“Last time, she did not look normal in the Godly Might Prison, and she is changing her attitudes frequently without a good reason. There must be something wrong with the queen.”
Li Yao mumbled to himself. But after careful consideration, he had to admit that up until now, nothing the queen did had violated her promises at the beginning, and that the “new Imperium” would certainly be better than the “old Imperium”.
She even gave the commandership of the army to the big shots of the military such as Lei Chenghu without any hesitation, which gave the feeling of the separation of military and politics. It was a rather advanced approach.
Therefore, even if she did have a scheme, what could she count on to raise a storm?
Baffled, Li Yao was of the mind to chat with Li Jialing again.
But as he looked at the window at the end of the corridor, it was not Li Jialing that he saw but “God of War” Lei Chenghu who was standing by himself with his hands behind his back!
Slightly dazed, Li Yao walked forward, only to discover that Lei Chenghu was thoughtfully observing the generals and soldiers who were paying tributes in the Emperor’s Mausoleum in black uniforms not far away.
The God of War looked somewhat lost and confused.
Interested, Li Yao asked, “I thought you had left, General Lei.”
“Not yet.”
Lei Chenghu stared for a while longer before saying slowly, “It’s not easy to come to the Emperor’s Mausoleum. Although this is not my real body, I should still pay respects. I’m waiting for the people down there to be fewer so that I can bow to Blackstar the Great’s statue before I go.”
Li Yao knew that the heinous, inhumane crimes that Li Linghai described just now must have been a huge blow to Lei Chenghu. There was no telling how infuriated the seasoned general who was unquestionably loyal to the Imperium was.
The Imperium of True Human Beings was a country of Immortal Cultivators. Theoretically speaking, although the ordinary people were not regarded as humans but “hominoids”, which was a different species from “true human beings” and could be blatantly exploited, slaughtered, and even experimented on, there were still some laws and rules within the ruling class, namely the “true human beings”. The dog-eat-dog competitions, however cruel, still had the last disguise on them.
What Dongfang Wang and Dongfang Renxin did doubtlessly stomped on all the “morals” of the Immortal Cultivators and tore the last disguise apart into pieces.
If part of the Immortal Cultivators could absorb other people’s vitality and Cultivation through “cannibal training”, occupying the pivot of the ruling class forever, Lei Chenghu’s proud belief that the true path of immortality could achieve the optimal configuration of resources would be a joke. The legitimacy and the stability of the Imperium’s reign would be gone instantly.
It was certainly not something that Lei Chenghu could tolerate.
No wonder he was moping and hesitating in this place.
As Li Yao expected, after he observed the disabled soldiers down there together with Lei Chenghu in silence for a moment, Lei Chenghu opened his mouth voluntarily. “Although I do not like wars…”
“Huh?”
Li Yao felt that everybody was abnormal today and found it hard to believe. “You are the renowned ‘God of War’, an invincible general that destroys all your enemies, and you do not like wars?”
“The most popular prostitute in a brothel is not necessarily fond of sleeping with guests every night. Why must an invincible general love wars?”
Lei Chenghu sighed and said casually, “But you are not entirely wrong. After seeing so many disguises, conspiracies, betrayals, defections, and all the other despicable things, sometimes I even feel that the relation between the prostitutes and their guests is simpler, purer, and easier. You pay money, and I open my legs. It’s a fair deal and much better than the fancy, empty talks that neither parties believe.
“Therefore, although I do not like wars, I would rather stay in the frontline than to linger in the murky rear together with the treacherous, shortsighted, and wicked Immortal Cultivators who know nothing but their selfish interests.
“At the very least, even in the coldest trenches in the frontline, the blood of most warriors is still hot.
“Or rather, even the most ferocious enemies, those people of the Covenant Alliance, look more agreeable to me than the scumbags in the rear do.”
Li Yao frowned. “Are you serious? Even the people of the Covenant Alliance are more agreeable than the ‘false Immortal Cultivators’?”
“Aren’t they?”
Lei Chenghu said coldly, “At the very least, the people of the Covenant Alliance are simple, straightforward, and faithful. They express what they want frankly and never hide their real intention. So, the war between us is all about our strengths. If my saber is fast enough, you will collapse. If your sword is sharper than mine, I will die. Simple as that!
“Besides, the Covenant Alliance is very united. They are always in one piece. There is absolutely no such thing as conspiracies and schemes among themselves. They also boast the highest devotion. Every individual will not hesitate to sacrifice themself for the big picture. Although they may not be fully aware of the meaning of ‘sacrifice’, if only ten percent of their solidarity and commitment could be transplanted to the Imperium, the Imperium would never be what it is today, and no enemy would possibly stand in our way!”
“Wait—”
The more Li Yao listened, the weirder he felt. “General Lei, you are not thinking of joining the Covenant Alliance, are you?”
Lei Chenghu shook his head. “Of course, I will never join the Covenant Alliance, just like I will never be engaged in such a thing as ‘cannibal training’.
“But considering the chaos of the Imperium today, if somebody does join the Covenant Alliance, willingly removing the selfishness and the ugliness deep down in their heart and branding themself with the Three Fundamental Laws, it will seem rather normal.”
Li Yao was rendered speechless. He thought of “Tang Qianhe” again, who was a spy of the Covenant Alliance that he encountered in the Kunlun relic.
Tang Qianhe must have been a native of the Imperium in the beginning, or she wouldn’t have been admitted into Su Changfa’s exploration team.
What could she have possibly been through that made her transform herself into a subject of the Covenant Alliance willingly?
While he pondered, Lei Chenghu sighed again and said, “If only Blackstar the Great were still alive! He certainly would cleanse all the chaos and ugliness and revive the country!”
Li Yao couldn’t hold it back anymore but blurted out, “I hardly think so. Every person has their limits. Even if Wuying Qi were reborn, I’m afraid that he will have to be complicit with the ‘false Immortal Cultivators’.
“Or rather, there is no such thing as ‘false Immortal Cultivators’. Developing all the way by the principle of ‘survival of the fittest’, 99% of the Immortal Cultivators will only end up like this. The cause of the result today dated back to a thousand years ago. The chaos and corruption in the Imperium today are perhaps started by Blackstar the Great a thousand years ago in person!”
Narrowing his eyes deeply, Lei Chenghu stared at Li Yao and said, one word after another, “A while back, you said that my words sounded like what the Cultivators would say. But why do I feel that your words are more like what the Cultivators would’ve said?”
Li Yao smiled and bared his glittering teeth. “As the saying goes, a drowning man will clutch at a straw. The Imperium is too seriously sick right now to be rescued by any medication. In such an emergency, we might as well search the tomb of the Cultivators and see if we can find any pill that can treat the disease.
“Like you said earlier, General Lei, both the sabers of the Cultivators and those of the Immortal Cultivators can kill!”
Lei Chenghu sniffed and stopped talking.
The breeze outside the window gradually intensified. Soon, the sky was drowned by dark clouds, and heavy rain poured down.
The crowd paying tributes in the Emperor’s Mausoleum finally dispersed, turning hazy in the storm.
Ignoring Li Yao, Lei Chenghu dragged the heavy spiritual puppet and left the national museum, walking deep into the storm one step after another.
Li Yao stood next to the window and watched him disappear in the storm, but a name and a gender-neutral face popped up in his head.
“Dongfang Mingyue…”
At the south suburb of the central district of the capital, a gray, crude, and ragged-looking building, which seemed to be a common office building, was, in fact, the headquarters of the “Association of Demon Hunters” that could raise the fear of any Immortal Cultivator in the Imperium.
Deep inside the secret meeting room of the building, the most elite members of the Association of Demon Hunters were listening anxiously to the interpretation of Dongfang Mingyue, their new president, on the latest intelligence.
As the most dominating and ferocious secret agents of the Imperium, these demon hunters were naturally the most brutal and disobedient creatures who had killed countless people.
There were also factions within the Association of Demon Hunters. The power struggles and the secret battles were ten times gorier than those of the outside world.
However, at this moment, all the demon hunters placed their hands on their knees submissively and put their legs together, not even daring to breathe aloud. They seemed more docile than elementary school students.
It couldn’t be helped. The terrifying experience last month had told these brutal men clearly what would become of the people who showed the slightest disobedience to the new president Dongfang Mingyue!
“Li Linghai, Dongfang Sheng, Yue Wushuang, Jin Yuyan, Lei Chenghu… I have introduced the latest files of the key persons of the reformists to you in great detail just now. I’m sure you have grasped them, haven’t you? In the next second, I’m about to introduce to you ‘Vulture Li Yao’, who has been quite a hit recently.”
With a head full of black hair and zero makeup, Dongfang Mingyue retrieved Li Yao’s 3D picture and the battle video of “Gold Vulture”. Jabbing Li Yao’s forehead, she said with a smile, “This man is a dark agent, a ghost warrior, and a shadow assassin that Li Linghai has carefully trained for at least decades for the most secretive, filthy, and dangerous missions. Therefore, except for the few public battles recently, it is difficult to collect his earlier files.
“However, I do know a thing or two about him through other sources. Listen up carefully now!
“This Vulture Li Yao is a shameless, treacherous, and sordid rat. His combat style is not half as masculine and dominating as you are seeing right now. Deep down his bones, he is like a weasel and is best at stealth and running. He can also sneak into and out of all the dark corners like cockroaches. There is not a hole that he cannot crawl into.
“His level, well, is probably the middle or high level of the Divinity Transformation Stage. He is not necessarily the toughest Divinity Transformation Stage expert in the Imperium, but he is definitely the one who is best at escaping. By my conservative estimation, it will be impossible to stop him without three battle-type Divinity Transformation Stage experts and a few dozens of battle-type Nascent Soul Stage experts.
“Therefore, should you discover the traces of this cockroach, do not take action recklessly. You will not be able to take him down however many of you there are. Just inform me as soon as possible. I very much would like to find out… how grown this weaselly cockroach is right now!”