Long Yangjun crawled into Li Yao’s cabin without a sound before she closed the door behind her with her heel.

　　Goosebumps were bulging out everywhere on Li Yao’s body. His every nerve and muscle was prepared for a fight.

　　“Hmm… you seem to be rather wary of me. You are even more cautious than when you meet with the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators. Is it necessary?” Long Yangjun eyed him and chuckled. “I thought that we were on the same side.”

　　“It is exactly because we are on the same side that I have to be extra cautious. At the very least, I don’t worry that the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators will stab me in the back!” Li Yao snapped. “Why are you here? Are you not afraid that other people will suspect you?”

　　“Having learned the vastness of the ‘deities’ realm’ all of a sudden, I am so thrilled that I must have a discussion with a fellow Cultivator. What’s there to be suspicious about?” Long Yangjun said with a smile. “Besides, before I came to you, I visited Han Baling, Qi Changsheng, and Wan Mingzhu.

　　“As the Four Rapscallions, of course, there was a lot that we could talk about. I told them that your stance was not stable, and you were not necessarily on the Great Qian Dynasty’s side. If I persuaded you, it was very possible that you could be shifted to the side of the Four Rapscallions. So, I have come to persuade you. It makes perfect sense!”

　　Li Yao was relieved, but he was still frowning. Keeping his voice down, he asked, “What are you here for exactly? To figure out why the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators summoned me?”

　　“They have already told everybody the arrangement. The two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were outstanding enough to share the usages of the Colossi! Such generosity and ambition alone are not something that you can find in the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators! No wonder of all the great heroes and big shots a hundred years ago, they were the only two who were able to advance into the Divinity Transformation Stage!”

　　Long Yangjun paused for a moment. Her eyes scraped Li Yao up and down as if they were brushes that had been mixed with seasoning. Finally, she said, “I’m here because something suddenly occurred to me, and I felt obliged to give you a reminder.”

　　Li Yao raised his wariness again. “What occurred to you?”

　　“It occurred to me that Heiye Lan, as a female spy of the Imperium of True Human Beings, tried everything that she could to collect resources and establish a ‘sacrificial altar’ so that she could communicate with the Black Wind Fleet, her home, only to be captured by us when she was just one step away from success.

　　“Then, if we make friends with Heiye Lan and decide to cooperate with the Imperium of True Human Beings after all the terms and conditions are settled to both sides’ satisfaction, only to find an enormous fleet of a second force right above our heads, won’t we become the greatest jokes ever?

　　“Master Spiritual Vulture, do you agree?”

　　Long Yangjun was wearing a sunny smile.

　　She was dressed as a male right now, like a handsome, middle-aged scholar.

　　However, compared to a real scholar, she was less vigorous and more ‘feminine’.

　　Perhaps that was exactly what the eunuchs who served the emperor in the royal palace all looked like.

　　Every hair on the back of Li Yao’s neck was standing on end. His eyes curved into two sabers, and his voice became both sharp and dangerous. He demanded, one word after another, “What are you getting at, ‘Lord Wang’?”

　　Both of them had secrets that were under each other’s control. Li Yao did not believe that Long Yangjun would be bold enough to expose his greatest secret.

　　Even if the two of them ended on bad terms, Li Yao still had a chance to offer a price on behalf of the federation, but the outcome of Long Yangjun, a creature from the primeval era whose gender was ambiguous, would certainly not be good!

　　“Nothing. As I said in the beginning, I’m simply here to remind Master Spiritual Vulture that you must not do anything stupid. Even if you do have magical equipment similar to the ‘sacrificial altar’, you’d better not act recklessly or send any messages to your hometown, which is probably not the Alliance of the Holy Covenant but the Star Glory Federation, right? The way I see it, you are not one of those ‘demi-humans’ who are emotionless and selfless.”

　　Long Yangjun glanced at Li Yao again and continued smiling. “Do not send any message to your hometown. I will be watching you closely and will never allow you to do that, and it will bring no good to you and the force behind you!”

　　Li Yao’s eyes were glittering like the edge of a saber. “Are you planning to surrender to the Imperium?”

　　“I haven’t made a decision yet, but why shouldn’t I?” Long Yangjun replied casually, as if she didn’t think that it was a big deal. “The Alliance of the Holy Covenant, which worships the Pangu Clan, is certainly my archenemy. The Imperium and the federation both appear to be worshippers of the Nuwa Clan. If I am an heir of the Nuwa Clan, does it really matter whether I choose the federation or the Imperium?”

　　Li Yao pondered for a moment and asked, “Why did you say that sending a message to my hometown will bring no good to me?”

　　“It’s simple.” Looking at her long, narrow fingers, Long Yangjun said unhurriedly, “What can you expect to accomplish by sending a message back home? The best you can do is summon a magnificent army from your hometown and force the locals of the Ancient Sages Sector to bend with the unparalleled power, like what Heiye Lan wanted to do, right?

　　“However, after witnessing the demeanor of the extraordinary people such as Meng Chixin, Han Baling, Qi Zhongdao, have you ever considered this question? Even if you are truly capable of summoning a powerful fleet—and we will probably be wise enough to surrender after realizing that we cannot defeat you right now—will such a surrender be genuine? Are you really bold enough to accept our surrender?”

　　Li Yao was dazed for a moment, deep in thought.

　　Long Yangjun giggled. “As you said yourself when I first walked into your room, an ‘ally’ who can stab you in your back anytime is more dreadful than an open enemy! Do you wish to turn all the locals of the Ancient Sages Sector into such dangerous ‘allies’?

　　“Let’s put the extraordinary people such as Meng Chixin, Han Baling, and Qi Zhongdao aside and just focus on Emperor Phoenix, the most juvenile of us all. Do you really think that the boy will bend before your might, abandon the honor of an emperor, and be at your service dutifully?

　　“Besides, I estimate that your armed forces can’t be too powerful. At the very least, it can’t be more powerful than the Imperium. If we surrender to you once because of your dominating army, how do you know that we will not surrender again when the Black Wind Fleet shows up the next day with an army that is even more dominating?

　　“Therefore, even if you can summon a fleet from your hometown, will it really help? You will simply be pushing us to the Imperium’s side!”

　　Li Yao’s eyes were cramping hard. “You don’t need to trick me into admitting anything. It’s meaningless. We’re on the same boat right now!”

　　“Exactly. That’s why I have come here to remind you out of good will,” Long Yangjun said. “Unless the other ten super experts except us all choose to stand on the Star Glory Federation’s side ‘sincerely’, our surrender will be entirely meaningless!”

　　Li Yao sniffed and said, “Sincerely? You are talking about the sincerity of a bunch of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stages who are probably the shrewdest people in the world. How can you achieve that in such a rush?”

　　“I will come up with a solution to help you.” Her eyes deep and dark, Long Yangjun said, “As long as you haven’t forgotten your promise that you will help me repair and maneuver this warship after the job is done. You must bear in mind that this Nuwa warship is mine!”

　　After pondering for a moment, Li Yao nodded heavily. “Alright. I believe that I’m in a position to make such a decision. This warship is truly yours. As long as the two of us cooperate, our people will help you repair the warship and establish a crew for you that will help you sail to the end of the universe if you want to! However, what exactly are you planning to do after the warship is repaired?”

　　“I haven’t figured it out yet.” Long Yangjun sighed softly. “However, I will certainly remember my real destiny someday.

　　“Remember your promise. Honestly speaking, if I did not fear that the Imperium of True Human Beings will certainly steal my warship with their overwhelming power, there is no way that I would choose to cooperate with such insignificant country at the border, which seems as boring as any country can be.

　　“If you think that you can take advantage of me because I’m all by myself, hehe, you’re welcome to try.”

　　Long Yangjun’s smile chilled Li Yao, who hurriedly shook his head and said, “We will certainly keep our promise. However, what exactly are you going to do to ensure the ‘sincerity’ of the other ten super experts?”

　　“You will know it in the gathering in three days.” Long Yangjun’s smile was even more mysterious than before. “However, it also depends on the situation of your Star Glory Federation. If the Star Glory Federation is merely a pile of worthless garbage, there will be nothing I can do to change the outcome even if I am omnipotent!”

　　“Wait!” Li Yao gnashed his teeth. “I haven’t acknowledged that I am from the Star Glory Federation yet!”

　　“Ha. That’s even better!” With a scornful smile, Long Yangjun said, “If you have absolutely nothing to do with the Star Glory Federation, you will certainly not object to my proposal in the meeting that will decide the fate of the Ancient Sages Sector!”

　　Long Yangjun left as quickly and unexpectedly as she had arrived.

　　Li Yao was dazed in the empty room for a long time. He took a deep breath and rubbed his rigid face hard.

　　None of the ten Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were easy to deal with!

　　There were three days to go.

　　In those three days, everybody would study the information provided by Heiye Lan to get a general idea about the major forces in the universe and the history of the civilization of mankind.

　　Then, they would decide the future of the Ancient Sages Sector, and even the future of the Star Glory Federation, the Imperium of True Human Beings, and the entire universe!

　　What kind of conclusion would they reach?

　　Would they choose to surrender to the Imperium of True Human Beings immediately? Would they attack the Star Glory Federation together with the Black Wind Fleet?

　　What was Long Yangjun up to exactly? Did the elite warrior of the Nuwa Clan who had been reincarnated after hundreds of thousands of years really forget her destiny?

　　Maybe she had recalled part of her destiny, but she would rather nobody knew it…