialing's proposal, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Li Jialing was the perfect choice.
Although the reformists won the Battle of Seven Seas and the battle in the capital, Wuying Qi, as a traitor among the reformists, still caused huge losses.
The reformists were now subtly changing from Li Linghai's age to Lei Chenghu's age, and the Cultivators, led by Li Yao, had inevitably added to the complexity of the situation despite their help to the reformists.
At a moment like this, it was hard to find a new emperor that everybody was satisfied with, and the reformists might fall apart with a bad choice.
However, ignoring his bloodline, Li Jialing was a rarely-seen candidate for the emperor that everybody could be satisfied with!
For Lei Chenghu, a crazy admirer of Blackstar the Great, it was his lifelong dream to groom a new-generation Blackstar the Great that was more perfect.
The imperial guards who were loyal to Wuying Qi wouldn't object to the leadership of Wuying Qi's heir either.
For Li Linghai, as well as Li Linghai's subordinates who had been fretting that they might be kicked away, it would be most reassuring if Li Linghai's son became the emperor and Li Linghai turned from the queen to the empress dowager. The power succession of the reformists would be in order!
As for the Cultivators including Li Yao, it went without saying that nobody would be a better emperor than Li Jialing!
However… However…
"What about it?"
Li Jialing stared at Li Yao. "Will you support me, Brother Yao?"
"From the perspective of returns, I will definitely support you. You would be so much better than those unworthy candidates as the emperor!"
Li Yao tried to hold it back, but he failed to. "However, as your big brother, I have to remind you that it wouldn't feel great when you sit on the throne! I've never felt that you're a man who's passionate about power. Didn't you always crave for a free, unrestrained life? Let's leave aside General Lei and the queen's attitudes and focus on you. What exactly do you think? Do you want to be the emperor?"
Li Jialing's eyelashes shivered, and he lowered his head.
In the next second, his lips curved as he smiled from the bottom of his heart.
"Thank you, Brother Yao."
His eyes glittering, Li Jialing said sincerely, "I know that you care about me from the bottom of your heart, and you want the best for me. You do not want me to shoulder the responsibility that might be too heavy for anyone to bear.
"However, like I told you just now, I've turned from a boy into a man, and a man has to shoulder responsibilities that he is expected to!
"It's true that I craved for freedom in the past, but do you know why? Because I had nothing back then. What else could a man who had nothing pursue except freedom?
"But things are different now. Now, I have a lot of new things. I have friends, I have family, I have you, Sister Long, my mother, and so many other th
ings that I do not want to lose and deserve to be fought for. How can I watch you fight, bleed, and sacrifice while I pursue freedom?
"It was indeed General Lei who proposed the idea that I became the next emperor, but before that, I had been thinking really hard how I could protect my family, my friends, and my home, and how I could fight as bravely as you!
"I couldn't have made the decision without your teaching. Do you remember what you said to me deep inside the Great Iron Factory? 'With greater abilities come greater responsibilities'. I've grown so much in the past year that I never thought that I could be as strong as I am today. However proud I am, I dare not say that it's all my own achievement.
"My power was not exclusively cultivated by myself, but more like endowed to me by fate. I cannot waste the power. I must use it to find and carry out my own beliefs. I will use it to change the whole universe!"
Chapter 2686: Wuying Ling! |
The young man roared desperately, and two purple flames darted out of his hands and hovered around his arms like two purple dragons before they went all the way along his veins to his head where they turned into a crown.
At that moment, a vague halo appeared behind the young man, and he seemed to be a combination of the Blood God, Wuying Qi, and Li Jialing. It was impossible to distinguish them anymore.
However, he became the young lion that Li Yao was very familiar with again in the next second. No, perhaps he was not so familiar with the young lion at all…
"You're very dangerous, Jialing."
Scorched by the young man's power, Li Yao couldn't help but ask, "It's great that you want to do something with your power, but I fear that you might be lost in the power. Do you know that you look like another Wuying Qi just now? It's too dangerous! I can't even tell whether or not you're still haunted by Wuying Qi."
"Yes, it's truly dangerous. Every time when the purple electric arcs and the golden flames flowed among my cells, a voice that sounded like Wuying Qi 2.0 would whisper to my ears, making me wonder whether I'm 100% Li Jialing or some other things."
The young man smiled at the flames and electric arcs in his hand for a while before he slowly retracted them and looked back at Li Yao. "What about you, Brother Yao? Are you not as dangerous as the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid who has absorbed Wuying Qi 3.0's power? Are you not scared that you would go crazy and lose your mind when you sit on the thorny throne as the sole balancer between the Imperium and the federation, that you would not turn into another vicious dragon with black scales and bloody wings? If you know that it was dangerous, why did you accept Wuying Qi 3.0's heritage?"
"Because I didn't have a choice!"
Li Yao said solemnly, "Nobody except me can be the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. I do not want anyone else to take the risks of turning into a vicious dragon, particularly not you!"
"Well said. That's also my answer. Just like you, I don't have a choice."
Li Jialing said fast, "First of all, the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators are in a subtle relationship. You said yourself that every candidate for the new emperor was eager to swallow the Cultivators and the federation. Even General Lei Chenghu wouldn't work with you forever, would he?
"No. We're putting our disagreement aside only to deal with the four families and the Covenant Alliance. But one day, when our mutual enemies are destroyed, will the Imperium and the federation start a war?
"No emperors can hold back their resentment at the Cultivators and the federation except me. Only I can treat the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators equally, suppress the eagles who intend to annex the federation, and bring real peace to the Imperium and the federation!
"Also, haven't you been trying to reform the Imperium in the Cultivators' way? I know that you're adopting a bottom-top approach by gradually changing the general public.
"But it's impossible! The Imperium is too big and chaotic, and the true path of immortality has been spread for a thousand years. It's hardly possible to change social customs! Your reform is bound to be caught in trouble. It may even raise friction between the Imperium and the federation!
"The Imperium today cannot bear a bottom-top reform. We have to change the obsolete architecture from the top with new power and go down to the bottom. That's the only way!
"The queen and General Lei Chenghu are naturally real reformists. On one hand, they're too old to lead the reformists until the completion of their cause, and on the other hand, they're too bound by the ideas of the Immortal Cultivators, and their reforms are too trivial.
"I'm not overestimating myself. I do not think I'm better than the queen, General Lei, you, or Sister Long. No, I'm not nearly as good as any of you right now, but none of you can be the emperor of the Imperium! On the other hand, I'm far better than any of the emperor candidates!
"If any of those pieces of garbage becomes the emperor of the Imperium, what do you think they will do? How will they treat the Cultivators and the federation? How will they face you as the deterrent in the Gold Crystal Pyramid? Will you carry on the reforms instead of being swallowed by their great ambitions?
"No, they won't. You know very well the catastrophic consequences if they become the emperor. It's why you and General Lei have never selected one of them yet!
"So, I cannot watch those pieces of garbage become the emperor of the Imperium only to ruin the Imperium, the federation, and everything I've finally got.
"Lastly, there's a small but not unimportant reason. The queen, controlled by Wuying Qi, almost caused a disaster in the Next Sun Plan. Although she was stopped by Brother Yao in time, severe losses were caused, and too many people lost their lives.
"The queen's crime is certainly unforgivable, but those who died because of her cannot be brought back to life even if she's cut into pieces.
"So, as her son, I should answer for her crime and atone for it every day for the rest of my life!"
Looking at the young man who was blushing in excitement, Li Yao was at a loss again.
Or rather, he was about to be melted by the young man's passion.
"Have you really thought it through?"
Li Yao asked, "Is it your final decision?"
"Yes."
Li Jialing declared resolutely, "I've made my decision. Nothing can change my mind!"
"Then, it seems that…"
Li Yao smiled. "I don't have a choice except to support you, right?"
Li Jialing also smiled. "If you don't support me, Brother Yao, I'll have to cling to your thigh and beg for your support. Though many people are behind my back at this moment, what I need most is your support!
"Remember the other thing you said to me in the Great Iron Factory? You said that even a tiny butterfly might raise a destructive tornado with a flicker of its wings. Come to think of it, maybe I'm the tornado that you've already raised. Now that you've started a tornado, how can you make it die down quickly?"
"Sounds fair."
Li Yao thought for a moment and looked at Li Jialing. "Then, answer my last question. What are you right now? Are you a Cultivator or an Immortal Cultivator?"
"I don't know. I've been bullied by the Immortal Cultivators since I was born, and Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan built me into a monster. I'm never fond of the true path of immortality."
Li Jialing said, "However, about the path of the Cultivators, no matter how you sell it to me, I feel that it's still too unrealistic and impractical and requires too many lucky accidents.
"I remember what we talked back in the emperor's mausoleum, about how it would be best if we could combine the ideas of the Cultivators and those of the Immortal Cultivators. Of course, I haven't quite figured out the details yet. If I'm lucky enough to be an emperor for several decades, I think I'll probably be able to find an answer."
"There was a guy named Lu Qingchen in the federation who had a similar idea. He believed that both the ideas of the Cultivators and those of the Immortal Cultivators were outdated and had to be revised."
Li Yao s
aid, "I think you have a lot in common."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Li Jialing said in delight, "I didn't know that there were such wise men in the federation. Where is he right now? I think it's necessary that we invite him to the Imperium for our cause!"
"Well, I think it would be tricky."
Li Yao rubbed his nose and said, "This man has already been killed, though not entirely. Part of his soul escaped, but I don't know where he is right now. I'm afraid that he can't help your cause in the Imperium anymore."
Li Jialing and Li Yao stared at each other for a long time before they burst into laughter at the same time.
"What a shame."
Li Jialing said, "He could've given me new perspectives!"
"It's indeed a shame."
Li Yao sighed. "Come to think of it, the ideas of many people, including Lu Qingchen's, had their shining parts, but why did we have to fight instead of discussing in peace to find out the best solution? They had to throw themselves at me and get themselves killed, making me feel upset and guilty. Why bother?"
"Aren't we discussing in peace right now?"
Li Jialing said, "Let's hope that we can learn from the past and do not make the same mistake while we look for the most suitable path in the sea of stars!"
Li Yao stared at the young man for a long time again.
"Something else suddenly occurred to me."
Li Yao said, "When you become the emperor, I don't think you can use the name Li Jialing anymore, can you?"
By saying that, he was expressing his support for Li Jialing.
"I'm Li Jialing, and I'll always be Li Linghai's son and Li Yao's brother."
The young man was not delighted at all after receiving Li Yao's support. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, as if he were going to cut himself loose from his past life and embark on a dangerous expedition.
However, after a brief struggle, golden flames were ignited in his eyes, burning up all his hesitation.
