Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Is General Di planning to turn the entire federation into the ‘emperor’s party’ of the Imperium of True Human Beings and even include your own Infinite Commerce Alliance?”
Bai Kaixin sneered. “Is this considered betraying the Infinite Commerce Alliance?”
“What if Tam?”
Looking at his fair, fat hands, Di Feiwen smiled and said, “Betrayal is nothing unusual for the Immortal Cultivators, and the federation did not accept me and my subordinates because of my loyalty, did it?
Bai Kaixin was lost for words.
“We’ve been working on the political changes of the imperium, especially the intelligence analysis and personality sketch of the new emperor.
Guo Chunfeng, the veteran intelligence chief of the federation, coughed and continued the conversation unhurriedly. “What General Di said might be what we thought, but it is too dangerous after all. Interfering with the political changes of a major nation with the capability of a small nation is like
playing with fire in an abyss. One moment of carelessness, and we will be doomed forever!”
“We are playing with fire. But so what? Hasn’t the Star Glory Federation been playing with fire since it was born?
“You were playing with fire when you established the ‘Nine Sect Alliance’ in the harsh environment where demons were everywhere. After the Far East Demon Kingdom was destroyed, the war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector was also playing with fire every day. Li Yao’s
defeat of Xiao Xuance in the Flying Star Sector was playing with fire. The human beings and the demons reached a truce. The Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Blood Demon Sector, and the Flying Star Sector were playing with fire when they established a new federation. The new federation was playing with fire
when it fought against the Black Wind Fleet. The rise of the federation over the past six hundred years was built on steel, blood, and fire among mountains of blades, seas of flames, and forests of swords. There was no such thing as a sure victory. There was no such thing as an easy rise. There was no such
thing as a world peace without risks at all.
“It is not the first day that you’ve learned the difference between the capability of the Star Glory Federation, the Star Glory Federation, and the Star Glory Federation. The Star Glory Federation is a small country in the periphery of the sea of stars that only occupies nine barren worlds and one or two
advanced prehistoric relics. If such a small country wants to compete with the superpowers that include hundreds of Sectors without playing with fire, taking risks, or gambling with all your assets, I don’t know what kind of ‘opportunities’ you are expecting.
“Allin all, for a small country in the periphery such as the federation to maintain a strategic balance with a large country in the sea of stars such as the imperium, they must intervene in the internal situation of the imperium and ensure that the imperium is ina state of factions and strife. Then, they must
pull in some factions and fight some, making themselves feared by all parties. All parties have no choice but to fight for the ‘third faction’ that is beyond the situation. Isn’t this the fundamental national policy of the federation for the past hundred years?
“No matter how it is implemented, the ultimate military might of the federation must be sent to the imperium first. The Immortal Cultivators believe in the rule that ‘the strong prey on the weak, and the winner takes all’. Nothing can be achieved without demonstrating the invincibility of the federation
first. No deal can be made!
The experts of the federation fell into a brief silence.
After a moment of silence, more heated debates took place.
With Di Feiwen’s words as the foundation, the experts of the Ancient Saint World were finally able to express their opinions. Their opinions might not be very organized, but at the very least, it was enough to let the leadership of the federation know that, in the federation, there was still a market for the
pro-war arguments.
It did make sense now that he thought about it. Over the past hundred years, under the threat of the Black Wind Fleet, the war machine had been operating at a relatively high efficiency. The construction of society and the advancement of civilization had always been focused on the army and the armed
forces. The soldiers and the strong enjoyed a high social status.
At that time, few people believed that the invasion of the Black Wind Fleet would be resolved easily. Three to five generations of people had been prepared to fight until there were no survivors. The entire federation had been burnt to the ground. People had crawled into the crust and fought for another
five hundred years!
Right now, the threat of the Black Wind Fleet had been resolved by the sacrifices of Li Yao and countless other federal soldiers.
However, the hundred-year-long state of quasi-war and the iron-willed personality that had been shaped by the shadow of war for generations were not so easy to restore to a peaceful state.
Putting everything else aside, the military and military expenses of the federation, which were several times higher than normal, were astronomical.
Should the army and the starships, which had been prepared for the final war, continue?
If the army was not maintained on such a large scale, the resettlement of the servicemen and the sealing and scrapping of the starships would lead to tremendous economic, social, and even political problems. Countless rebellions during the rise and fall of dynasties had resulted in tragedies because the
resettlement of the servicemen was not handled well.
If it had to be maintained, where would the money come from? It must be noted that not only was every starship a giant beast that could swallow gold, every Cultivator was a bottomless hole that could swallow resources. The daily food expenses of all the warriors and Cultivators were enough to make the
chief of staff of the federal army happy and worried.
Once the war machine was fully functioning, it was impossible to slow it down. Only by filling enough flesh, blood, and bones would it be able to brake.
In the defense of the federation, not enough flesh, blood, and bones had been added, which was the biggest problem.
“Wars bum money. Burning one’s own money is a loser, while burning other people’s money is a winner.”
Or rather, the eagles on the prairie of the Ancient Saint World, or rather, the leader of the bandits on the prairie, Han Baling, declared, “For the long-lasting peace of the federation, the current size of the army must be maintained or expanded. Disarmament is out of the question.
“The federal finances could not sustain such a large-scale army. A few years ago, faced with the threat of death, the citizens were naturally willing to contribute all their resources and grit their teeth through the toughest years. But right now, is there any reason for them to do so?
“If we don’t have enough funds and we have to maintain such a large-scale army, what other options do we have other than to expand and win again and again?
“There’s no time to lose. Let’s go to the center of the sea of stars right now. On one hand, we will be supported by the resources and technology of the new imperium. On the other hand, we will be able to plunder the wealth of the surviving families of the four electors. We will even have the opportunity to
take over the Greater Thousand Worlds controlled by the four major families and the Sanctuary Alliance and make a fortune from the war. With the immeasurable war money, we will be able to release war bonds within the federation. The stocks of the major sects and groups will be a hot topic, too. All the
citizens will be willing to dig out their trump cards and help the federal government survive the most difficult times.
“What can be a better deal than this?”
“The prerequisite for making a fortune in a war is to win before winning!
Bai Kaixin retorted, “Can we guarantee our victory?”
“Of course not.”
“If we fail, the federation will be destroyed. No war bonds or extravagant promises will be fulfilled. Nobody will care about them anymore, will they?”
Such irresponsible remarks naturally raised a new round of rebuttals. The pro-war advocates and the pro-war advocates were fighting back and forth. The atmosphere was getting more and more intense, and the focus of the two parties had drifted away.
At this moment, the sound of an ebony walking stick hitting the deck came from the end of the conference table.
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
The debate came to an end. Everybody looked at the old man who was covered in moss and looked like a rock.
Although he was the most famous old man in the federation,
There was no telling whether or not he was a man of virtue and prestige, but Gui Shishou was indeed the one who had lived the longest in the federation. He was also one of the experts with the highest Cultivation level, almost on par with Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun, two spectral Cultivators in the
Divinity Transformation Stage.
However, he concentrated alll his techniques on the skill ‘Health and Longevity’.
Even so, his long life was enough for him to pass countless soul-stirring, unpredictable years and accumulate abundant life experience to guide the juniors in front of him.
Gui Shishou was qualified to participate in the meeting of the experts of the federation and considered all the experts of the federation to be his juniors.
He was even ‘older’ than the Star Glory Federation. Six hundred years ago, before the Nine Sect Alliance on Heaven’s Origin, the predecessor of the Star Glory Federation, was established, Gui Fushou was already used to the vicissitudes of life.
The old demon had always considered himself to be a ‘recorder of history’. He had even devised the ‘Tombstone Plan’ in order to record the most glorious moments of the human beings and the demon race in the periphery of the sea of stars.
Right now, it was the most glorious and dangerous moment of the Star Glory Federation. The duration of his consciousness was much longer than the previous hundreds of years combined. He was even appointed as the vice dean of the ‘Life Research Institute’ of the New Federation, where he studied the
training and longevity of human beings with biochemical technology.
As a matter of fact, the Star Glory Federation, which boasted the last organized force of the demon race in the Pangu Universe, had also received a complete biochemical technology system from the Blood Demon Sector. By combining the biochemical technology of the Blood Demon Sector with the
primeval relics of the Ancient Saint World and the corpses of the Pangu Clan in the Kunlun Mysterious Realm, countless unique, remarkable biochemical training techniques were analyzed and retrieved.
The exploration of the federation in the field of biochemistry was even ahead of that of the Star Ocean Imperium and the Sanctuary Alliance. In such a regard, Gui Shishou could be called a living database and museum. He had made the greatest contribution.
The Life Research Institute of the Federation’s Spiritual Energy Research Center, which was led by him, had even conducted extensive tracing investigations and data sampling on all the Cultivators in the federation, whether they were Cultivators, Immortal Cultivators, or demons. With countless papers
and research reports, the word ‘cultivation’ had been further standardized, digitized, and reusable, providing clear guidance for the advancement of countless Cultivators.
Many experts of the federation respected Gui Shoushou very much.. They knew that he must have something very important to say—otherwise, this thousand-year-old demon would be too lazy to waste his energy to open his mouth!