Heiye Ming was rendered speechless. He was about to yell at the Immortal Cultivator who supposedly loved the federation, Aren't you the one to blame for the mess right now?
However, with everything going so far, would his useless complaint help at all?
Heiye Ming knew very clearly that his opponent had shown up in such a weird form for much more complicated purposes than to destroy the Black Wind Fleet.
The relation between this Lu Qingchen and the federal government was quite subtle!
Lu Qingchen's voice continued coming over casually and peacefully. "The true path of immortality of the Imperium of True Human Beings is founded on lies. However you may brag about your ideology, lies are always lies. You purposefully highlight the disparity between 'true human beings' and 'hominoids'. You attach the greatest importance to the true human beings while despising and exploiting the hominoids blatantly. You do not even consider hominoids as part of mankind, which is rather ridiculous from a genetic, biological, or sociological point of view. You are just fooling yourselves!
"Whether they are strong or weak, true human beings and hominoids are the same species. It is a fact that cannot be changed by a few laws or edits in dictionaries and biology textbooks.
"What real great path can you pursue when you do not dare admit such a simple fact?
"Now, a lot of ordinary people are right in the federal army standing against you. Aren't those 'hominoids' that you despise also emitting the most dazzling brilliance and dragging you into the most agitating swamp? The truth is right before your eyes. General Ming, how long will the Immortal Cultivators like you keep ignoring it?"
Heiye Ming gritted his teeth hard, and every nerve in his body was shaking violently.
It was not because of Lu Qingchen's words but because the black jellyfish was like a swamp that was slowly swallowing his legs. It was even generating a weird attraction force, trying to absorb him into the depths of the black ocean!
"The system of the Imperium is the most excellent one, despite the risk of overcorrection. Some humans are superior to others. The universe is such a vast place, but the resources available are lacking. Wasting precious resources on the lousy, inferior bloodlines is a great crime that will lead to the doom of our entire civilization!"
"Do not preach such petty kindness to me," Heiye Ming bellowed. "My belief will not be shaken!"
Lu Qingchen was amused. "General Ming, like I said just now, I am as much an Immortal Cultivator as you are. Why would I have such petty kindness?
"Don't be hasty and just hear me out. It is true that the Imperium of True Human Beings is founded on lies, but so is the Star Glory Federation, my dear motherland!
"The lies of the Imperium of True Human Beings are that the so-called 'Immortal Cultivators' and 'ordinary people' differ so greatly that they are essentially two different species. The lies of the Star Glory Federation, in comparison, are that the 'Cultivators' and the 'ordinary people' do not have any fundamental difference and that they are absolutely the same!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Have you not noticed it, General Ming? It's like two sides of the same coin. Each party has gone to an extreme.
"In fact, no matter what bright, righteous, and blood-boiling theories are adopted to disguise it, 'general equality' is always just an empty slogan. It is fine if the high-school students talk about such a notion while they are still in their carefree school years, but for a leader of the civilization, if they really take such an idea seriously, it will be the greatest disaster for the whole civilization.
"Like you said just now, General Ming, human beings are of different levels, and some are nobler than others. Personally speaking, I believe that the 'superior bloodlines' and the 'inferior bloodlines' should not be classified according to whether or not the subject has awakened their spiritual root and boasts tremendous physical strength or computational ability. Such a way of classification is too crude, violent, and mechanical."
Heiye Ming was stunned. "What standard can better characterize them than the spiritual root and their level?"
He found it more and more puzzling who the guy that was bewildering him was.
Heiye Ming had seen quite a lot of regular Cultivators, and he had grown highly immune to their obsolete theories.
However, Lu Qingchen claimed that he was an Immortal Cultivator and that even the Imperium of True Human Beings was founded on lies. That was…
Without him knowing it, Heiye Ming was struggling weaker and weaker.
"The ocean is vaster than a continent, the sky is vaster than the ocean, and a human's mind is vaster than the sky," Lu Qingchen said. "Humans… the honorable, mysterious, and powerful humans. Nobody knows how much strength is hidden deep inside the enigmatic but boundless mind. Such strength is not to be gauged by one or two organs, or the stupid classification of levels such as Refinement Stage, Building Foundation Stage, and Core Formation Stage.
"Even a strengthless mother will unleash strength that can destroy stars inside her brain when her children are hurt, and even an expert who has advanced into the Core Formation Stage or the Nascent Soul Stage may become vile, shameless, and cowardly because of an abrupt change. He may even waste precious resources on fighting for his own interests instead of using them to push the civilization forward.
"Isn't this the case for the Imperium of True Human Beings?
"According to your theory, after most of the resources are concentrated on true human beings, or the Immortal Cultivators, the Imperium should be thriving, and the civilization should be striding forward. More than a thousand years have passed since the country was established, which should've been more than enough for you to unite the sea of stars and march deeper into the universe, shouldn't it?
"But what happened? How many of the resources that have been given to the Immortal Cultivators are dedicated to the improvement of the civilization, and how many are wasted in conspiracies, self-brutalization, and meaningless conflicts as well as the suppression of Cultivators and 'hominoids'?
"Aren't you the perfect example, General Ming? You did not dare ask for reinforcements from the homeland of the Imperium but chose the most idiotic, risky strategy of a sudden assault because you were worried that the reinforcements from the homeland of the Imperium would have ill intentions and swallow the entire Black Wind Fleet, right?
"Just ask yourself this. If you are truly doing everything for the civilization of mankind as you claim, why do you trust each other so little, and why are you warier of friends than foes? Is such a configuration of resources really qualified to be called 'the most excellent system of the civilization of mankind'?"
Heiye Ming blushed. After hesitating for a long time, he asked in return, "Is the Star Glory Federation any better?"
"It is slightly better than the Imperium, but there are fatal, hidden problems, too," Lu Qingchen casually said. "It is exactly the 'petty kindness' that we talked about earlier. Since everybody is equal theoretically, a lot of resources must be invested to guarantee their fundamental rights. Even the laziest, most despicable, most shameless, and most gutless people have to be fed at the cost of tremendous resources, to make sure that they do not starve to death. They cannot be forced to work, either.
"Right now, the Star Glory Federation is a morning sun that is on the rise. Under the support of the resource planets discovered in the seven Sectors and the technological leap brought forth by Kunlun, the cost of the 'petty kindness' is still affordable.
"But the voyage in the sea of stars won't always be so smooth. As the federation slowly expands, the inferior class will proliferate like cancer and invade the federation's nerves and bones. When the country encounters certain unexpected danger in the dark universe, my motherland is destined to be broken by such 'petty kindness'.
"The ideology of the Cultivators is an out-and-out lie. Humans are born unequal. Some people are more smart, diligent, determined, and self-disciplined than others. What's wrong with devoting as many resources as possible to the distinguished fellows and letting the inferior genes and bloodlines be eliminated of natural cause?"
Heiye Ming was truly confused. "Isn't—isn't this similar to the ideology of the Imperium? What do you want exactly if you agree with neither the Imperium nor the federation!"
"The ideologies of the Imperium and the federation both have their merits and shortcomings. That's why we need to revise our mindset and revolutionize the federation, the Imperium, and even the entire universe!" Lu Qingchen said. "I believe I've made myself very clear. I am an Immortal Cultivator who believes in the continuous evolution of mankind, but I am also a native of the federation who has been edified by humanitarianism and admires the radiation of humanity.
"I don't agree with the Imperium's judging system where strength is the only criterion. I object to your cruel treatment of the 'hominoids', too. Such stupid savaging and exploitation will not only lower the efficiency of production but also tend to raise the resistance of the hominoids. It is also a defilement to the honorable spirit of mankind and reduces humans to the level of animals.
"But what if we can combine the approaches of the federation and the Imperium and focus the advantages of the Cultivators' path and the true path of immortality?
"Yes. Some humans are superior humans, and some are inferior mortals. Most of the resources should be concentrated on the 'superior humans', but do we have to be so cruel and harsh when we treat the 'inferior mortals'? Even if they are truly items that should be eliminated naturally, can we not show some humanity toward our compatriots? Just consider it as the 'hospice' for the inferior genes!"
Heiye Ming sneered hard. "It is quite easy for you to say. Like you said just now, those inferior hominoids are the stupidest, laziest, most cowardly, and weakest beings. Even the lash of whips may not be enough for them to work hard. Are there enough precious resources to show them humanitarianism?"
"Of course, there aren't so many precious resources in reality, but the case will be different in a virtual world," Lu Qingchen said emotionlessly. "The civilization of mankind in my vision should be classified into two classes and two worlds. The inferior bloodlines, the ordinary people, or the 'hominoids' are not qualified to live in the real world and waste precious resources. They should all be migrated into the virtual world.
"In the virtual world, nobody will torture and exploit them, and nobody will govern them as high and mighty lords. They can play, horse around, and squander their lives however they see fit. I believe that this is humane enough and will not cause any resistance, right?
"The real world, on the other hand, belongs to the real honorable, brave, hardworking, resolute people who have all the excellent qualities of mankind. It doesn't matter whether they are called Cultivators or Immortal Cultivators. They are the people who are really qualified to lead our civilization to conquer the entire universe!"