Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Her words were like a cluster of air with a temperature of absolute zero, freezing the entire chamber as well as the three leaders inside.
Having managed three renowned sects for almost a hundred years, none of the three leaders were fools. They had slightly been out of control just now only because of their fury. But after Jin Xinyue raised the shocking bomb, they calmed themselves down in the shortest amount of time.
“Jin Xinyue, so, you have long been prepared to—”
“Leader Pang, you’re mistaken. I have always been loyal to the federation. Not once did I think of betraying the federation in the past hundred years.” Jin Xinyue’s eyes were bloodshot, as if something horrible was about to break out of her eyeballs. “My people and I have served the country loyally and dutifully since we joined the Star Glory Federation. We have never hesitated to sacrifice our everything!
“Let’s just talk about myself. During the time when I worked in the Secret Sword Bureau, and the time when I was in the Dim Moon Fund and the Ministry of Equality and Development, how many things have I done for the federation? How many dirty and exhausting jobs that other people loathed to do were done by me? How many times did I personally suppress the dissatisfaction and rebellions of my own people?
“I can declare confidently that my loyalty to the federation in the past hundred has been unquestionable!”
“However, hehe, hehehehe! How did the federation reward me? They turn a blind eye to the so many things that I did and the great sacrifices that I made, but when my methods were only slightly outrageous, they immediately caught my weakness and bit it hard without letting go!
“Or maybe, since the seven Sectors of the federation are already steady now, it is time to cook the hound now that all the hares have been caught. They think that someone like me who has blood all over her hands and is responsible for the dirty jobs can be thrown away like a filthy rag, don’t they?”
Jin Xinyue’s eyes grew more and more bloodshot, and her eyes became larger and larger. As her spiritual energy surged out, her hair was standing up and fluttering, making her look like a crazy person.
“I can contain myself when other people wrong me, strike me, and suppress me, but even Ding Lingdang, my dear masteress, also does not care about our bond at all and bites me like a rabid dog, just in order to crawl to the throne of the Supreme Speaker with me as her ladder!
“Hehe. Is the idiotic cow with more brawn than brains qualified to be the Speaker of the Federation at all? Does she deserve it? Can she do the job? I will be a Speaker ten times better than her if I am elected!
“Injustice calls for injustice! Since this is the way the federation treats its contributors, since people hate their hero as such, and since Ding Lingdang despises her husband’s disciple like that, what should I care about?
“All in all, you were right about one thing. Those who are not my people will think differently. I am a demon after all who doesn’t belong to the federation. We surrendered a hundred years ago. What’s the big deal if we surrender again a hundred years later?”
“The bottom line is…”
She snapped the cigarette aside and craned her neck like a creepy cobra that was slithering toward the three leaders.
“A hundred years ago, I swore that I would become the Speaker of the Federation one day. It was a vow that I made to my father Jin Tuyi. Nobody is going to stop me, whatever the cost is and whichever methods I must adopt!
“I planned to become the Speaker of the Federation through legal approaches and lead the federation to resist the Imperium. Believe it or not, that was what I thought at the beginning.
“But the federation will not give me the opportunity. People will not give me the opportunity. Even Ding Lingdang views me as a mortal enemy! Ha. Did you notice how the news describes me nowadays? ‘A second Lu Zui’ and a ‘traitor of the federation’! Tsk, tsk, tsk. It’s high time that you look at what a real ‘traitor’ does, idiots!”
The three leaders looked at each other in deep thought. Flickering light was flowing vaguely inside their eyes.
But none of them were willing to talk first. They were all considering in silence.
“All in all, I have been pushed to desperation, and I’m forced to make counterattack now!”
Jin Xinyue took a deep breath to calm herself down, but her hands were still shivering slightly. She drew out another thin, long cigarette, but she simply clenched it in her hands and rubbed it subconsciously until it was rolled into broken parts.
Staring at the three big shots, she asked, “What are you hesitating for?
“Your situation is no better than mine. We have been bound to each other for decades. We are going to either live together or die together!
“Yes. With your fame and reputation, you will be able to catch your breath for a while even if you are skinned. You might not necessarily go to prison. You may even still be renowned celebrities standing at the peak of the federation on the surface.
“But you know that after the strike of the scandals, your spine has been lashed into pieces. Your sects and family are like dew before the sun comes out in the morning. You do not have much time to shine!
“I think that you are not scared of downfall, death, or prison. You are too old to care about any of that.
“However, you are scared that your sects and families that have been passed on for a thousand years will be destroyed by you. You are scared that new powers will rise and step on your face forever, making it impossible for you to seek a comeback. You are scared that your offspring will become useless, mundane people. You are scared that your power will slowly fade away until it is completely gone in the glory of the federation, just like the sects that we crushed together in the past few decades, right?
“But you can’t do anything even if you are scared. With everything coming to this point, is there any way to save your sects and family, or even to make them ascend to higher places, other than surrendering to the Imperium?”
The three leaders were all blushing and breathing hastily, as if they had been filled up with the worst liquor.
Jin Xinyue smiled again, with some craziness, some aggression, and some arrogance. “Stop being pretentious, dear leaders. I have long seen through the leaders of the major sects and families such as yourselves.
“In fact, for you, the path of the Cultivators does not mean anything at all, does it? You only become Cultivators because you happen to be born in a country of Cultivators that is the Star Glory Federation. Your loyalty to the Star Glory Federation is on the premise that the Star Glory Federation will bring you tremendous benefits!
“Your belief, and the source of power that supported you to reach the level you are at right now, has nothing to do with the difference between the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators. It is your sect and family, right? Your sects and families are your everything. For your sects, families, and bloodlines to live long and prosper, you can sacrifice everything, including yourselves and the federation. That is the idea in the deepest part of your heart, right?”
The color of the three well-respected leaders’ faces finally changed greatly.
“It’s alright. It’s really alright. This is totally understandable. How many people can really be loyal to their belief? Most people are still ordinary even if they have reached the Nascent Soul Stage!”
Jin Xinyue opened her hands and squinted. Sniffing the cigarette that she had just broken apart, she put on a fascinated expression and mumbled, “How fragrant.”
“You…” Leader Pang, the fattest of the three attendants who was essentially a mountain of meat, finally could not contain himself anymore. His small eyes that were embedded in the wrinkles of his fat rolled for a long time and looked at his friends sitting next to him. In the end, he gnashed his teeth and asked, “Are you certain of victory?”
Jin Xinyue smiled. Shaking off the remains of the cigarette in her palm, she slowly said, “There are too many factors involved in a war. Of course, I am not certain of the final victory.
“However, just think about it carefully. The expedition army of the Imperium is overwhelmingly strong in the first place. Even if we don’t betray but fight them united, we still may not be able to win.
“But right now, I have a batch of elite warriors from the Blood Demon Sector in my hands. A fleet in the federal army is absolutely loyal to me, too. Together with you and those behind you, how much trouble can we cause in the heartland of the federation?
“If the Black Wind Fleet attacks at such a time and loots the burning house, you can infer what the outcome will be by yourself!”
Cold sweat was popping up on the foreheads of all the three leaders.
Jin Xinyue looked at them scornfully and said, “Stop being pretentious. I don’t believe that you never considered the possibility of surrendering to the Imperium of True Human Beings. The big families and sects such as you are the least dependable. To survive the change of dynasties, it is practically your natural instinct to sit on the fence. Hehe. You are pretending to be loyal and responsible right now, but I guarantee that you will be the first ones to surrender when the situation goes south!
“After all, even if the Black Wind Fleet does defeat the federation, those people are pure warriors who are unfamiliar with the local area. How can they expect to govern the region and collect resources without the big sects such as you as their helpers?
“By then, instead of being destroyed together with the federation, it is possible for you to change your face and rise to prosperity, extending the tentacles of your family and sects into the four new worlds and even more worlds beyond in the future!
“Am I saying what is on your minds, dear leaders?”
The three big shots were obviously embarrassed.
Jin Xinyue smiled and said, “Tell you what, your smart plans are not going to work out this time. You want to lead the way for the army of the Imperium? I’m sorry, but such a glorious and sacred job has already been taken by me, and the renowned sects such as yours will never have the chance to take the initiative.
“However, we have cooperated for nearly a hundred years after all, and our cooperation has generally been pleasant. You also know that I am not an ungrateful person. I always do things for my conscience, my feelings, and my friends. Besides, my own strength alone is still a bit insufficient after all. Therefore…
“Hehe. There isn’t any tea today but wine. The ‘Red Guts Dragon Blood Wine’, the hardest liquor in the Blood Demon Sector!
“Come on, leaders, seniors, and uncles! Drink the wine, and we will be life-and-death comrades. Follow me to pledge loyalty to the Imperium, serve the true path of immortality, and lead the way for the magnificent army of the Imperium!”