Li Yao was caught in a long silence.

“Ha!”

Long Yangjun grinned. “You’ve got nothing to say anymore?”

“You’re wrong.”

Li Yao shook his head slowly and took a deep breath. Looking at Long Yangjun in the eyes, he said slowly, “While I am indeed a rarely-seen genius in the universe who is adept at fighting, sneaking, maintenance, analysis, planning, and acting and who is blessed by fate with countless trump cards, which makes me one of the few most special persons in the entire universe, I have never fought alone in any battle in the past hundred years, and there hasn’t been a case where I settled the problem and saved the world solely on my own.

“Countless good brothers and friends fought side by side with me every single time. Countless seemingly insignificant persons whose names I was unaware of fought together with me for their own fate and the fate of everybody else every single time! I never feel that I saved a lot of people; we simply worked together in solidarity to save ourselves!

“When we were against Xiao Xuance in the Flying Star Sector, countless Cultivators fought side by side with me and sacrificed their precious lives so that we could eventually march to Xiao Xuance’s face!

“When we were resisting Lu Zui in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, it was the citizens of the federation who raised their hands, waved the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag, and covered me all the way to the parliament building so that we could unveil Lu Zui’s real appearance!

“During the second time I returned to the Heaven’s Origin Sector, when I fought Extraterrestrial Devil in the realm of spirits, the national anthem of the New Federation sung by so many people together granted us infinite strength, allowing us to finally destroy the realm of spirits, disrupt the extraterrestrial devils, and rouse Professor Mo Xuan’s real soul. You were there with me at that time, and you were saved by countless ordinary people who burnt their souls and lives. Have you forgotten about it?!

“In the fierce battle against the Black Wind Fleet, who was the greatest contributor for the dozen Colossi to arrive in time and sabotage the space gate? Not me, but a common officer of the federation named Helian Lie. It was he who sacrificed his life to stall the creation of the space gate! I will remember him forever. The Star Glory Federation will remember him forever!

“So, don’t think that you can scare me by intentionally exaggerating the coldness of the universe and the darkness of humanity. Yes, individuals are insignificant when faced with the overwhelming sea of stars, but insignificance does not equal to humbleness. Human beings will never admit that they are humble, and I will never be fighting alone!

“It’s the same this time. Behind my back is the Star Glory Federation. I believe that every Cultivator and every citizen of the Star Glory Federation will fight side by side with me. We will carry out the bright side of humanity with our best and illuminate the dark universe even if we are burned into ashes!

“I believe that even in the Imperium of True Human Beings, in the cruel, dog-eat-dog worlds of Immortal Cultivators, countless people are unwilling to sink in the sh*thole! They will be awakened and want to change a different road. If they are willing to abandon their feelings and embark on the so-called Path of Ultimate Benevolence, is it really so hard to let them try the path of the Cultivators?

“I also believe that for even the people living thirty thousand meters into the ground, even though their lives are full of exploitations and sorrow, it is impossible that there is absolutely no brightness. Do you know that the kids were singing when I left the 10,084th district? They were singing!

“If the children can sing, why can’t the adults? Nobody can deprive them of their power to sing. Not the Immortal Cultivators and certainly not the Covenant Alliance! I will do my best to defend their songs!”

This time, it was Long Yangjun who bit her lips and fell silent.

“There’s also you. Why do you have to be so snarky as if you have seen through humanity and the universe which disappoint you greatly?”

Li Yao extended his hand at Long Yangjun and said sincerely, “Come with me, and let’s see if we can change the world together. It’s going to be fun!”

Long Yangjun trembled, not sure if she should be shocked. She eyed Li Yao as if he were an idiot while she remarked, “Seriously? I just complimented your smartness, and you are turning into a silly person again? Knowing clearly that I am a malicious villain full of schemes who may trick you anytime, you are still persuading me? Why? Do you really think I’m your ‘best friend’?”

“It has nothing to do with that.”

Li Yao said, “In fact, I’ve tried to persuade each and every one of you. Xiao Xuance, Bai Xinghe, Jin Tuyi, Lu Zui, Zhou Zhengdao, Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan… Every one of you is a hundred times more capable, ambitious, and wiser than me! If you are all willing to embark on the path of the Cultivators and help your own kind in the correct ways, the whole universe will certainly be brighter! Some of those people have indeed been convinced by me and become my friends. So, I’m certainly reluctant to fight you!”

“Stop flattering yourself. Do you really think Bai Xinghe and Jin Tuyi were convinced by you?”

Long Yangjun spat on the ground. “They were obviously taking advantage of you to achieve their own purposes, alright? Who do you think is as idiotic as you? Despite your high Cultivation, you are as simple and childish as a high school student. ‘Illuminate the whole universe’? Come on, man, this is not a movie set. Do you have any idea that it was something even the Pangu Clan and the Nuwa Clan were incapable of? None of the prehistoric civilizations in the trillions of years before the Pangu Clan and Nuwa Clan were able to do that either, and you want the civilization of mankind to accomplish it? The odds are little to none!”

“Little to none is still not none, right?”

Li Yao said, “The odds to win the top prize of a lottery border on zero too, but doesn’t a lucky dog win it every single time? Why can’t the civilization of mankind be the lucky dog who hits the jackpot?

“Do you know what is the key to winning a lottery prize? The key is that you have to buy a lottery first! If you don’t buy it at all, doesn’t it mean that you’ve abandoned your chances?

“If you think about it in perspective, it’s true that the Pangu civilizations, the Nuwa civilizations, and the thousands of prehistoric, advanced civilizations before them all failed to achieve it, but what does it mean? It means that nobody has ever won the lottery yet, and the money in the prize pool must be astronomical now. Then, if the civilization of mankind can win the lottery, it will certainly be a great windfall!”

Rendered speechless, Long Yangjun was stunned for a long time before she covered her forehead and said, “Idiot. It suddenly occurs to me that I’m talking to a wall. I’m so tired.”

“Those who are ignorant, are fearless.”

Li Yao said, “Of course, I am not as smart as you, Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan, or Blackstar the Great. So, it always puzzles me what exactly you are scared of. Even if the universe is truly so cold and humanity is really so dark, why can’t you just fight it valiantly, when you will die eventually either way? What’s the big deal?”

“Forget it…”

Long Yangjun waved her hands and said in exhaustion, “I don’t want to debate with you on the useless philosophies anymore because it occurs to me that you’re about to drag me to your level and defeat me with your abundant experience in stupidity.

“It won’t help anything no matter what fancy speeches you may give. Let’s just see how you are going to fix the problem of Nepenthe. Three days. Nepenthe is going to attack the Great Iron Plants in three days. Will you stop them?”

“Great Iron Plants?”

Li Yao blinked. “What is that?”

Long Yangjun told Li Yao that “Great Iron Plants” was an area with different plants inside the rocks several thousand meters above the 10,084th district. Quite a few geothermal factories, heavy component manufacturers, and mines of rare metals had been deployed in the area.

The rare metals collected from the mines, after being refined with the infinite geothermal energy, were delivered to the assembly lines for fashioning before they were shipped to the surface of the planet. Such a practice was more cost-effective, and the heavy pollution would be kept tens of thousands of meters below the surface of the planet without affecting the fresh air and the clean water on the ground.

“Great Iron Plants” was the underground residents’ nickname for the place. It was also the center of the hundreds of towns nearby. Almost all the locals worked for the Great Iron Plants or were engaged in the indirect service for the Great Iron Plants on the upstream or downstream chains of the factories in the place.

The official name of “Great Iron Plants” was “Black Iron Group”, whose CEO was named “Li Minghui”. He was a typical man who only cared about his own interests.

His surname was not “Li” in the beginning but “Hei”. He used to be a destitute, bottom-level Immortal Cultivator who was not appreciated on the surface of the planet. It was also said that he once tricked certain major sects for their resources. In his desperation, he had to flee to the underground worlds to make a living.

But the man was best at flattery and bribery. He somehow made acquaintance with a big shot of the Dongfang family, whom he respected as a foster father. He even changed his family name from “Hei” to “Dongfang”, thereby becoming “Dongfang Minghui”.

With the Dongfang family, one of the four Kurfürst families, as his reliance, Dongfang Minghui naturally thrived in the underground worlds. It did not take long before he seized a mine of rare minerals. In the following decades, he acquired and expanded his corporation blatantly through all kinds of shameless approaches, building it into the Black Iron Group that was a minor celebrity in all the underground worlds today.

The most awesome skill about the man, on the other hand, was not his cruel, cunning methods or his shameless character, but his keen senses. When he smelled that the Dongfang family was about to fall apart, he joined the Li family in advance and respected a big shot of the Li family as his foster father exactly like last time, changing his family name from “Dongfang” to “Li”. He also offered tremendous evidence about the dark history of the Dongfang family, which he had carefully collected during the past decades, to help the Li family strike the Dongfang family. Naturally, he did not forget to bribe his new “foster father” with a fortune so that he would not be badmouthed.

Therefore, regardless of the changes in politics on the surface of the planet, the man had been enjoying his life below the ground for decades. He was almost a local dominator of the thousand square kilometers around!