Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Di Feiwen’s voice was as soft as a spring breeze when it entered Li Yao’s ears, but it almost completely froze Li Yao’s heart.

Li Yao had analyzed all the schemes that Di Feiwen could have possibly set up. He had even come to meet the No. 2 person of the Black Wind Fleet in the mind of enjoying a play. It had never occurred to him that the guy would propose such a shocking and ridiculous idea.

“What… is the meaning of this?” Li Yao demanded. “If this is some kind of scheme, it is really a terrible one!”

“Of course, it is not a scheme. Faced with your unparalleled strength, our surrender is a hundred percent genuine.”

Di Feiwen lowered his head again and said, “Your original plan was to support Heiye Lan as a puppet and control the Black Wind Fleet indirectly through her based on her identity and bloodline. But you do not understand our disdain for bloodline and our respect for strength. Heiye Lan is just a dog of yours. If we submit to her, wouldn’t we be the dogs of the federation’s dog, no better than the slaves of the federation’s slave?

“By the same logic, even if we do elect a nominal leader within us as the so-called ‘Black Wing King’, he will be incomparable to the previous Black Wind Kings, who used to dominate the universe at the center of the cosmos. He will only be a puppet who is destined to bow before the federation and be closely monitored. The federation will always stay wary of his every move without giving him any real freedom.

“What can such a puppet leader do? Which proud expert of the Black Wind Fleet is willing to be covered with greasepaint and be delivered to the parliament of the federation as a subject and a puppet?”

“Well, about that…”

“As you said just now,” Di Feiwen said casually, “the Black Wind Fleet is in a terrible situation. Two continuous crushing defeats in only a hundred years have not only deprived the Immortal Cultivators of the five worlds of our homes but also broken our backbones, giving us no hope of reclaiming our homes, restoring our former glory, and even reappearing at the peak of the universe.

“Hope. Hope is the most precious thing in the entire universe. Whether they are righteous or evil, everybody must count on hope to survive. When I said that the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet might split up into space pirates, it was not a threat but a helpless fact. Once the defeated soldiers truly lose their last hope, many of them will completely sink into darkness and possibly become certain dreadful beings that are not humans at all. Including me, no one will be able to control them or even imagine what they will do.

“At this moment, if there is one person who can bring hope to the Black Wind Fleet and tell the defeated soldiers whose spines have been broken that they can return to the center of the sea of stars and reclaim their homes and glory, turning from crushed soldiers into the strongest warriors in the universe—President Li, who do you think that person will be? Heiye Lan? Me? The captains under my lead who are mediocre in the first place?

“No, we are incapable of that. Even the most idiotic hominoid soldier on the Imperium’s starships will not believe any bullsh*t from me or Heiye Lan.

“I am nothing more than a businessman, and Heiye Lan is a puppet without any experience, prestige, or brains. Neither of us can make people obey us.

“Only you, the invincible dominator at the edge of the cosmos and the magnificent being who has slain a member of the Pangu Clan and the extraterrestrial devils easily, have such prestige and capability. That is, as long as you are willing to raise your arms and declare that you will bring the crushed soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet back to their homes and build them into the most magnificent fleet of the Imperium! Such vows and roars will inject new strength into the broken backbones of the soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet and give us pillars to support our mind!

“The strong are always the most worshipped, which is the Immortal Cultivators’ doctrine that has been repeated too many times and an unshakeable rule in the soul of each of them. Since you are the strongest at the edge of the cosmos, isn’t it only natural for us to submit to you and invite you to be our new leader?”

Sincerity beamed out of Di Feiwen’s small, clear eyes on his triangular face, which could not have been more hideous. Li Yao almost failed to resist it. He hurried to say, “Wait, wait, wait. Can you pick a random outsider to be ‘Black Wing King’? I am not a native of the Black Wind Fleet at all. I am not even a native of the Imperium!”

“The Immortal Cultivators only value strength,” Di Feiwen explained. “We do not hold any bias about one’s birthplace. I’m sure that you also know that Blackstar the Great, the founder of the Imperium of True Human Beings, was not from the center of the cosmos. When he ascended to the throne and announced that the Star Ocean Republic was to be reshaped into the Imperium of True Human Beings, his hometown, the Martials Meritocrats Sector, was not even included in the Imperium’s territory.

“The founding emperor has set a good example for us. Why would the lords and the Sector Masters have more rules and restrictions? With enough strength, all rules can be shattered!

“Also, after swallowing the defeated soldiers and the immigrant fleets of the Purple Fire Sector, the Fiery Spider Sector, the Hard Rock Sector, and the Wild Wolf Sector, the meaning of ‘Black Wind King’ has been greatly expanded. It is now the ruler of five worlds.

“For the Immortal Cultivators of the Purple Fire Sector, the Fiery Spider Sector, the Hard Rock Sector, and the Wild Wolf Sector, is there any difference between Heiye Ming’s leadership and yours? Both of you are experts from a different Sector for them, aren’t you?”

“How can we be the same?” Li Yao blurted out. “Heiye Ming and those Immortal Cultivators belong to the Imperium after all!”

“You belong to the Imperium, too,” Di Feiwen said matter-of-factly. “After referring to tremendous files, we have discovered that Su Changfa, as a representative of the Immigration Office of the Imperium of True Human Beings, invoked the immigration law and the ‘Overseas High-Level Talent Introduction Act’ on Kunlun more than a hundred years ago and granted President Li the green card of the Imperium of True Human Beings, making you a ‘subject’ of the Imperium. At that time, you must’ve sworn loyalty to the lightning trident flag of the Imperium while listening to the national anthem of the Imperium, right?”

Li Yao was of a mind to scratch his head. “I seem to have done that. So to speak, I’m a f*cking subject of the Imperium?”

“No, no, no. Not a subject, a citizen,” Di Feiwen explained patiently. “When Su Changfa granted you the green card, he must’ve introduced the twenty-level citizenship system in the Imperium. As long you expand the territory or make other contributions for the Imperium, you will be upgraded level by level, ascending from civilian to citizen, from citizen to noble. He told you that before, didn’t he?

“The Black Wind Fleet has been sent out to expand the territory of the Imperium. One might even say that we are the moving territory of the Imperium. Naturally, our starships have higher permissions than Su Changfa did.

“Su Changfa could grant you a green card and the subjecthood of the Imperium, but we can grant you a level-twelve citizenship at most.

“You are an expert close to the Divinity Transformation Stage, and you have discovered the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Ancient Sages Sector, and other six worlds for the Imperium, as well as the primeval relic, Kunlun. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such contributions are more than enough for you to be knighted. We can totally improve you to be a level-thirteen citizen of the Imperium of True Human Beings reasonably and legally. If you intend to move further, you will have to go to the authorities of the Imperium to redeem your contribution points, verify your accomplishments, and even ask His Majesty to give you laurels in person.”

“Wait!” Li Yao widened his eyes. “What do you mean by ‘you have discovered eight worlds for the Imperium’?”

“‘Discover’ is a very subtle word,” Di Feiwen said. “If you admit your identity as a subject of the Imperium that you received from Kunlun, is it wrong to say that you have discovered so many worlds at the edge of the cosmos?

“If you do not like such a description, you still have made great contributions to the Imperium by destroying the member of the Pangu Clan and the extraterrestrial devils, who are mutual enemies for the Imperium and the federation. There won’t be any problem for you to be promoted to a level-twelve citizen of the Imperium in our place with such contributions alone.

“Alright. Since you are a level-twelve citizen of the Imperium, you are naturally qualified to be a ‘Sector Master’ of a certain world under the Imperium’s government. It is completely legitimate.”

Li Yao was dazed for a long time. “Right. Su Changfa did give me some sort of badge before. It seemed to be a green card or a medallion of the Imperium of True Human Beings and is now kept in a museum or a research room in the Secret Sword Bureau.”

“Fantastic,” Di Feiwen said. “It means that you are a very seasoned citizen of the Imperium!”

Li Yao felt that it was all messed up. “Wait one more moment. Does your whimsical decision not have any objection from the ambitious and disobedient big shots from other worlds?”

“Of course, there are always dissenters when it comes to the supreme power,” Di Feiwen said casually. “So, we reached the decision to settle the problem in the old-fashioned way of the Immortal Cultivators, which is fighting.

“‘Fiery Eye’ Wan Xiu, ‘Heavy Cannon’ Lei Long, and ‘Death Shadow’ Murong Wei who fought you just now all represent different factions within the Black Wind Fleet and are backed by different powerful forces that are too independent for even me to control. However, I bet with them that you would prove that you are the only and probably strongest ‘Black Wind King’ in history with an unquestionable performance.

“As it turned out, you did it. In only twenty-two seconds, you beat three seasoned Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators unconscious. Also, you have eight worlds and a primeval relic behind you. Even the most insubordinate Immortal Cultivator has to lower their head before such strength and power.”

Li Yao still found it hard to accept the Immortal Cultivator’s logic. “Let’s put aside the Immortal Cultivators from the four smaller worlds. What about the natives of the Black Wind Sector? I killed Heiye Ming, your last leader!”

“It further justifies your legitimacy to lead us,” Di Feiwen said casually. “People of the Black Wind Sector are best known for our toughness and valor in the entire Imperium. The competition for Sector Master in the Black Wind Sector has always been brutal. The new expert declares the arrival of a brand-new era by killing the old Sector Master, which is anything but unusual in our place. Even Heiye Ming killed a lot of experts of the Di family when he rose to the position of Sector Master. If we bore all the grudges in our mind, the Black Wind Sector and all the worlds in the Imperium would’ve long collapsed.

“The bottom line is, this is the rule of the Immortal Cultivators. Once we enter the period of power struggle due to political imbalance, all the experts will be simmering with impatience and fight each other relentlessly.

“But when an unquestionable new expert shows up, the rest of the people will immediately forget the conflicts and hatred of the past and bow before him, entering a new period of power stability. Led by him, they will shift from internal contradiction to external development and vent their fury and hatred on the prey.

“Perhaps that is the reason why the Immortal Cultivators have survived to this day in the dark universe despite all the internal conflicts.”