Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The arrival of “Bloody Butcher” Wang Kou, “Shadowless” Duan Rui, and the other desperadoes suggested that Queen Li Linghai’s forces were surfacing, and the operation to rescue General Lei Chenghu was about to begin.

In the secret room, Li Linghai and four of her most important subordinates were having the last meeting about the battle.

Dongfang Sheng, the highest commander of the Deep Sea Fleet, was the leader of the secret armed forces of the reformists.

Jin Yuyan, the director of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, was the man of wealth among the reformists. He was responsible for the operation of the tremendous secret capital.

Yue Wushuang, leader of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, was the head of intelligence for the reformists, who needed to both infiltrate the four Kurfürst families and get the confidential information and prevent the enemy from sneaking into the reformists. Naturally, until the reformists were completely exposed, it was the most critical post of all.

Besides the three of them, Li Yao took part in the meeting too.

Although it was more or less a surprise, Li Yao had completely proved himself with his shocking performance in the Deep Sea Palace in the past days.

Dongfang Sheng, Jin Yuyan, and Yue Wushuang did not have any objection either. All of them acknowledged that he was qualified to be on par with them.

Li Linghai, Dongfang Sheng, and Li Yao had all arrived in person, while Yue Wushuang and Jin Yuyan still remained to be 3D projections from a long distance away.

After the five of them were all present, Li Linghai smiled at Li Yao first and said, “Last time, I asked Wang Kou, Duan Rui, and the rest of them to go to you, partly to strengthen their crystal suits and partly to help you adapt to the new crystal suit and magical equipment as your training partners. How have they been behaving?”

“Not bad.”

Li Yao said, “The boys are very smart and hardworking in their training. They follow my instructions dutifully too. We get along quite well.”

“That’s good.”

Li Linghai nodded her head and said, “Wang Kou, Duan Rui, and the rest of them are not from the regular army but are rogue warriors traveling in different worlds. Despite their remarkable skills, they can be quite disobedient and insubordinate.

“I was in quite a dilemma about the arrangement of those people. If they were allocated to General Dongfang, I’m afraid nobody would’ve been happy. Now that you are getting along with them well, that’s the best.

“If they can learn obedience through training, those scoundrels might prove surprisingly helpful when critical moments come!”

Li Linghai smiled while she talked. Then, she coughed and changed the topic, her face gradually turning cold. “Now, let’s focus on the battle mission to rescue General Lei Chenghu.

“I don’t think I need to exaggerate on the importance of the mission, do I? In the past ten days, the four Kurfürst families initialized crazy purging in the entire Imperium, especially within the expedition army, with the investigation of the Blood Oath Alliance as an excuse. Countless loyal patriots have been secretly arrested by them. A lot of our sympathizers are panicking and can barely protect themselves. They do not have the courage to provide any support to us anymore.

“There is no telling how many secrets our fellow Cultivators who have been captured have spat out under the enemy’s interrogation. Many confidential information about the reformists may have been learned by the enemy.

“Even General Lei Chenghu’s Astounding Thunder Fleet has been visited by the people from the ‘special investigation committee’. It is said that the fleets of the four Kurfürst families are being mobilized stealthily near the third battle area. They seem to be planning to completely settle the most elite force of the Imperium that wanders from the four Kurfürst families while General Lei Chenghu is under arrest and the Astounding Thunder Fleet does not have a leader!

“This is a critical moment. Our cause and the entire Imperium are in peril. We cannot wait anymore but have to wager all our forces to assault the Godly Might Prison and rescue General Lei Chenghu!”

Shua!

As Li Linghai talked, a 3D space map appeared before the five of them, which, after being enlarged, turned out to be a dim stellar system, and the focus was the sixth planet of the galaxy. It was a frigid, white planet covered in ice and snow.

“This is the ‘Mystic Ice Sector’ where the Godly Might Prison is located. It is a half-barren world almost without any resources. The star of the world is in the last years of its life, and the energy it radiates out is very feeble.

“The only habitable planet with an atmosphere, on the other hand, is too far away from the star. As a result, the temperature of the entire planet is too low to maintain a natural ecological sphere.

“Ever since the age of the Star Ocean Republic, an enormous prison has been dug out and expanded below the equator of the planet.

“Because there are barely any natural resources that are usable on the surface and below the ground of the planet, and the spiritual energy in space is extremely thin and feeble, which will mean a time cost of twice as much as usual even if somebody runs to the space and launches a space jump, it is the best spot to imprison the felons.

“From the Star Ocean Republic to the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Godly Might Prison has been increased and improved for more than a thousand and five hundred years. It is now a super prison of the highest level in the entire Imperium with the most thorough defense.

“The craziest lunatics, the most dangerous criminals, the most violent zealots, and countless people who opposed the four Kurfürst families are kept in prison here.

“Right, ever since the Imperium’s counterattack began, we have captured a lot of captives from the Covenant Alliance. Those of higher levels are imprisoned in the Godly Might Prison too.”

Li Linghai pointed at the 3D light beam quickly, showing the complicated alert and defense system of the Godly Might Prison to everyone.

Looking at the densely distributed crystal cannons and the aggressive fleets wandering on the near-planet orbit, Li Yao frowned hard.

“Since so many felons are locked here, the Godly Might Prison certainly has a lot of alarm measures.”

Li Linghai pointed at the dense spots on the light beam and said, “If we are going to assault the Godly Might Prison, the first thing we will be faced with is the ‘Godly Might Fleet’. Although it is a near-planet defense fleet that does not have the ability to cross Sectors, it is made of the elites of the four Kurfürst families, and its combat ability in the near-planet orbit and within the atmosphere is not to be underestimated. It will definitely be a hard bone to bite.

“Also, the entire planet that the Godly Might Prison is at, especially the equator, has been established with too many automatic crystal cannons and underground fortresses almost without any gap. There are also the ‘Mystic Ice Puppets’ that are made of special, coldproof materials and designed for battles in the snow environment.

“Getting inside the Godly Might Prison, the magnetic array with powerful attraction forces is naturally the standard defense approach. We all know that Wuying Lan’s ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ boasted the same system, but it lost effect after the energy supply center was blown up.

“The magnetic system in the Godly Might Prison, in comparison, has three energy centers and a backup energy base powered by geothermal energy. It won’t matter even if three of the four energy centers are blown up.

“Furthermore, the Godly Might Prison has a special scanning system. The entire prison is filled with cameras that send out invisible rays every second to scan all the prisoners and the jailors. By analyzing their frequency of breath, body sizes, and walking postures, their identities will be confirmed, and their physical parameters will be under close watch.

“With so many state-of-the-art defense systems, the Godly Might Prison is a place where even water cannot leak out. Nobody has ever successfully escaped in the past five hundred years.”

Li Linghai paused for a moment and waited for other people’s input.

“It is indeed impenetrable.”

Dongfang Sheng, commander of the Deep Sea Fleet, frowned. “With all our available forces, we may be able to conquer the place. But there will definitely be heavy casualties, and the battle probably cannot be ended soon. If the four Kurfürst families mobilize elite forces from the frontline, everything will be screwed!”

“Besides—”

Jin Yuyan, director of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, said cautiously, “Should the unexpected attack become a protracted battle, the prison can transfer or even kill General Lei Chenghu at any moment. In that case, our wild gamble will be meaningless.”

Li Linghai smiled confidently and looked at Yue Wushuang in expectation.

Yue Wushuang, leader of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, known as “Moon Devil”, still hid most of her face in the hood that had a silver lining. She said casually, “There is no need to worry about that. Our infiltration of the Godly Might Prison is far deeper than your imagination. Right now, a deputy advisor of the Godly Might Fleet, the captains of quite a few main-force warships, and a deputy warden of the Godly Might Prison are inclined to the reformists.”

“What?”

It was the first time that Jin Yuyan and Dongfang Sheng had heard the message. The two of them looked at each other in shock and disbelief.

Is it a coincidence?

Li Yao thought for a moment and listened calmly.

“Any rebels since the ancient times who wanted to change the world had to control the food warehouses, the arsenals, and the prisons, right?”

Yue Wushuang said calmly, “So many oppositions of the four Kurfürst families are locked in the Godly Might Prison. There are also countless experts who can never distinguish themselves under the current order. Aren’t they the natural best help for the reformists?

“Therefore, we have started the secret infiltration of the Godly Might Prison since a very long time ago.

“The difficulty of the infiltration is much lower than expected.

“The fleets and guards of the Godly Might Prison are the elites of the four Kurfürst families. Theoretically speaking, they should be loyal to their families.

“However… No matter how they brag about themselves, the nature of their job will always be ‘jailor’ that calls for no respect. They never have a chance to rise.

“It is especially so in the recent decade when the Imperium’s counterattack has achieved tremendous victories. The descendants of the four Kurfürst families who are slightly related to the expedition army have all earned abundant military credits with the least efforts, rising to power unstoppably. Their future in either their families or the other fields of the Imperium is nothing but promising.

“Then, how can the guys who are stationed in the Godly Might Prison and who have to face the snow and the prisoners every day without the least military credits not feel jealous when their peers are leaving them behind in the competitions within the families?”