Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Regarding the sentence of Jin Tuyi and the way to punish him, debate remained unabated in almost every trade of the federation.

From the representatives, the ministers, and the leaders of the major sects, who were at the center of politics, to the ordinary folk who were not involved in national affairs, all citizens of the federation were considering how to conclude the war between mankind and the demon race in a way that was satisfactory for everybody.

Li Yao, the Ultra-Level Federal Hero, presented his opinions on the forums and through various media outlets. After making his declaration, he continued.

“According to the neurologists, at the terminal phase of cerebral sclerosis, even the nerve endings will be frozen. Other than the most fundamental actions that are controlled by the brainstem such as his heartbeat or breathing, he is barely able to do or sense anything. Nothing is painful for him.

“It means that, even if Jin Tuyi is minced to a pulp right now, he will not feel the slightest pain. On the contrary, his death will be the way for him to escape from the real punishment forever!

“Therefore, I don’t think we should punish Jin Tuyi right now. I think we should preserve his body and head in a certain way until the day we can actually punish him comes!

“With the integration of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector, all kinds of technology, including those regarding the brain nerves, are making breakthroughs on a daily basis. I’m certain that, in the not so distant future, cerebral sclerosis, which is an untreatable disease right now, will be dealt with through certain methods!

“Also, according to the latest news I’ve heard, we have made an explosive breakthrough in human hibernation. We have theoretically grasped the ability to freeze a human body at an ultra-low temperature, which allows us to freeze someone in the river of time for one to two hundred years.

“Then, let Jin Tuyi be the first person to receive human hibernation. Let him hibernate until cerebral sclerosis is curable. After his disease is treated and his most clear consciousness is back, we will give him the real punishment that he deserves. All the pain that is due for him should be tasted by him without him missing any of it!

“In my opinion, that will be a real trial and the only ending suitable for such a war criminal as Jin Tuyi!

“Of course, the human hibernation technology is still immature. Faults might occur, but the worst outcome will only be equal to a death sentence for Jin Tuyi.

“I don’t see anything inappropriate in dealing with him in such a way!”

Li Yao’s words raised discussions in every part of the society. After the initial shock, everybody had to admit that he did have a point.

Jin Tuyi was nothing more than a vegetative who could barely walk on his own, often urinating and defecating in his own pants.

Nitpicking a vegetative, cursing him, and even beating him hard would not cause him the slightest pain, physically or mentally.

Because of his cerebral sclerosis, Jin Tuyi’s soul had been sealed in the depths of his brain. With the technology of the federation right now, it was impossible to dig his soul out through the soul searching technique.

Basically, the federation could do nothing about him except execute him directly.

However, in many cases, death was not a punishment but a relief. Somebody had also said that every problem would no longer be a problem after they died.

Even the countryfolk, in their fury, would curse other people by shouting that they would die a miserable death.

It was indicative enough that, sometimes, ‘not dying a miserable death’ was actually something worth hoping for.

If the ignorant Jin Tuyi died just like that, it was certainly not a miserable death, or a real punishment, but a way to solve all his problems.

It was obviously against the purpose of the war tribunal.

After a month of discussion, the nine special judges finally came to a decision. Jin Tuyi, as an ultra-level war criminal, was found guilty of all charges, but given his special circumstances, he was exempted from the death sentence for now. Instead, he would enter the hibernation state through the rapid-freezing technology until cerebral sclerosis was treatable, at which time he would be unfrozen, cured, and executed.

Such an arrangement seemed redundant, but it actually reflected the dignity of the federation and the solemnness of law. Therefore, it was an action of necessity.

The public welcomed such a ruling, too.

After the general public saw on the live stream that Jin Tuyi was just chuckling like a moron, and even trying to pee at the bailiffs at a certain point, everybody agreed that executing such a clown was definitely not the best way to conclude the war. It would only be the greatest joke.

The Blood Demon Sector had no objection to the ruling, either. The leadership of the Pantheon of Demons, including Jin Tuyi’s daughter Jin Xinyue, supported the decision to perform the human hibernation procedure on Jin Tuyi and to postpone his execution.

Finally, the trial about the war came to an end, concluded by a rest that would be long enough, although not by a full stop.

Together with the trials regarding the members of the Patriots Partnership that were conducted and finished earlier, the century trials declared the Star Glory Federation’s farewell to the past.

From the Speaker to the regular workers on the street, every federal citizen got rid of the burdens of the past. Holding their heads high, they strode toward the future confidently!

The future, on the other hand, immediately slammed the bumpkins living at the edge of the universe right in the head brutally and mercilessly!

“What the federation is to be faced is probably not just the superpower Imperium at the center of the universe but also the Covenant Alliance, which is even more formidable and dreadful!”

The news swept across the entire federation like a thunderstorm before it spread to the Flying Star Sector and the Blood Demon Sector too. Everybody felt that their head was dizzy in the shock!

The new federation, which was still developing, was like a small fish that had only just grown fins and scales. Yet, the fish was suddenly thrown into the surging waves of a vast ocean. The world in the eyes of the fish was enlarged by billions of times. The angry octopi, the ferocious whales… all kinds of deadly predators were appearing in the mysterious deep sea!

It remained to be seen whether or not the small fish could weather through the scourge of the tides and the hunting of the predators and grow into a dragon that dominated the ocean and a top-tier player in the sea of stars. The goal required the joint effort of all Cultivators and ordinary people!

“The much-anticipated ‘Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage’ will begin in the Conference Center of the New Federation in Grand Desolate City, whose construction has yet to be finished. The meeting is…”

The butterfly was allured by the brilliantly-shining light beams and mistook them for real flowers.

She danced in front of the light beams, not having the vaguest clue what profound changes the meeting would bring to the world that she lived in.

The so-called ‘Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage’, as its name suggested, was a gathering of all the super experts in the Nascent Soul Stage or the demon emperor stage from the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector. The super experts would plan and discuss the future of the three Sectors so that all living souls in the three Sectors could survive in the perilous sea of stars.

The meeting that was proposed and encouraged by Jiang Hailiu, the Speaker, had been thought to be utterly impractical by many at first.

Everybody knew that, although the war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector had ended, the mistrust between the top experts on the two sides would not be eliminated any time soon. Most of the demon emperors were suspicious that it was a plot of the Cultivators, who were preparing to annihilate all of them in one attempt.

As for the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators from the Flying Star Sector, although they did not have trust issues, astronomical resources would be consumed for them to jump to the Heaven’s Origin Sector and then jump back.

In the beginning, barely anybody except Jiang Hailiu believed that the Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage could be convened successfully.

However, as the integration of the three Sectors pushed forward smoothly, the technological communication between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector grew deeper and deeper. After the federal army brought the antidote to the Demon God Virus to the frontline of the epidemic in the Blood Demon Sector and helped their old nemesis deal with the plague, the tension between the two parties somewhat lessened.

The existence of the Covenant Alliance, in the meantime, cut the obsolete ideas of all the super experts into pieces like an invisible blade!

Also, after the space communication system was deployed in a hurry, which allowed the demon emperors and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who were unwilling to attend to the meeting in person to join it remotely, the last obstacle was cleared, too!

All the top experts from the three Sectors were finally able to gather together and fight for each other’s future!

Because of the different conditions of the three Sectors, where the super experts’ influence and control over the society varied, and since they were probably unable to make the most correct decision immediately regarding the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance due to the lack of information, Speaker Jiang Hailiu defined the Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage as an unofficial caucus after much deliberation.

All the conclusions and decisions to be passed in the Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage would carry no legal effect and could not be used to bind the Building Foundation Stage Cultivators, the Core Formation Stage Cultivators, the demon generals, and the demon kings, who did not participate in the meeting. They did not mean any obligation for the ordinary people living in the three Sectors, either.

Furthermore, for the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who did participate in the meeting, they were free to refuse the decisions passed in the meeting if they were unsatisfied about the meeting.

Generally speaking, the meeting was going to be a seminar that focused on theories instead of reality. The top experts would discuss the most cutting-edge ideologies and the future path of the new federation.

It could not be helped. For the experts in the Nascent Soul Stage or the demon emperor stage, they could not be restrained through regular methods.

Faced with the formidable threats such as the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance, obligatory methods were also not the best choice because they would only push the three Sectors into another civil war.

As for exactly what path the new federation would take, and whether it would fight back unwaveringly or kneel down and surrender, it could only be decided by every Cultivator and every ordinary person at their own will!