Li Yao's bellow rumbled like thunder. The lingering echo further contrasted the silence of the field that seemed to be sealed in ice.
More and more people and soldiers woke up and joined the crowd to see the legendary Vulture Li Yao.
But they did not expect that 'their name' would be mentioned by Vulture Li Yao. For a moment, they were at a loss and did not know what to do.
"The federation is imperfect and even utterly deformed. Even I failed to anticipate that so many drastic changes, some good and some bad, would take place in only a hundred years and reshape the world we live in. The federation today is not the federation a hundred years ago, Jin Xinyue today is not Jin Xinyue a hundred years ago, and even 'Vulture' Li Yao is not the real Li Yao from a hundred years ago!"
Clenching his fists, Li Yao waved them like batons and boosted everyone's emotions. "Not just you, even I sometimes feel slightly disappointed and lost, not knowing what myself and the federation will become in the mysterious, unpredictable, hazy future.
"However, a moment ago, when all the people of the federation sang aloud, burn their life and soul, and blew the sh*t out of the extraterrestrial devil, it suddenly occurred to me.
"However many changes have happened to the federation that make it unrecognizable, certain things that are hidden in its deepest part remain the same and will never change!
"Therefore, in that second, I told myself to forget everything. Whatever the federation has become, and whether or not I am the one everybody believes me to be, I will still fight the bloody battle to the end! I am not fighting for Jin Xinyue, not for the title of 'dominator of three Sectors', not even for the Star Glory Federation or the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag, but for the people who are living right below the flag!
"Besides, I know for a fact that when I am protecting them, they are also protecting me. When I look at them, they are also looking at me. I will never abandon them, and they will never abandon me!
"This is the whole significance of my fight!"
As Li Yao roared desperately, the ice in the atmosphere was broken.
Countless people recalled the soul-stirring, gratifying scene in the Spiriters' Realm that they had just experienced. It was perhaps the most hotblooded five minutes of their entire lives.
Yes. However many problems there might be, this place was their home, and their families were right behind them. They protected and looked after each other. They trusted and supported each other!
No matter how vast and boundless the universe was, could anyone find a better reason to fight than that?
The twelve angry experts from the Ancient Sages Sector were the most eye-catching existences in the space station, like twelve mountains that rose high into the clouds, when their flames of spiritual energy erupted like volcanoes.
But without them knowing it, the auras spreading out of the thousands of ordinary people and low-level Cultivators congregated into a magnificent ocean of clouds. Although it was still impossible for them to suppress the 'mountains', they had indeed surrounded the intimidating experts.
Everybody stared at the eleven experts from the Ancient Sages Sector, their eyes glowing with strength that those experts had never seen before.
They were all slightly overwhelmed.
In the Ancient Sages Sector, low-level Cultivators would never have the courage to directly look at the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators.
When a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator burst into fury, the land of a hundred square kilometers might be burnt to the ground. The low-level Cultivators often wasted no time kneeling on the ground, shuddering in fear, not to mention the common folk who were nothing more than ants.
"What exactly…"
Although the thousands of ordinary people did not pose an actual threat, the flames of spiritual energy from the experts of the Ancient Sages Sector were still shivering softly. The memory pieces that splashed out when the Spiriters' Realm collapsed gradually sank into the deepest parts of their souls and became inseparable parts of their lives.
"Do you see everyone's eyes? Do you feel the strength of the people?"
Staring at Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun, the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, Li Yao stepped forward and opened his arms.
"Think about the folks in the Ancient Sages Sector. Cultivators are occupied in their conspiracies and internal fights, and the ordinary people are emaciated, ignorant, and submissive! The whole world is murky. There is not the slightest brightness or hope!
"I have one question that I've been meaning to ask you for a long time. Meng Chixin, Wu Suiyun, Han Baling, Zhu Zongyou, Qi Zhongdao, Yan Liren, Qi Changsheng, Wang Xi, Ba Xiaoyu, Master Bitter Cicada, Wan Mingzhu—Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators like you are either kings and generals or renowned, unparalleled experts respected everywhere. Ostensibly speaking, your position and power have reached the peak. There is barely any room for you to make any progress!
"But let me ask you. When you saw your disciples who had their own plans to deal with each other, when you saw common folks who were bags of bones, and when you saw soldiers who could be both as brutal as wolves and as cowardly as dogs, did you really feel that governing such a bunch of people was what Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators should do? Did you really feel that the hollow praise and the eyes of fear gave you a strong sense of achievement? Did you feel satisfied and happy hiding in the depths of the dark nebula like tortoises and blatantly stomping on the people who were treated as 'ants' until your eventual doom?"
The series of reproaches made the eleven experts from the Ancient Sages Sector even more furious and agitated than before.
But however agitated they were, they could not eclipse the brilliance that the thousands of people around were spraying out crazily!
"Look at the people around you, who just fought side by side with you in the Spiriters' Realm and, to some extent, saved the high and mighty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators! Were they not brave enough, you would've been screwed!"
Li Yao put all his concerns aside and shouted, "Look at them carefully. Watch their eyes, their noses, and their mouths. Every one of them is glowing! Do you not want the people of the Ancient Sages Sector to grow into real, meaningful humans just like them one day? Even if you are really emperors, kings, and generals, is it really a feat worth being proud of to govern a horde of puppets, wolves, and ants?
"Come on. Live up to the strength of the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage. You did not train yourselves so hard to what you have become today to hide inside the dark nebula and bully the weak in silence! You can do this. You can really ignite yourselves and the Ancient Sages Sector, rip apart the entire dark nebula, and let the Ancient Sages Sector and the people in it emanate the most dazzling brilliance among the three thousand Sectors and in the next ten thousand years!"
Li Yao's eyes were bloodshot, and all his veins bulged out. Powerful air masses were spurting out of every pore on his body. Joining with the auras of thousands of people of the federation, they were like an overwhelming tsunami that could even block the sun.
Even the 'high mountains' built by the eleven experts of the Ancient Sages Sector were dwarfed by the 'tsunami'.
Li Yao seemed to be holding an invisible longsword in his hands whose edge was deeply hidden in his heart. One step after another, he walked toward the experts of the Ancient Sages Sector.
Even 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren swallowed hard, unable to find a way to dodge the attack.
"Lord Wang was right. With everything coming to this point, an explanation would be utterly useless!"
Li Yao's eyes were as brilliant as lightning as he stared at the eleven experts from the Ancient Sages Sector in the eyes. Holding the invisible sword in his right hand, he slowly raised two fingers with his left hand and said, "I don't want to waste any more time talking. Now, I'll give you two options.
"Firstly, give the Star Glory Federation, as well as the Ancient Sages Sector and yourselves, a chance. We will accomplish something great together that nobody in the entire universe has ever done before!
"In the name of Vulture Li Yao, I swear that whoever decides to fight side by side with me will be my lifelong brother. From today on, whenever you or the Ancient Sages Sector runs into any trouble, the Star Glory Federation and I will help you resolve it even by pouring the fury of the entire sea of stars, exactly like how you helped us today!
"Secondly, if you are unwilling, it doesn't matter. The Star Glory Federation will not beg for help. Outsiders in the federation are our honorable guests. I may, however, ask my honorable guests to move your buttocks to the side. Don't stand in our way while we are busy saving the world!"
Li Yao's roars completely boiled the thousands of soldiers and citizens.
There was no telling who started it first, but the rumbling voices soon congregated into a strong wind that could even blow over the universe.
"Long live the federation!"
"Long live the federation!"
"Fight and march forward, federation!"
Countless people moved toward them enthusiastically, not fearing that they might be burnt by the flames of spiritual energy from the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators at all. Thousands of hands were extended to Li Yao, trying to raise him high on the shoulders and turning him into the sharpest edge on the dazzling saber!
The eleven experts of the Ancient Sages Sector gaped at Li Yao. Looking at the passionate crowd around, they had mixed feelings in his heart and could not tell whether they were angry or… jealous.
Yes. They knew deeply that no matter how high their Cultivation was, even if they were in the Divinity Transformation Stage, the Void Refining Stage, or even higher levels, they would never enjoy the gazes that Li Yao was soaking in that day, furiously passionate gazes, in the Ancient Sages Sector.
The exclamations from the bottom of their hearts were for Li Yao. The support they offered without considering their own lives was for Li Yao, too. Behind Li Yao was an entire federation. Behind them… the Ancient Sages Sector was hidden deep inside the dark nebula and could no longer be seen.
"Do you see this, fellow Cultivators from the Ancient Sages Sector who have come after a long journey?"
The eyes of thousands of people seemed to have condensed into glamorous armor around Li Yao and filled him with an invincible aura. He gestured toward the experts from the Ancient Sages Sector again, and his eyes were tougher and clearer than ever before.
"The Star Glory Federation needs your help. I'm sincerely inviting you to join us, but our life is the same even without you!
"The future of the federation will not be decided by a few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators or Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators. Whether you decide to fight with us or simply idle by and do nothing, and even if you stand in our way, it will matter little. In any case, the people of the federation and I will stride forward and fight the bloody battle to the end. Regardless of whether we live or die, we will make the choice on our own!"