He approached Li Linghai quietly, and the muscles and nerves on the two sides of the spine were constricted. He was ready to attack at any moment.
Li Linghai felt none of it. Her voice grew louder and harsher. “The nobles and the warlords rule over everything. Their beliefs have degenerated. The social stratifications have been rigidified. The channels of ascension have almost been entirely cut off. The high and mighty pretentious ‘Immortal Cultivators’ are in fact parasites who resort to every method possible to earn personal benefits under the disguise of the Immortal Cultivators and the civilization of mankind. They consider the Imperium as a tree that will never fall, and they all pierce into its roots hard to absorb its nutrition.
“They waver and hesitate when they encounter an enemy, and they lunge forward like hungry wolves when they encounter benefits. They blatantly exploit the hominoids under the name of the Imperium, but all the gains from the exploitation fall into their own pockets, not spent for the nourishment of the Imperium at all. In the end, the Imperium has to take the blame for them!
“Is there any essential difference between such a dusky, dying Imperium and the Star Ocean Republic that we overthrew in the past? It is even worse than the Star Ocean Republic!
“A thousand years ago, the corrupted, croaking Star Ocean Republic was also haunted by too many problems to be cured. Blackstar the Great rose and created the Imperium with a set of just, fair, and open systems in order to completely eradicate the many problems of the old systems so that everybody who worked hard and did not hesitate to sacrifice would have a chance to distinguish themselves. That was the only way to carry out the full potentials of the civilization of mankind!
“But today, after a thousand years, the Imperium that was vigorous, hopeful, and just, where everybody had a shot as long as they worked hard, is already gone and replaced by a duplicate of the Star Ocean Republic. The aristocrats and the noble families today are no different from the corrupted MPs of the Star Ocean Republic in the past—those pretentious, hypocritical, and selfish Cultivators—are they?
“It is true that hominoids are a type of fuel that can be sacrificed.
“But don’t forget that Blackstar the Great’s original purpose was to boost the civilization of mankind to a new peak at a high speed with the sacrifice of the fuel!
“The sacrifice of the hominoids should be valuable. They should be sacrificed for the ultimate interests of the civilization of mankind, not for the interests of a noble or the personal desires of a certain Immortal Cultivator like they are today!
“The Immortal Cultivators who do such things have deviated from the original purpose of Blackstar the Great, the real founder of the true path of immortality and the Imperium. They do not deserve the glorious name of ‘Immortal Cultivator’ at all, and they are jackals of the same lair compared to the Cultivators of the Star Ocean Republic in the past!
“The Imperium that is governed by such ‘fake Immortal Cultivators’, however powerful it looks on the surface, does not have the real corresponding strength inside. It cannot take any strike, and it may collapse abruptly at any minute!
“Does such an Imperium not require rescuing?”
Li Lingfeng was rendered speechless for a long time. Then, he gradually grew solemn as he said, “So, the queen actually has the lofty ideal to restore the glories of Blackstar the Great? It is true that all kinds of problems have been accumulated after a thousand years. The entanglement of interests and the sediment of conflicts have resulted in the lingering diseases that can barely be removed, especially during the recent hundreds of years. That is why ‘reform’ has become the common wish for all the elites of the Imperium in the past century. All wise people are thinking hard about how to reform the Imperium to create a prosperous era again.
“My Heavenly Eye Group and the slaughter stream platform are also minor tries for the reform of the Imperium. We should work with each other now that we share a common purpose!”
“Hehe. Don’t compare me to you.”
Li Linghai sneered, “First of all, it is just a fantasy to resolve the conflicts and reform the Imperium through the slaughter stream platform! The Imperium is already gravely sick, with cancers all over the internal organs, and your prescriptions are make-ups and a large dosage of anesthetics? It would be a miracle if you could reform the Imperium!
“Secondly, I know you as much as you know me. You are the most classic noble who does not have the spirit to sacrifice everything for the Imperium and the civilization of mankind at all. You are not a real Immortal Cultivator at all. Everything you have been doing is for your own selfish desires or for the interests of the Li family at most.
“The so-called ‘reform the Imperium’ is but a disguise for you to struggle for power. As soon as you become the leader of the Li family, you will throw away everything about the Imperium and the civilization of mankind and only mind the business of the Li family.”
Narrowing his eyes, Li Lingfeng declared angrily, “Don’t forget that you are a member of the Li family too!”
“It’s true that I am from the Li family.”
Li Linghai said casually, “But I am a member of the civilization first, and then a member of the Imperium of True Human Beings, a true believer of Blackstar the Great, and a real, pure Immortal Cultivator who is willing to pay everything for the civilization of mankind. I am only a member of the Li family after that, who will take the interests of the Li family into account.
“That is the greatest difference between you and me, and also the greatest momentum for me to save the Imperium.”
Li Lingfeng sneered, “You said that my slaughter stream platform could not save the Imperium, but do you have any solution?”
“Of course, I have my ways to completely eradicate the diseases that trouble the Imperium.”
Li Linghai replied calmly, “But until then, His Majesty must seize real power, without being manipulated by the four Kurfürst families and the other warlords anymore. Only a real emperor can renew the Imperium and restore the ultimate glory a thousand years ago!”
“After everything you said, it seems to me that you are after power just like me.”
Li Lingfeng grinned. “Everybody knows that the emperor is your puppet. Letting ‘His Majesty’ seize the power equals to letting you seize the power. So, it turns out that His Majesty does not want to be a second Blackstar the Great, but my dear sister is hoping to accomplish an unprecedented enterprise and become a she-emperor that controls the entire universe?
“I have to say that your ambitions have surpassed my expectations again and again. I’m truly curious. What is it that supports you deep inside your heart and makes you believe that you can achieve the unachievable?
“In any case, I have to remind you that the emperor and the lords managing the world together is the basis of the Imperium’s thousand years of reign. Whoever tries to break the balance between the emperor and the lords recklessly will die a miserable death in 99% of the cases!”
“Huh?”
Perhaps because her secret had been pointed out, and perhaps because of her brother’s undisguised threat, a brutality that almost felt like a real entity shot out of Li Linghai’s almost transparent eyes again as she glared at Li Lingfeng’s neck.
“Don’t be nervous.”
Li Lingfeng, however, was completely relaxed. Thinking that he had dominated the conversation, he said with a smile, “Even if you are really a problem, it should be the real big shots of the four Kurfürst families who feel a headache. At the very least, I am neither the family leader nor the Kurfürst. It is definitely not my turn to kill you, right?
“Just like what I said before, whatever you want to do, we are siblings, and there is no deep hatred between the two of us. Why don’t we ignore our disagreements and see if there are any opportunities for cooperation?
“At the very least, under such complicated circumstances, you have a ‘loophole’ that is wandering loosely, and the reinforcements from the four Kurfürst families may arrive at any moment. Although their main purpose is to investigate the uncanny ‘Cultivator’, wouldn’t it be awkward if they notice your traces? Why don’t we grit through the difficulties together as a brother and a sister first?”
While talking, Li Lingfeng slowly approached Li Linghai.
He believed that Li Yao and Li Jialing were prepared to suppress the queen at any moment too.
Of course they could cooperate, but that would have to wait until he dug out all the secrets about the queen!
Li Linghai considered in a seemingly careful way for a while before she replied quickly, “No.”
Li Lingfeng’s confident smile was immediately frozen. “Why not?”
“Did you know that the stimulation and boost of IQ has always been a cutting-edge project in biochemistry?”
Li Linghai suddenly went off the topic and said something out of the blue, “Assume there is a pig that has been injected with countless strengthening drugs. Its muscles and bones may be a hundred times harder than before as a result, but its IQ will barely be increased. At the very least, the IQ cannot be improved to mankind’s level. Essentially speaking, it is still a pig.”
Li Lingfeng was slightly dazed. “What’s your point?”
“What I’m trying to say is that a pig is always a pig despite all the training.”
Li Linghai said, “Even if a pig is born into one of the four Kurfürst families and advances into the Divinity Transformation Stage at the consumption of tremendous resources of the family and through all kinds of shameless, clandestine approaches, it will be nothing more than a pig in the Divinity Transformation Stage.
“On my way to realize my dream and to reform the Imperium, I may encounter a lot of incredible, ferocious, and cunning enemies. But however dangerous the enemies are, they can’t be as dangerous as a teammate who is as stupid as a pig.
“So, I refuse to cooperate with you not because you played tricks to send me to the capital as the crown princess a hundred years ago, not because you secretly hid my son to blackmail me, and not because you are vile and selfish and may betray me at any moment, but only because you are a pig.”
“You!”
Li Lingfeng blushed, not expecting that their conversation would end like that.
“Why, do you want to kill me?”
Li Linghai smiled, and the white hair behind her that looked like an ice waterfall began to dance again. “You had the intention of killing me as early as four minutes and thirty-three seconds ago. It’s too late now!
“Don’t think I’m vilifying you, my dear brother. I’m just speaking the truth.
“The best example is right before our eyes.
“In fact, the two guys hiding deep inside the fold two hundred and twenty meters away on your left side could’ve run off if they had escaped at their full speed.
“Yet, they were stupid enough to cooperate with you. With such a ‘pig teammate’ as you, they have already been locked onto by me while I was stalling you with all the bulls*it just now. Now, they cannot run away even if they want to.
“Do you still not admit that you are a pig?”