Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Jialing thought for a moment and shook his head solemnly. “That’s not entirely the case. Take that Li Wuji for example. He seemed rather determined to annihilate the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors in the beginning, and his conquest on the Blue Sky Market was rather ruthless.”

“Li Wuji is a hereditary marquess of the Imperium. The privileges that the country offers to him every year are already astronomical. The money that his small family takes from the court every year is enough for the expenses of a whole sect. That is actually just a minor slice. His main source of income is the mines, farmlands, and monopolization groups that are under his name for hundreds of years.”

Li Yao counted his fingers and calculated it for Li Jialing. “He owns hundreds of thousands of acres of most excellent farmlands. The rice he grows is the natural, unpolluted strengthening food. He also has huge ranches where millions of animals are kept. How huge would the profit be? He can’t expect to spend all of his money no matter how he tries.

“Therefore, Li Wuji is naturally too proud to accept the bribery of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. He does not need to conspire with the rebels. He is determined to clear all of the rebels to maintain his place as a marquess of the Imperium because it is where his greatest interests lie.

“Aya, I almost forgot. You’re from the Li family too. You must’ve seen a lot of such things. You don’t need me to tell you the ratio of the ‘lucky dogs’ such as Li Wuji in the Li family, which is already one of the most affluent families in the Imperium. What is the life for most of the people in the Li family?”

Li Jialing recalled his life in the past and couldn’t help but nod his head. “That’s quite right. Of a hundred thousand people in the Li family, not even half has the position and power of Li Wuji. Most of the members of the Li family are no different from the Immortal Cultivators of other surnames. They are exploited even more because the descendants of the main bloodline are highly wary of those of the secondary bloodlines and have been doing everything possible to block the rise of the secondary bloodlines, fearing that their privileges would be stolen once the secondary bloodlines are up. Why did I keep a low profile for years? On one hand, it was because I hated Li Lingfeng’s ruthlessness, but on the other hand, it was also because I’d seen too many distinguished talents in training murdered uncannily.”

“That’s right.”

Li Yao said, “The higher class like Li Wuji, having claimed all the benefits, naturally regard the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors as a sworn enemy. But the Immortal Cultivators at the bottom class enjoy nothing and are monitored all the time. When they do not want to succumb to their fate but want to advance, they will need extra resources. The only way to earn the money for the extra resources is the shares offered by the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors or the profits from the ventures based on the anonymous platform of the organization. All the shares and profits will be exchanged into the free coin eventually.

“Even the underclass of the four families have been riddled with holes by the free coin. It is needless to mention the local warlords and leaders who have been on the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors’ side in the first place and who have been closing deals with the free coin for a hundred years. They have wagered their life savings on the free coin and the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors since a long time ago. Isn’t asking those people to settle the rebels any different from asking thieves to catch thieves?

“Of course, the four families still boast an extremely high combat ability. The power of their elite fleets is not to be ignored by anyone. Neither the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators nor the local warlords will challenge them openly. They’re all declaring their loyalty to the Kurfürsten openly.

“But when the time for real action comes, they will simply procrastinate or pretend that they did not receive the order. Nobody is an idiot. It is often the case that the routes of marching and the intelligence of the configuration have been sent to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors before the fleet leaves the mother port. Some people are even shipping assets to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors under the name of ‘settle the rebels’, making a huge fortune through it. Tell me about it, how is the war going to be fought?

“So, is it really a surprise that the market here is so prosperous although a war is coming?”

Li Jialing was stunned for a long time, before he said, “It does make sense. So to speak, the few great nobles on the top who are determined to fight can’t do anything about those under their command?”

“They don’t have any solution in the first place.”

Li Yao said, “Let’s say that the captain of a warship is a big noble who has many properties in his household. He despises the minor bribery of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, and he is an unwavering hawk determined to get rid of the rebels.

“However, below him, the advisors, chief mate, fire control officer, manager of the engine compartment, head of operations… Everybody holds shares of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, and they have their own channels to trade intelligence for the free coin. In every major festive, they receive gifts from the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Chances are that they even have a few mistresses and illegitimate children in certain secret markets under the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Tell me about it. Does such a warship have any combat ability at all no matter how magnificent its performance and firepower are? However awesome a captain is, he cannot expect to control a starship on his own, can he?

“The case for the warship is exactly the case for the so-called ‘coalition fleet of the four families’. Otherwise, how can they be in a dilemma with the garrison of a bunch of merchants in the peripheral worlds when they have the toughest fleet at the center of the cosmos?”

Li Jialing was silent and looked rather gloomy.

While he was not fond of the four families, he felt rather bad when he thought how corrupt the previously glorious and unstoppable army of the Imperium had become.

Browsing through the catalog of goods of the Seven Seas Grand Market in silence, especially the most sensitive military assets, he felt more and more upset as he read on. He simply clicked on another item and turned a few pages. His eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but shout, “Brother Yao, look, what’s the meaning of this?”

Li Yao craned his head and took a look. “Oh, that’s the service of back shooting. What’s the problem?”

Li Jialing asked, “What is ‘back shooting’?”

Li Yao said, “It’s a deal between someone in the coalition fleet of the four families and someone in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors for the guys of the four families to kill their superiors. Normally, they will settle at a precise time and location. The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors will be up in the front to attract the firepower, while those guys shoot their superiors in the back. Catching their superiors unprepared, the odds are rather high for them to take down their superiors.”

Li Jialing asked, “Why would they do that?”

Li Yao opened his hands and said, “There are plenty of reasons. For example, like what I said just now, most of the low-ranking officers on a warship are associated with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, but if a pigheaded, inconsiderate captain stops everybody from making money in such a way, wouldn’t it be perfectly normal for them to join their hands and kill their superior together?

“Or maybe, they are just coveting their superior’s place. The deputy captain wants to be the captain, and the captain wants to be the commander of the fleet. They do not usually have the chance, but in an ever-changing battlefield, if they conspire with the ‘enemy’ in advance, it would be more than easy for them to kill their superior!”

Li Jialing still found it hard to believe. Pointing at the light beam with his shaking finger, he asked, “But why is such a secret matter so blatantly listed here? Are they not afraid that other people might learn it?”

“What can they do even if they learn it? Just scroll down. Do you see? There are thousands of inquiries about the back shooting service.”

Li Yao said, “Let me tell you a public secret. Almost every deputy captain on the warships of the Immortal Cultivators wants to kill the captain and replace him, even if the captain is their biological brother. Sometimes it doesn’t help even if the captain is their father!”

Li Jialing mumbled, “How can this happen?”

“This is exactly what I said before. When a world of the Immortal Cultivators develops to the peak, it will be everyone’s war against everyone. It can’t be helped. If you accept the advantages of the true path of immortality, you will have to accept the disadvantages too.”

Li Yao said casually, “Ever since the moment the Immortal Cultivators agreed on the principle of survival of the fittest, the situation today has been inevitable.”

Li Jialing thought for a moment and found it impossible to refute Li Yao. He simply changed a menu and read the war bonds and long-term benefits on sale.

The young man’s eyes widened again as he read on. “How is it possible? A level-one Grand Pure Mine, with an annual yield of five hundred thousand tons, is only charged for fifty thousand free coins? This… This is almost free. Brother Yao, is it really not a scam?”

Li Yao glanced at it. “Of course it is not. The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is rather credible. But look at it more carefully. Where is this mine exactly?”

Li Jialing read it carefully. “It’s on the No. 4 planet of the North Peace Space Zone in the North Stone Sector. Huh. The doesn’t sound right, isn’t the North Stone Sector in the Li family’s territory? This mine must have an owner. It should belong to someone in the Li family!”

“Exactly. It is currently owned. The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is always known for its honesty, at least on the surface. Look, there are detailed files about the current owner here. Oh, it does belong to an elder of the Li family.”

Li Yao said with a smile, “However, if the reformists win in the end and completely control the Imperium, and the atrocious elder of the Li family is killed, to whom do you think the mine will belong?

“That is exactly what long-term benefit means. It cannot be fulfilled until the comprehensive victory of the reformists. That’s why it is being sold at such a low price.

“Speaking of which, it’s just fifty thousand free coins, and you will have a chance to be the owner of a major mine. You can’t lose anything in the purchase. It’s actually worth gambling.

“Oh, it’s stated here that the descendants of the Li family are entitled to discounts. You seem qualified. Are you interested in it? This is truly a fair deal.”