Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Jialing listened attentively for a while. Then he pulled Li Yao’s sleeve and said in excitement, “Brother Yao, did you hear it? The situation seems to be in favor of the reformists. Many more forces in the expedition army and the peripheral worlds of the Imperium are inclined to the reformists now!”

“Such fake news is only for entertainment. Don’t take it too seriously.”

Li Yao scorned, “Merchants are best at bragging. When they have a tiny boat, they dare to pretend that it is a main-force warship. As long as you believe half of a hundred sentences they say to you, you may be sold by them without you knowing!”

Li Jialing was slightly stunned. “Is it… fake?”

“It’s certainly not entirely true. This is just meant to stabilize the market and boost the morale.”

Li Yao said, “I’ve heard a thing or two about the nine Southern Sky Sectors. They are just nine barren, developing worlds at the edge of the Imperium. In terms of military forces, resources, or experts, are they even close to the four families?

“Even if the nine Southern Sky Sectors intend to keep neutral, they will only cheer for other people without doing any real work at best. How would they dare to compete with the four Kurfürst families openly? Wouldn’t it be like a slap in the face of the four Kurfürsten if they claim that they will not follow the ‘illegitimate order’? Those Sector Masters are certainly not bold enough to do so.

“As for the second news, all the fleets in the fourth battle area of the expedition army are pledging loyalty to Lei Chenghu, Marquess Liaohai? Huh. In terms of prestige, connections, and combat ability of the fleet, Lei Chenghu is indeed the toughest general in the expedition army. He deserves to be the highest commander of the expedition army.

“Besides, the expedition army’s stance is rather obscure. Most of the soldiers in the expedition army are from the peripheral worlds of the Imperium although they receive the command of the four families. But right now, the expedition army is the real neutral one here, neither helping the peripheral worlds nor helping the four families. It is obvious that they intend to claim all the advantages in the end.

“However, I do not believe that the fourth battle area of the expedition army has openly declared loyalty to Lei Chenghu. The most crucial thing here is resources. The reformists have only occupied the Empyreal Terminus Sector. It is impossible to supply the expedition army with only the resources of the capital. The peripheral worlds where the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is at are too far away from the newly-recovered territory. However abundant resources the Seven Seas Grand Market have, it is barely possible to ship them to the frontline and meet the astronomical consumption of the expedition army every day.

“The result is that the battle areas of the expedition army still count on the supplies from the four families to sustain themselves. Their necks have been tied up by the supplies and logistics. How can they break up with the four families easily?”

Tilting his head, Li Jialing thought for a while and said in disappointment, “It does seem the case. The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is rather shameless to make up such lies!”

“It may be too far to call them lies. There is something behind them.”

Li Yao thought for a moment and said, “I believe that the warlords of the nine Southern Sky Sectors and the leaders of the expedition army must’ve secretly reached out to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors or even reached agreements with them. That’s why the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is bold enough to release such ‘fake news’ first. Whether or not it is true, the morale of the four families will be affected, and the four families’ relationship with other forces will be weakened.

“Speaking of which, ‘God of War’ Lei Chenghu’s movements are rather mysterious. He was pinned into the heartland of the four families like a nail in the beginning. By logic, the four families should pluck the nail in their heartland before they start any massive military operation. However, I did not hear that the Astounding Thunder Fleet encountered any major battle…

“Is Lei Chenghu aware of Blackstar the Great’s secret or not? If he does, what’s his attitude? What is the veteran who has been fighting wars for two hundred years thinking?”

Li Yao was deep in thought.

His impression of Lei Chenghu was not bad. While the guy was a cold, heartless, model Immortal Cultivator, he was also a respectable opponent who deserved to be fought with strength, unlike the selfish “false Immortal Cultivators” of the four families, who were scumbags like sticky slugs.

The former reminded Li Yao of “Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao”, the soldier of iron and blood from the Star Glory Federation. He respected the man even in a life-and-death battle.

As for the latter, Li Yao would consider it a stain to his boots even if he stepped on them.

In Li Yao’s plan, Lei Chenghu was a part that was as critical as Jin Yuyan. However, the stubborn Immortal Cultivator was certainly not as easily persuaded as Jin Yuyan might be. Chances were that he would even ardently worship and support Blackstar the Great. So, he needed to make thorough plans…

Li Jialing jabbed him with his elbow and asked, “Brother Yao, let’s leave Lei Chenghu behind for now. How exactly are we going to approach Jin Yuyan?”

Li Yao narrowed his eyes and looked around. Pointing at a splendid and crowded building ahead, he said, “Do you see it? It’s ‘Commodity Market’, the center of the Seven Seas Grand Market’.”

Li Yao told Li Jialing that the Seven Seas Grand Market was divided into the internal district and the external district. The internal district was for the staff of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the VIPs. Jin Yuyan usually lived and worked in the internal district.

With Li Yao and Li Jialing’s skills, it was not difficult to get a VIP card. However, going into the internal district required thorough safety checks. Not only was massive-destruction magical equipment forbidden, but even the Cosmos Rings would also be locked tightly. Their identities would also be investigated. It could be quite troublesome.

Li Yao estimated that the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors must’ve been deeply infiltrated by Blackstar the Great’s secret spies, and Wuying Qi’s guys must be lurking in the critical posts around Jin Yuyan, who had received orders to kill Jin Yuyan in advance should anything go wrong.

Li Yao was reluctant to place Jin Yuyan in unnecessary danger or to let Wuying Qi know that he had come to the Seven Seas Grand Market. Therefore, he couldn’t openly enter the internal district and request to meet Jin Yuyan.

Zuo Tianying, the manager of the Blue Sky Market, gave Li Yao a channel through which he could talk to Jin Yuyan in secret. However, after much deliberation, Li Yao still abandoned the means of communication in the end, because Zuo Tianying was merely a common manager, and it was rather suspicious how “secret” the channel under his control was.

One couldn’t be too prudent about Blackstar the Great’s methods. Chances were that he had monitored every communication channel around Jin Yuyan, and the first syllable that Li Yao spoke to Jin Yuyan would be heard by Wuying Qi who was thousands of lightyears away.

The safest approach was still to sneak to Jin Yuyan’s side so that the two of them could have a face-to-face talk after blocking the soundwaves with rune arrays.

Through Zuo Tianying, Li Yao learned that, while Jin Yuyan usually worked in the internal district, he would come to the “Commodity Market” in the external district every other day in the last few months.

The so-called commodities referred to the trades whose total amount was above fifty million free coins. It was the foundation that supported the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Jin Yuyan would show up every other day to host part of the trades and to talk with his old friends. Even if he did nothing, it would still hold the confidence of the market as a sign that he would live and die with the Seven Seas Grand Market.

With a great war coming near, confidence was more precious than marrow crystals. Unless a very serious crisis took place, Jin Yuyan would certainly not break the norm.

After making clear of that, the rest would be very simple. All Li Yao needed to do was to sneak into the Commodity Market and approach Jin Yuyan without alarming anyone. Then, he would have a chance to communicate with the director of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors from close up!

“That explains a lot. I got it now!”

Li Jialing stood on tiptoe and vigorously searched around.

Li Yao found it odd. “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t act like you are a thief, alright? The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is loose on the outside but tense on the inside. The security examination just now may be sloppy, but there are in fact many plain-clothes policemen on the road and a lot of surveillance cameras that can even see your nose hair. What are you doing exactly?”

“Found them!”

Li Jialing said excitedly, “Brother Yao, a hundred and fifty meters to the east, there is an entrance to a ventilation tube. Forty meters to the south of our back, there is a manhole leading to a gutter. In the mall on our left, the public toilet is also a valuable point of breakthrough. Just go without worries! I’ll scout for you!”

Li Yao: “… You little idiot, what are you thinking, and who do you think your Brother Yao is? I am now an extraordinary expert above the Divinity Transformation Stage, only one step away from the Divinity Branching Stage, who is magnificent enough to behead a warship in one attack! Ventilation tube? I didn’t crawl into a ventilation tube even when I encountered Blackstar the Great. Now that we have come to such a poor market, with only a couple of battle-type experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage at best, you are asking me to crawl into a ventilation tube? That is too humiliating!”

Li Jialing coughed and lowered his head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Brother Yao. I thought that it was your favorite!”

Li Yao sniffed heavily. “Even if I’m fond of crawling into ventilation tubes to eavesdrop and snoop and everything, you should know that your Brother Yao is now in a different level from before, and it is too lame to crawl into the ventilation tubes physically. As a matter of fact, I have grasped the special skills of separating the soul from the body and crawling the ventilation tubes with the soul. Where are the entrances that you found a moment ago? Point them out to me again.”

“Huh?”

Li Jialing was dumbfounded. “Are you really going to crawl into the ventilation tubes?”

“Not me. Somebody is there in advance.”

Li Yao sneered and said, “Trust me. All the weak parts around the ‘Commodity Market’ have been long infiltrated. There must be at least five groups of spies and assassins who are ambushing in the most secret places, preparing to kill Jin Yuyan.

“Even if I play the old trick and enter the ‘Commodity Market’ through a certain ventilation tube, it will only be the buttock of one of the assassins that I will see.”