Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Screwhead paused for the first time after giving such a long speech. Adjusting the slightly dry broadcast rune arrays on his neck, he went on. “That is not just Ding Lingdang’s intention but also the intention of the Patriots Front founded by her.

“You might not know this, bosses, but at the end of the Old Federation, the antecedent of the Patriots Front was the Patriots Partnership. However, the role that the organization played in history was not a very glorious one. It is said that they once launched a coup, hoping to seize supreme power. For their purpose, they even attempted to assassinate the Speaker at that time. They almost dragged the entire federation into a hopeless war.

“The coup was known as the ‘Riot of Patriots’ in history.

“After the coup failed, the leaders and members of the Patriots Partnership were accordingly punished by the law. The few leaders who were directly responsible were sentenced to death. The general members were also sentenced to decades if not hundreds of years in exile or penal servitude.

“It was under such circumstances that Ding Lingdang picked up the mess in the Patriots Partnership and regrouped it as the Patriots Front!

“The Patriots Front that was just reshuffled was not accepted by the general public, who had just gone through the ‘Riot of Patriots’, much less attracting them to join it! At that time, the first batch of key personnel in the Patriots Front comprised the members of the previous Patriots Partnership as well as their family, disciples, and social network.

“Although they are not large in number, those who were willing to join the Patriots Front despite such curses and misunderstandings at that time were all the most loyal, elite, and devout members!

“The Patriots Partnership had been made of the most extreme and radical ‘patriots’ in the first place, who wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice everything for the federation, except that they had chosen the wrong path.

“When their overwhelming passion for the country was manipulated by their previous leader, Lu Zui, it turned into a power that could destroy everything!

“However, under Ding Lingdang’s lead, the newborn Patriots Front began to make their contributions in an equally radical, bigoted, and extreme way!

“The members of the Patriots Front, in their disciplined attitude, did not defend themselves at all when they were questioned and even cursed by the outside world. Silently, they cleansed the dishonor of the Patriots Partnership with real actions. All the damages that the Patriots Partnership caused to the federation were slowly made up for by the Patriots Front. That was their belief in the beginning!

“With the support of such an ideology, and determined to atone, the members of the Patriots Front strived at the most remote, arduous, and dangerous posts in the federation!

“Where are the most remote, arduous, and dangerous posts? Of course, in the resource planets and Sectors that were just beginning to be developed at the edge of the federation’s territory!

“Therefore, such things often happened. When a member of the Patriots Partnership was sentenced to dozens of years in penal servitude or exile, his family, disciples, students… Hundreds of people would migrate together with him to build the new land of the federation. With their blood, sweat, and even life, they slowly changed the impression of ‘patriots’ in the hearts of the people of the federation.

“Therefore, as the Nether World Sector, the Uranian Ring Sector, the Forest Ocean Sector, and the Water Crystal Sector gradually embraced the federation, the ascetic Patriots Front were the first echelon of Cultivators from the federation to go to the new worlds.

“The new worlds at that time were not nearly as prosperous and developed as right now. Each world had their own problems. Some of them had a harsh environment, some were seriously short of resources, and some were dominated by the eccentric beasts. The people were generally divided into many tribes, large and small, and battles and wars never ceased.

“It’s exactly like the Forest Ocean Sector that you saw just now. Such a weird world that is entirely covered in primitive forests is definitely not something that just anybody can handle!

“Cultivators are no saints. Moving from a developed, old world to a perilous, new world to ‘offer light and heat’? Many Cultivators from the old worlds were all hesitant. Even when some people stayed there for a couple of years, they would often run away as quickly as possible as soon as their work requirements were met.

“However, the Patriots Front persisted stubbornly to the end. They helped the four new Sectors establish roads and bridges; set up tubes to transmit spiritual energy; and constructed hospitals, schools, and training facilities; disseminating the culture of the federation to the new worlds and building a whole new civilization. They gradually blended into the residents of the new worlds!

“After a hundred years of construction, after a whole generation, countless ascetic members devoted themselves silently in those places. Most of them passed away there and were buried in the new worlds. Just like that, the Patriots Front was completely melted into the new worlds and could no longer be divided from them.

“The Patriots Front grew fast in the new worlds. After all, the local residents had not experienced a ‘Riot of Patriots’ or heard of the names of ‘Lu Zui’ or ‘Zhou Hengdao’, which could make the blood of the old-world residents freeze. Since the Patriots Front was struggling for the residents of the new worlds sincerely, and their liberator, Ding Lingdang, was the leader of the organization, wasn’t it only natural that they chose to join the Patriots Front?

“After a hundred years of hard work, the four new Sectors have become the home camp for the Patriots Front, which competes with the major sects and noble families of the old worlds as representatives of the new worlds!”

Listening attentively all the time, Li Yao could not help but take a long breath and scratch his head.

The conundrum was so difficult that he did not know how to resolve it at all!

“Then, what are the differences in the policies of Skyfire and the Patriots Front?” Long Yangjun asked.

“Of course, they are at loggerheads!” Screwhead said. “Let’s talk about economics first. Skyfire, led by Jin Xinyue, advocates the strategy of ‘buildup of the core’, which means that the resources of the seven Sectors should be concentrated for the development of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Blood Demon Sector, and the Flying Star Sector, the three core worlds!

“Jin Xinyue’s reason is that the three core worlds are already highly developed with thorough infrastructure and a complete industrial system for magical equipment. Only by transmitting most of the resources in the new worlds to the core worlds can the resources be utilized at the highest efficiency. The greatest war potential will be triggered in such a way so that enough crystal suits, tanks, starships, and star fortresses can be prepared for the war to come!

“Therefore, not only is it unnecessary for the new worlds to develop more advanced industries, most of the resources should also be directly shipped to the core worlds. The training geniuses of the new worlds do not have to stay in the local area, either. They will be migrated to the core worlds for the most advanced education. Then, they can simply work and live in the core worlds!

“Ding Lingdang’s Patriots Front, on the other hand, highlights the ideology of ‘balanced development’. Ding Lingdang believes that, since the four new Sectors have only just joined the federation and the people there are not convinced yet, they must be shown the goodwill of the federation so that the seven Sectors will be focused into an indestructible whole!

“Yes. Transmitting all the resources to the core worlds will slightly improve the efficiency of utilization. However, by doing that, won’t the old worlds be absorbing the blood of the new worlds, when they all belong to the federation? What will the residents of the new worlds think of that?

“With the great war coming, unity is more important than anything. If the core worlds take too much from the new worlds, the people of the new worlds will certainly have second thoughts. When the expedition army of the Imperium does arrive, how are we going to convince them that the federation is better than the Imperium and make sure that they are willing to sacrifice everything for the victory of the federation?

“Therefore, not only should the core worlds stop absorbing blood from the old worlds, they should also be actively ‘transfusing blood’ to the new worlds. The core worlds should provide tremendous resources and favorable policies to help the new worlds establish their own magical equipment industries, training education systems, and so on. That way, the name of the Star Glory Federation will be etched into the brain of every resident in the new world. This is the only rightful path for the long-term development of the federation!”

Li Yao, Long Yangjun, and everybody else looked at each other in bewilderment, feeling that the two ideas both had their merits.

“In military, Jin Xinyue believes in the strategy of ‘preserve the force for a final battle within the border’. She maintains that, due to the long distance between the four new Sectors and the core worlds and the overstretched supply lines, it is barely possible to defend all of them. Therefore, when it is necessary, the federation should consider abandoning one to two worlds and attract the enemy into the border of the country so that they can be slowly drained and dealt with!

“Naturally, it follows the same pattern as the economic policy. Since the new worlds are possible battle areas and can even be abandoned after moving away all the usable resources to strike the enemy, there is no need to develop them on a large scale right now. After all, anything built on the new worlds right now will possibly be taken advantage of by the enemy!

“Ding Lingdang is the opposite. While she believes that Jin Xinyue’s concerns are valid from a strategic point of view, and it is true that the distance between the four new worlds and the three old worlds is too far and too heavy a burden for supplies, the influence of the policy on the people must be taken into account. If the federation gives up a world immediately after the army of the Imperium arrives, what will the residents of the other new worlds think? If the federation cannot protect them, why on earth should they fight on their own for the federation?

“Therefore, no matter how great the price is, the seven Sectors, especially the four new ones, must be protected! If some of the worlds are lost eventually after bloody battles, it might pass. However, if they are easily abandoned, a chain reaction will certainly be caused, and there will be dire consequences!

“Now that all seven Sectors have to be defended, naturally, the four new worlds should be stationed with tremendous troops, and a large portion of the military budget must be allotted for construction purposes! Although the military budget of the federation is astronomical, it is still too huge an investment. For every new star fortress built in the new worlds, it can possibly mean one fewer super starship in the docks of the old worlds. How can the two candidates ever concede on their military policies?”