Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“I will probably be the last Speaker of the Star Ocean Republic.”

Looking at Li Yao, Cui Lingfeng said thoughtfully, “After the war, whether it is victorious or a failure, the Star Ocean Republic will completely become history, and the top classified files will be disclosed to the public. It is you will be the one who decides how to use, disclose, and disseminate the information.”

His profound eyes seemed to be piercing through Li Yao’s soul directly. Li Yao could not help but shiver. For a moment, he even had the absurd thought that Cui Lingfeng had figured out his real identity.

But it was impossible!

“It’s been a thousand years since we fled from our homeland and started wandering in the universe,” Cui Lingfeng said with mixed feelings. “In the most difficult times in the past, I considered the significance of our struggle and persistence. After learning the truth, anyone with a normal head will easily come to the conclusion that it is an absolutely absurd and hilarious dream to overthrow the Imperium of True Human Beings or even to destroy the Alliance of the Holy Covenant solely with Firefly!

“Therefore, if I hadn’t intoxicated myself time and time again with the self-deceiving beliefs, perhaps I would’ve ended up as a pessimist and a capitulator like Ding Zhengyang.

“I feel grateful right now that I did not walk down that path, that I did not collapse in desperation and choose to surrender to the Imperium of True Human Beings.

“Because I have finally figured out the significance of our vagrancy and Firefly’s destiny after it has fled for a thousand years in the universe like a stray dog.

“We were not wandering to overthrow the Imperium of True Human Beings but to deliver the ‘tinder’ from the center of the cosmos to this place, to the Star Glory Federation, a civilization of the Cultivators that has only just been born and is full of vitality like a rising sun!

“The ‘tinder’ includes how the Cultivators at the center of the cosmos struggled to clean up the mess, rescue their compatriots in the chaotic worlds, and establish the first real modern republic of the Cultivators in the dark years after the collapse of the Star Ocean Imperium, when countless heroes who were willing to serve as sabers of humanity emerged.

“It also includes how the great country declined from its peak to weakness, and from weakness to degeneration, step by step, and how a monster like ‘Blackstar the Great’ Wuying Qi and the abnormal beast, the Imperium of True Human Beings, were bred in its very body.

“There are also the tough choices on Firefly during the lone voyage between ‘Cultivators’ and ‘Immortal Cultivators’.

“I hope that you can take the tinder to the federation and show the glory, mistakes, and viruses that the Cultivators of the past once made to the Cultivators of the new generation so that we can create a more magnificent and brilliant civilization of Cultivators that will defend all mankind. A real civilization!”

Holding the heavy jade chip, Li Yao felt as if it had turned into a burning silver stream and leaked into his blood and internal organs mixed with the thousands of years of the history of the Star Ocean Republic. He was at a loss for words when he looked at Cui Lingfeng’s weary face that was full of expectation. “I…”

“Go now. Use this time to take a look at the past of the Star Ocean Republic.” Cui Lingfeng smiled, as if a great burden on him had been relieved. “You are now the Senior Representative and Special Councilor of the Speaker’s Office of the Star Ocean Republic, and you are going to visit the Star Glory Federation fully on my behalf. Although you are just a common member of the delegation in name, everybody, even including the natives of the federation, knows that you are the key. It won’t do if you don’t know the first thing about the past of the Star Ocean Republic!”

He walked toward the depths of the Meditation Platform unhurriedly, as if he were embracing the arrows of light that the stars in the universe shot at him. “The Star Ocean Republic and I are old. You and the Star Glory Federation are the future. Remember your own words just now, and try to make the future… a better one!”

Li Yao’s heart almost skipped a beat. He was not certain if the old Speaker was implying that he was from the Star Glory Federation. He opened his mouth but then closed it, wondering if he should ask at all.

Cui Lingfeng suddenly came to a stop, as if he had an invisible eye on the back of his head that saw through the concerns in Li Yao’s heart. “Whether you are from the Red Lotus Sector or somewhere else, you are a Cultivator, aren’t you?”

“Of course!” Li Yao replied.

“That’s good.” Cui Lingfeng’s voice grew lighter and lighter. “That is enough. The Star Ocean Republic is a country that has taken the entire universe and all the Cultivators and all the human beings in the three thousand Sectors as compatriots since the beginning!”

…

Ten days later, in the Uranian Ring Sector, when the carrier from the rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic appeared in the ripples of the void and jumped out of the swirl like a dolphin, the first thing that was reflected on the mirror-like shell of the carrier was the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag, the national flag of the federation that was more than a hundred kilometers both in length and width!

Sitting in a corner of the bridge by himself, Li Yao gazed at the raging dragon that was soaring into the sky on the red flag through the light beam all by himself. He could hardly hold back the urge to cry out loud.

A hundred years. After a hundred years, he had finally stepped into the territory of the federation again and seen the flag that had protected him countless times and had been protected by him countless times!

Thankfully, the experts of the Ancient Sages Sector were not currently around him. They were still studying the files that were as boundless as the ocean in their respective cabins. Under Cui Lingfeng’s arrangement, they had all been assigned to specific tasks in the delegation, and they were about to inspect every detail in the federation in terms of politics, economy, military, and all the other fields. Naturally, they had a lot of preparation work to do and were not half as relaxed as Li Yao.

To turn the experts of ancient times into modern specialists in a certain field quickly, even the computational ability of the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage was not enough. Therefore, they had spent the last ten days coping with all kinds of textbooks, files, and data without having any time to bother about other things. It was for this reason that they did not notice Li Yao’s subtle emotional changes.

In any case, I’m finally back now. I’m going to be reunited with my wife and everybody very soon!

Hehe. I didn’t expect that I would be appointed as a special representative for the Speaker of the Star Ocean Republic by chance. In the Ancient Sages Sector, it would be equal to the royal envoy, right?

The situation in the federation is rather complicated. The CFIA and Jin Xinyue are in an ambiguous relationship. The CFIA seems like bait that Jin Xinyue intentionally threw out to attract the Immortal Cultivators. But Lu Qingchen’s theory does not appear to be something a counterfeit Immortal Cultivator could come up with. There’s also Bai Xingjian whose acting skills even fooled me. What is his role in this whole scheme? Hehe. However modestly I put it, I am the dominator of the three Sectors after all. Are you bold enough to deceive my disciple?

Also, is the Black Wind Fleet already here and capable of jumping to the most vulnerable place of the federation at any minute? Are there really Immortal Cultivators lurking in the leadership of the federation, or is it an exaggeration and a smoke grenade that somebody tossed out on purpose?

If my identity as Vulture Li Yao is truly exposed, I’m afraid that it will raise unnecessary alarms and make the surreptitious scoundrels in darkness better prepared!

So, on second thought, I might as well make best use of my identity as ‘Special Representative for the Speaker’. I should try to be more surreptitious than the surreptitious bad guys. In the end, I might be able to catch them unprepared and resolve the problem!

Li Yao grinned and made the decision.

He might as well take things as they came. He would work as a dutiful ‘Special Representative for the Speaker’ and take a good look at the appearance of the New Federation that had developed quickly for a hundred years!

From the perspective of the grand universe and observed with the naked eye, even the periphery of the Uranian Ring Sector that had been highly developed was still nothing more than a cold, vacant wasteland.

However, on the mainframe crystal processor of the carrier, the radiation, mystic rays, and signals displayed on the light beam outlined the busiest, most prosperous, and noisiest scene.

Golden, shining sailing routes, like golden bridges, established a complicated, pervasive transportation network between the mother planet, important resource planets, space docks, and star fortresses. All kinds of starships in bizarre forms marked their coordinates and speed as little shining spots on the light beam, shipping the labor and resources that the world needed for its continuous development.

Two starships slid along the sailing routes near the carrier, escorting the guests from Firefly.

The shells of the starships were in the apparent style of pragmatism of the federation that appeared to be slightly clumsy, but the barrels and the plate armor in certain parts kept the agility and elegance that were unique to the Uranian Ring Sector. Together, they brought a sense of liveliness despite the minor incoordination.

Their size was already greater than Burning Prairie, the strongest warship that Li Yao had seen a hundred years ago, known as the ‘dream warship of three Sectors’. However, the exhaust flames spurting out of the power rune arrays in the rear were feebler and more lackluster, suggesting that they might not be the main power source but merely served to slightly alter the direction. Li Yao could not help but feel fascinated when he wondered what their main power sources were.

The starships that were more technologically sophisticated than Burning Prairie were not even members of the Burning Prairie Fleet, the ace troop of the federation, but only two main-force warships that belonged to the local fleet of the Uranian Ring Sector. Li Yao was greatly amazed by the magnificent military power of the New Federation and had never been more confident about the war to come.

Guided by the two escorting starships, the carrier quickly sailed toward the Uranian Ring Planet, which was the center of the Uranian Ring Sector and the largest starship production base in the New Federation.

It was not until the super-enormous orbit dock around the Uranian Ring Planet was gradually unfolded in front of Li Yao’s eyes that Li Yao finally understood why the Uranian Ring Sector had been named after such a wonder of visual impact. The orbit dock was not a narrow, thin metal thread that he had imagined but extremely thick even in contrast to the planet nearby. It was glowing brilliantly like the ‘rings’ around many planets that were made of meteoroids and broken pieces.