Chapter 2983 Venomous Like a Scorpion
The three forces had their own specialties.
First was the imperium led by Li Jialing and Li Linghai.
Although they had suffered heavy casualties in the twenty-year-long counterattack of the imperium, the revolution of the civil war, and the defense of the imperial capital, to the point that they had to be rescued by the federation at the most critical moment, the Imperium of True Human Beings was still the most influential force in the civilization of mankind after all. It was a standard example of ‘a lean camel is still bigger than a horse’.
Other than anything else, at the very least, the number of Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, especially battle-type Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, far exceeded that of the federation and the Sanctuary Alliance.
In the civil war, the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators belonged to different groups and camps. They restricted each other or tried to protect themselves because they did not know what was going on. Therefore, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang were in the spotlight.
But right now, the new trend had been established. Everybody could see that the revolutionaries were unstoppable like the rising sun. Naturally, the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators would not go against the trend and insist on being buried together with the four electors.
Every Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator was a national treasure. Even though they had been working for the four major families before, they were not easy to be killed by Li Jialing and Li Linghai. One of them had turned over a new leaf, and the other had decided to let bygones be bygones. Naturally, everybody was happy and happy. Therefore, right now, more than ten Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were standing behind Li Jialing and Li Linghai, as well as several times more experts in the high level and the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. They were a great deterrent for the federation and the Holy Alliance.
Then, it was time for the newly-risen federation.
The Star Glory Federation was arguably the biggest winner of the Star Ocean Imperium.
Not only had they captured a lot of starships from the fleet of the Fuxis, they also had a solid base in the center of the sea of stars and a seemingly reliable ally named the ‘New Sanctuary Alliance’. More importantly, in the last battle where the fate of the nation was at stake, the beliefs of countless Cultivators had been strengthened and purified by the cannon fire and smoke. As the prudent Gui Shishou had said, countless Cultivators had made a ‘breakthrough’ to a higher level.
Leaving the middle-level and low-level Cultivators aside, the federation was no longer what it used to be.
First of all, Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun, two spectral Cultivators in the Divinity Transformation Stage from the ancient sacred world, built their tempered bodies with the primeval technology of the Kunlun Mystic Realm, thereby restoring their combat ability to the Divinity Transformation Stage and making up for the lack of high-end combat ability.
Then, there was no need to mention Ding Lingdang’s breakthrough. She had stepped into the ranks of the strongest experts in the sea of stars. Supported by her firm belief, she was on par with any battle Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator of the imperium.
To Li Yao’s surprise, a fourth battle Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator appeared in the federation.
It was ‘Sword Freak’ Yan Liren.
The guy had broken through the barrier of his belief with sharp blades after multiple bloody battles!
But it was not strange when he thought about it. The monster and his fourth sword could not be measured by common sense.
More importantly, all the Cultivators in the federation carried a strong sense of fearlessness. In the eyes of the Immortal Cultivators who valued their own interests, they were out-and-out lunatics.
Therefore, the experts of the federation, led by Meng Chixin, Wu Suiyun, Ding Lingdang, and Yan Liren, were as intimidating as the Immortal Cultivators of the imperium even though they were outnumbered.
As for the Sanctuary Alliance, theoretically speaking, there should be a lot of experts. Not just the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, even the ‘soldier bees’ in the Divinity Transformation Stage had not been taken away by Lu Qingchen.
However, Xiao Ming and Wen Wen were not willing to leave the impression that they could ‘manipulate the top experts. Most of the experts of the Sanctuary Alliance were still receiving treatment to awaken their emotions and willpower. For the confidential meeting, only Xiao Ming and Wen Wen were taking part.
It was enough.
Because of the special life forms of Xiao Ming and Wen Wen, it was very difficult for them to be completely destroyed. But when they went on a rampage, they could cause tremendous damage to the internal affairs of the imperium. They were essentially experts in ‘unrestricted warfare’ on another level whose combat ability could not be measured by the number of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators or Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators.
Besides, in terms of combat ability, there was an expert in the Holy Alliance who was definitely the best in the sea of stars. He was known as the ‘Punching King’.
Although the Fist King was from the Star Ocean Imperium, his mysterious origin and unique life form made it impossible for him to submit to Li Jialing or the path of immortality. He was definitely not the same as the Star Ocean Imperium. On the contrary, he was closer to Xiao Ming and Wen Wen. They were natural equals.
Therefore, he naturally stood on the side of the Sanctuary Alliance and helped the two kids protect the ‘information civilization’ that had just been born.
In terms of absolute capability, the imperium still occupied more than 60% to 70%, but the remaining 30% to 40% was enough to reach a temporary balance.
Although the real world was not a fairy tale where the experts of the three parties, who still had a lot of grudges and conflicts of interest, could not turn their hostility into friendship all of a sudden, Li Yao was already quite satisfied that they could gather together and fight with words and sharp eyes instead of fighting until their brains were gone.
Right. Other than the three well-acknowledged forces, there were also some experts who were on the three sides and maintained subtle neutrality. Let’s call them ‘the heroes’.
First of all, Long Yangjun.
Although she was born in the federation and had a high position in the imperium, her unique background made it impossible for her to submit to anybody. She was free to do whatever she wanted. Nobody could force her to listen to orders.
Next was Boss Bai.
When he fled from the federation on the starship, he had cut off all ties with the federation. From then on, he had only one goal, which was to march toward the multiverse and the high-dimensional worlds. He was free, too, and had even sworn to be the freest man in the sea of stars.
Even if Bai Kaixin appeared in front of him, there was no way that the ‘Pirate Potentate’ would change his mind.
From a certain perspective, wasn’t Li Yao himself the same?
The concepts such as the Star Glory Federation, the Imperium of True Human Beings, or the Holy Accord Alliance were no longer enough to constrain him today. He was destined to jump out of the Pangu Universe and explore the mysteries at the end of the multiverse to defeat… the opponents that he had to defeat!
While Li Yao was observing everybody, somebody was observing him, too. Long Yangjun combed his long hair and walked toward him with a smile.
Li Yao coughed. He was somewhat embarrassed when he recalled what he had said to Ding Lingdang
Whatever he feared would come true. Just as Long Yangjun reached in front of him, a familiar hot aura appeared behind him. Ding Lingdang had finally settled the red tape and appeared!
“Huh?”
Ding Lingdang poked Li Yao’s waist and said in a voice that could be heard by the other party, “Isn’t this your ordinary friend who is as ugly as a pig and as vicious as a scorpion? Quickly greet him!”
Sweat the size of beans appeared on Li Yao’s forehead again.
Long Yangjun was dazed for a moment. He squinted and rolled his eyes, before he burst into laughter.
“Ah Yao, you really said that? Really, you are so bad!”
Long Yangjun stepped forward and held Li Yao’s hand naturally. She said in a sweet voice, “You told me that, in case your wife misunderstood our relationship, you would definitely tell her that I was as ugly as a pig and as venomous as a scorpion. I thought that you were joking and simply agreed. I didn’t expect that you would really say that. I’m so
sad!”
“…Huh?” said Li Yao.
“Hehehehe. It was just a joke. Just a joke. Oh, sister-in-law, please don’t take it to heart. Ah Yao and I are really just ordinary friends who get along better with each other. There’s nothing between us at all. We’re so pure!”
Long Yangjun held Li Yao tighter and tighter. Her big, peach-blossom eyes blossomed with an innocent glow as she looked at Ding Lingdang and said, “It’s true, Sister-in-law. Ah Yao is truly a rarely-seen good man. You don’t know this, but sometimes, when we get drunk together, he would say, ‘I’m a man with a wife. I can’t let my wife down. I have to hold it in. I have to hold it in.’ Hehehehe. That’s so cute!”
“…Huh?” Li Yao asked.
“It’s true, sister-in-law,” Long Yangjun said. “Believe me. Ah Yao and I have never done anything wrong to you. It’s just that I felt sorry for him when you were away, and I took care of him for you for a while. Now that you are here, of course, I will return him to you. Don’t worry. I know myself well enough to know that I am just a passerby in his life and an unimportant confidant. I will not disturb your peaceful and happy life.”
“…What?” Li Yao asked.
“However, sister-in-law, it’s not that I want to lecture you, but please don’t be angry when you hear it. I know that you are a careless, even rude, woman who does not know how to take care of people. Most of the time, Ah Yao is angry but does not dare to say anything. If you don’t take good care of Ah Yao or even bully him, I will not agree to it. No matter how awesome you are, I will stand up for Ah Yao!”
“… That’s enough. Who are you? Are we close? We don’t know each other at all. Who is your ‘Ah Yao’?”
“Alright, alright. As long as you’re happy, I’m fine with anything!”
Long Yangjun finally let go of Li Yao. She looked at him deeply, her eyes full of glittering emotions, as if she was about to touch Li Yao’s hair but did not have the courage to. Taking a deep breath, she bit her lips and said, “That’s all for now. Ah Yao, sister-in-law, in short… you must be happy!” Sobbing, she turned around and ran away, not sure whether she was crying or laughing.
