No matter how many armors and tusks were hidden in the young man’s heart, and how much darker and more sophisticated he was than his peers, his experiences were limited by his age after all.
Even if he were the sharpest sword in the darkness, it would still require the whetting and polishing of time for him to have an edge to cut apart the stars.
Li Lingfeng’s words sounded too true for Li Jialing to tell their veracity. His mind in a mess, he somehow glanced at Li Yao again, as if this “Brother Yao” who appeared out of nowhere was his greatest reliance right now.
But little did he know that Li Yao was in quite a headache himself.
After advancing into the Divinity Transformation Stage, Li Yao was even more skilled at the perception of other people’s micro-expressions, heartbeats, scents, and even quakes of the souls.
In other words, it was easier for him to tell if other people were telling the truth now that his senses were keener.
While Li Lingfeng was of a higher level than him, the man was heavily wounded, and his soul gave an unsteady, flickering feeling. It was barely possible for the guy to completely fool him.
In the meantime, Li Yao sensed clearly that when Li Lingfeng made the statements, his facial muscles, his heart, his nerve endings, and his soul did not show any anomalies at all.
At the very least, based on Li Yao’s experience, he should be telling the truth.
Are you serious? “Li Linghai” is brutal enough to kill her own biological son?
Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue, feeling that his head was exploding.
Ever since his foster father’s last words were revealed more than a hundred years ago, Li Yao had been uncannily mesmerized by the name “Li Linghai”.
The reason was very simple. Li Yao believed that his foster father was a kind, righteous good man, and his foster father had made it clear in his last words that should Li Yao or the Star Glory Federation run into trouble one day, they could go to Imperium of True Human Beings and find Li Linghai, who would definitely offer protection.
Since his foster father was a good guy who had faith in Li Linghai and was even probably in a romantic relationship with her before, Li Linghai should be a good person too, or at least “the lesser of the evils” among the many Immortal Cultivators.
It was exactly what Li Yao thought at the beginning.
His plan was to trace Li Linghai through Li Jialing and see if there were possibilities of concession or even cooperation between him and the “least bad” Immortal Cultivator.
One might even say that Li Yao’s main purpose after sneaking into the heartland of the Imperium of True Human Beings on his own was to search for Li Linghai!
But according to everything Li Linghai said just now, the queen of the Imperium of True Human Beings was almost the epitome of the Immortal Cultivators. Her ruthlessness and cruelty could almost be called classical, and she did not hesitate to abandon her son for power!
If she could kill her blood son without frowning, what could the foster son of her former lover more than a hundred years ago mean to her?
Li Yao’s dream was rather beautiful, but it was a pity that the cruel reality was too damn freezing!
“What’s there to hesitate about? The few starships that I brought to the Sand Primitive Sector are about to be torn up by Li Linghai. Make a decision now!”
Li Lingfeng opened his arms with a low and firm voice and the most honest expression. “Yes, Jialing, I admit that I have been lying to you all the time. In fact, I should’ve told you the truth earlier to avoid such misunderstandings, which resulted in you… running away!
“However, please think for a moment in your uncle’s shoes. In the past, your nature was not completely awakened, and your uncle could not perceive your psychological state clearly. If I told you the truth, only to upset you and even make you mentally deranged, what could I have done?
“Also, after you learned the truth, your demeanor would certainly be different from the past. Should you expose any loopholes, you might be causing a disaster to yourself at any moment. It must be noted that the Li family had been extending our hands into the royal palace the whole time, but ever since Li Linghai’s influences grew strong enough, she was reversely infiltrating the Li family from the royal palace. Even I was not certain that she was unaware of your existence!
“As it turns out, however prudent and vigilant I was, she still discovered you and has led a secret squad to dispose of you in person!
“Good boy, I know you are a smart person and an out-and-out Immortal Cultivator. Let’s not talk about the groundless familial bonds but the most simple and substantial interests!
“Yes. I admit that I thought you were a rare good when I rescued you at the beginning, and I simply wanted to build you into a secret weapon or a valuable bargaining chip for the highly dangerous game between Li Linghai and me.
“However, during the procedures of refinement, I gradually discovered the infinite potentials hidden underneath your weak appearance. They were the strength inherited from Li Linghai that awed me!
“Hehe. None of my descendants, both the sons and the grandsons, were worthy of anything. Even the most distinguished one of them had the aptitudes and ambitions that could only be called ‘plain’ at best. His accomplishments would be limited, and it would be his best to help the family to manage a resource planet. He was not as good as one-tenth of you!
“Since you had such amazing potential, and you were my blood nephew who could sort of carry on the genes of my bloodline, was there any reason why I shouldn’t raise you well and refine you without bothering the costs?
“In conclusion, was I making use of you? Yes! Did I regard you as a leverage and a weapon? Yes! Did I hope that you could kill Li Linghai someday? Still yes!
“But did I raise you wholeheartedly? Yes! Did I invest ten times more effort and resources on you than I did on my biological sons and grandsons? Yes! Did I wish you to be my real heir, to pass on my genes, my power, and my title? Yes!
“Just think carefully about everything that I’ve done to you, and you will know that I am not lying at all.
“The relationships of human beings are all about manipulation. I make use of you, and you make use of me. Is there anything bad about that? To have the values that other people are interested in making use of is more reliable than any familial bonds!
“Let me repeat myself. Our interests are in accordance. We can absolutely work together to accomplish a great cause and control the family one day. The Li family in the next hundred years will be ours.
“However, your interests and Li Linghai’s are not exactly on the same page. She already killed you once you were still a fetus. Do you think she will let go of you this time?”
Li Jialing breathed fast. He clenched his fists and gnashed. “I have no interest in your power struggles at all, yours or Li Linghai’s. The blood connections of ‘mother’ or ‘uncle’ are utterly meaningless in my eyes too. I only want to live a life of absolute freedom where I can do anything I want!”
“Absolute freedom?”
Li Lingfeng was slightly dazed before he burst into laughter. “You silly boy. The universe is boundless with countless stars, but fights, slaughters, rules, and regulations that you have to abide by and unparalleled experts who can blackmail you, browbeat you, control you, hurt you, and meddle with you are everywhere! Where exactly can you find a life of ‘absolute freedom’?
“Let me tell you. If you really want to live a life of ‘absolute freedom’, it is very simple. You have to seize ‘absolute power’ through whatever means possible!
“Only when you have absolute power will you have absolute freedom!
“When you become the master of a planet and boast the absolute power of the planet, you will have ‘absolute freedom’ on the planet!
“By the same logic, when you become the lord of a Sector with the supreme power, you will be absolutely free in this world. You can kill whoever you want to kill and do whatever you want to do. Even if the world is turned upside down, nobody will dare to tell you to stop!
“Hehe. If you can dominate the Li family someday as my heir, many Sectors will have to listen to your command, and countless starships will obey your will. In the fief of the Li family, you will be unrestrained and enjoy absolute, lawless freedom!”
The young man began to breathe heavily.
Peeping at Li Yao, he said in a low voice after hesitating for a long time, “You have said a lot of things, but what do you want exactly?”
“I have a tiny plan, but whether or not it can work out will depend on the mysterious man next to you.”
Li Lingfeng focused his eyes on Li Yao again, but the brutality deep inside his eyes was all gone, replaced by cleverness and cunningness. “If I am not mistaken, you are not a real Cultivator, are you?”
After a brief silence, Li Yao chuckled. “Of course not. How could the daydreaming fools like Cultivators have raised an expert of the Divinity Transformation Stage and used him extravagantly as a scout? And how could they have such a well-maintained Colossus? You should know what a great pressure it is for the logistics department better than I do, Fellow Cultivator Li. It can’t be done without the support of a grand industrial system with full facilities and well-trained personnel. Do the Cultivators meet the conditions? They couldn’t have afforded a leg of the Colossus even if they sold all their belongings!”
Li Yao addressed Li Lingfeng as “Lord Li” at the beginning but “Fellow Cultivator Li” right now. It was obviously a hint that they were “on the same boat”.
“I assumed no less. The bulls*it such as ‘a Cultivator from the sky’ can only deceive the three-year-olds and the ignorant hominoids.”
Li Lingfeng said coldly, “Then, who might you be exactly, and what is your purpose of going through all the dangers on your own? In any case, the fancy combination of a Colossus whose combat performance is better than the ‘Tempest God’ and an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage is not something that the mobsters at the edge of the Imperium can present.”
“Do you know how popular and eye-catching your Heavenly Eye Group and your ‘slaughter stream’ platform were in the past hundred years?”
Li Yao said, “As the saying goes, ‘the bird who flies in the lead always gets shot first’. The slaughter stream is a new invention that has never been seen before in the past thousand years, and it is an interesting but scary thought to control the Imperium through the media. There are bound to be some pedantic, obsolete forces who dislike your ‘slaughter stream’ and do not want you or the Li family to control a new, unknown strength.
“Just consider me as an agent sent by the obsolete forces that do not like ‘slaughter stream’ and do not want you to grasp the new power. I am here to sabotage your cause, and they will take the opportunity to attack you to ruin your stream platform and swallow the Heavenly Eye Group.
“Don’t be angry. It’s nothing personal. In fact, I, for one, quite appreciate your ideas and creations. The Imperium is simply too moldy and ancient. It’s time to let in some fresh air. However… an order is an order, and business is business. I’m sure you understand me.”