Chapter 2544: The Black Wind King’s Story

　　While Li Yao laughed arrogantly, most of the Immortal Cultivators were still dwelling on what he said just now. They were either considering the consequences now that the “Black Wind Fleet” had been added to the game as an unexpected factor, or thinking how to make friends with Li Yao and share the profits at the edge of the cosmos, or whispering to each other while trying to locate loopholes in Li Yao’s words.

　　Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin, on the other hand, found it absolutely impossible to laugh. They lost the ability to think too. Like two puppets whose strings had been cut off, they were overwhelmed and paralyzed.

　　Li Yao’s eyes grew sharper and sharper and darted into Qi Yuanbao’s body like hooks. He grinned hideously. “Qi Yuanbao, are you satisfied now that you’ve learned my identity? I’m rather curious about one thing. Why have you been so hostile to me since the beginning, fabricating nonexistent schemes, slandering me, and even mobilizing so many people to surround me? Can you bear the consequences if the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the Black Wind Fleet are engaged in a war in the end? Or rather, is it not me but you who have really betrayed the reformists and the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, and you are intentionally making the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors fight the Black Wind Fleet through conspiracies?”

　　Everybody was rather shocked after hearing that. All the Immortal Cultivators couldn’t help but picture a total war between the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the Black Wind Fleet. The Black Wind Fleet’s combat ability was among the most distinguished even in the entire Imperium. Even if it might not be as good as Lei Chenghu’s Astounding Thunder Fleet, the gap couldn’t have been huge. Also, since they had been fighting at the borderland all the time, they were even more tough and ruthless than Lei Chenghu’s troops.

　　The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors at this moment was faced with the enormous military pressure from the four families’ coalition fleet. How could they afford to lose an ally and to have an additional formidable enemy?

　　Whether Qi Yuanbao meant it or not, his recklessness was highly inconsiderate and nearly caused a catastrophe to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors!

　　“Fellow Cultivator Li—no, Black Wind King, please don’t be angry!”

　　Sweating hard, the other four senior managers shouted at the same time, “We absolutely do not mean to be hostile to the Black Wind Fleet. As forces growing up at the edge of the Imperium, we are natural allies, and we should be united against the four families!”

　　“I thought so too. That’s why I came to the Seven Seas Grand Market to talk about business with you in good faith, or rather, to give you a hand.”

　　Li Yao sniffed and looked at Qi Yuanbao with the corner of his eyes. “However, one of your five senior managers does not seem to welcome me to be here. He is even scared of my arrival. Why is that?”

　　“About that…”

　　The other four senior managers frowned and looked at Qi Yuanbao doubtfully at the same time.

　　The other managers, shareholders, and investors did not hide their dissatisfaction and suspicion about Qi Yuanbao either.

　　His face pale, Qi Yuanbao drifted backward for more than ten meters before he realized that all of the exits had been blocked by crystal suits and battle puppets. Managing to stand steadily, he waved his arms like someone struggling not to be drowned and shouted crazily, “It’s impossible! You can’t be the Black Wind King! Isn’t Heiye Ming the commander of the Black Wind Fleet? Also, you sent a message before long that you were dealing with barbarians at the edge of the cosmos. How did you suddenly march back to the Imperium?

　　“Don’t be fooled by him! This ‘Vulture Li Yao’ is best known for his shamelessness and cunningness. You cannot believe any of the words he says. So much as you believe one of them, we will be pushed into the hopeless abyss of doom!”

　　Qi Yuanbao felt so wronged that he was almost cutting his chest to show his heart to all the Immortal Cultivators.

　　“Hehehehe. Heiye Ming has become history since a long time ago. Right now, I am the commander of the Black Wind Fleet, and I’m also the Black Wind King that is acknowledged by all the experts of the Black Wind Sector, the Purple Fire Sector, the Red Spider Sector, the Hard Rock Sector, and the Wild Wolf Sector!”

　　His hands in his back, Li Yao said casually, “I know that many people here know the experts from the five Sectors but might have never heard my name before. It’s reasonable that you have suspicions like this Manager Qi does.

　　“It’s true that Vulture Li Yao was just a Mr. Nobody a hundred years ago that nobody knew.

　　“However, after the Black Wind Fleet left the Imperium and went to explore the sea of stars, when most of the experts fell into dormancy, the battle squad that I belonged to was given an important reconnaissance mission.

　　“When we explored a mysterious relic, all the other people in my squad died, and I was the only one who luckily survived. Also, I picked up a technique named ‘Star Absorption Art’ by accident, which granted me the ability to swallow other people’s spiritual energy!

　　“In the coming hundred years, most of the members of the Black Wind Fleet were sleeping in the hibernation capsules. They were like fat, succulent meat waiting to be feasted upon by me.

　　“You do not need to know the specific process. All in all, after I reached the highest level, I took down—no, our beloved former commander Heiye Ming died in an accident. Since I was respected and strong enough, everybody elected me to be the new Black Wind King to lead the Black Wind Fleet to continue the journey. This is about everything that happened. How about it? Is there anybody here who is not convinced?”

　　Li Yao crossed his fingers, his knuckles cracking, while he eyed all the Immortal Cultivators in the conference room provocatively.

　　All the Immortal Cultivators swallowed hard, picturing how “Vulture Li Yao” seized power through schemes and bloody coups. They were even less courageous to say or do anything.

　　Qi Yuanbao, however, knew that he had been cornered, and it wouldn’t help at all no matter how he begged for mercy. He could only go on and shout, “What about the barbarians? The messages you sent back stating that you discovered quite a few worlds of barbarians at the edge of the cosmos, and it would take at least a couple of years to complete the conquest!”

　　“It’s just a strategic deception to trick the government. You bought that bulls*it? How can an Immortal Cultivator be as naïve as you?”

　　Li Yao scorned and looked at Qi Yuanbao with his nostrils. “Yes, it’s true we found a few worlds of barbarians at the edge of the cosmos. However, with the thunderous might of the Black Wind Fleet, our army was naturally unstoppable and invincible.

　　“Among our enemies, the queen of the barbarians was the only one who was tough and caused us some minor trouble, but after I joined the battle in person and fought three hundred rounds with her, she was still subdued by me and followed all my instructions.

　　“Now that even their queen had submitted to me, how could the other barbarians resist? In less than one year, the few worlds of barbarians all surrendered. They were officially included in the Imperium’s territory and became my land.

　　“As for why we did not tell the truth to the court, it’s very simple. If the court had learned that the war was over and the Imperium now had new territory, wouldn’t there have been infinite additional trouble? Perhaps other fleets would’ve been sent to claim the victory, or experts from the four Kurfürst families would’ve infiltrated my land. They might have even asked His Majesty to issue a decree that mobilizes the Black Wind Fleet from the edge of the cosmos to another battlefield, right?

　　“You must’ve been through a lot of such tricks, everybody. The Black Wind Fleet had floated in space for a hundred years before we finally found a place to live in. How could I have allowed anybody to take it away?

　　“Therefore, on one hand, I delayed the court from sending anybody to my place with the excuse that the war was intense, and on the other hand, I have returned to the center of the cosmos —despite the risks—to investigate the situation in the Imperium after a hundred years before making any plans.

　　“Before, I was only thinking to bribe the four families and the few important ministers in the court with a fortune so that they could speak for the Black Wind Fleet and permit us to live and rest at the edge of the cosmos. But after I saw what I saw in the homeland of the Imperium, I couldn’t help but have new plans!”

　　The few senior managers looked at each other in bewilderment and asked, “What plans?”

　　Li Yao declared formally, one word after another, “Same as everybody here—Honor the Majesty, Settle the Rebels, and Renew the Imperium!”

　　“Alright…”

　　The Immortal Cultivators all took a long breath in relief. Whether or not Li Yao was telling the truth, he was at least not on the four Kurfürst families’ side, which was the best news.

　　“Black Wind King, we just heard you saying that you were… the Butcher of the Cultivators and the Destroyer of the Star Ocean Republic.”

　　The senior manager in the leader continued cautiously, “What do you mean by that? Are they only your… honorary titles, or do they have deeper meanings?”

　　“Honorary titles? No, no, no, I am a serene and practical man, and I hate the pretentious honorable titles most!”

　　Li Yao declared proudly, “I forgot to tell you that the Black Wind Fleet caught up to Firefly, which had fled a thousand years ago, twenty years ago, fishing up all the Cultivators of the government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic. The last Cultivator on Firefly was slain by me in person!”

　　“What?”

　　Four of the five senior managers rose to their feet. “You have really destroyed Firefly?”

　　Emotionlessly, Li Yao retrieved plenty of jade chips and various kinds of medals of the “rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic”, tossing them at the four managers. “Those jade chips were all the products of the highest standard of the Star Ocean Republic. The ways they were polished and their storage structure are entirely different from the generic models of the Imperium. I believe you can certainly tell the difference, right? Inside the jade chips are parts of the voyage logs of Firefly and the structures of the critical parts. It is barely possible to fabricate such details too.

　　“As for those medals, hehe, they would’ve been pursued and fought over by all the experts at the center of the cosmos a thousand years ago, but today, they are just my toys.

　　“Perhaps it is a great event that Firefly was destroyed, but in my eyes, those fleeing Cultivators were nothing but cockroaches and rats. Is it anything to be proud of if you step on a cockroach or a rat and kill them? Do I really need to lie about such trivia?”