Him and their stars.

Chapter 2066 The Emperor is at his strongest, and also at his weakest.

As the head of the lawbreaker rolled to the ground, the deliberately forced obedience, ingratiation, and pleading on his face, once lifeless, instantly froze into a twisted expression of resentment.

Of course, his headless body remained in a prostrate position, and if one disregarded the discomfort brought by death itself, it resembled a postmodern avant-garde work of art.

"Now Lady's" pupils suddenly contracted, her fingers nervously rubbing the shimmering dimensional curtain, a short, sharp gasp escaped her throat, but it ultimately turned into a meaningful "Hi," and her eyes immediately lit up with interest.

So you're not going to act now, are you?

"You actually did it anyway," she sighed.

“He requested it.” Yu Lian gave the woman a meaningful look and smiled, “Very good, this isn’t the first time he’s died in front of you, is it?”

"It's only the second time. The reason he's the chief of the thirteenth facet is probably just because of this. Perhaps this is the true meaning of immortality, the eternal path that we psionicists can truly pursue. This is so relevant! Perhaps we can only find a glimpse of the truth we seek here." The woman sighed deeply.

This guy seemed even more excited than I was.

She seemed to realize she had lost her composure, so she quickly switched back to her previous stiff, shy, ingratiating, and cautious smile: "So you know, Auntie, I survived because I was on a mission. People like me also need to seek the truth; otherwise, I'll be killed by those behind the scenes."

Yu Lian finally realized that after "Operation Slay the Snake," the Snake Organization, having lost its snake den, was heading in the direction of public toilets... no, public clubs, with no turning back.

"Don't you think that snakes are becoming more and more like public toilets?" the woman asked.

You said all of this, I didn't.

Yu Lian immediately gave an awkward but polite smile.

“But this is actually a return to tradition.” The woman seemed proud rather than ashamed, even with a touch of nostalgia: “Being a black glove for one family, being a public toilet seems to give me more autonomy.”

Yu Lian pondered for a moment, then sincerely gave a thumbs up: "What you said makes a lot of sense."

As for the Seven Sacred Fish, which had been perched atop the hill watching the entire event, its amethyst-like eyes seemed to contract briefly. Then, it revealed a look of disgust, burying its head inside its curled-up body, not forgetting to hold the sign high with its tail.

"Degeneration." These two words were written in large letters on His sign, full of accusation and contempt.

Yu Lian agreed, saying that "The Serpent of the Panoramic View" was indeed becoming increasingly degenerate. If things continued this way, the number one secret terrorist organization would inevitably degenerate into a group of people indulging in pleasure.

...Uh, speaking of which, is this degeneration or sublimation?
The head of the "Spellbreaker" rolled on the ground, its body leaning forward naturally. Even a seasoned investigator, highly experienced in investigating all kinds of natural and unnatural phenomena, with the most advanced equipment and the most capable team, would find nothing amiss. What they saw was a complete skeleton, without a doubt.

However, after his limbs had even stopped their last spasms, an unusual phenomenon suddenly occurred!

At the severed headless neck, the gushing blood had already congealed, but then a stream of solidified, dazzling light, like liquid crystal, immediately overflowed.

Against the backdrop of a hazy gray fog and a sky full of stars, the streams of light did not dissipate randomly, but instead completed the entire process of rapid convergence, condensation, and compression in a short instant.

Yu Lian vaguely felt subtle tremors coming from all directions.

He knew that it was an unstable reaction from the spatial structure of the Lonely Island.

At the same moment, the gray fog enveloping the island also began to boil violently, as if an invisible giant hand from a higher dimension was stirring up the illusory realm and the present world, and naturally it also affected this flimsy little island.

"Based on the organization's research findings over the generations, it can be definitively proven that the soul resonates more easily with the virtual realm than the body. If one exposes their soul in the virtual realm, they are easily devoured by the underlying logic of the virtual realm, and may even attract the covetousness of a more exalted virtual realm lord," said the Past Lady.

As expected of a snake, even at its most depraved and worthless, its knowledge and research in the occult are still top-tier. In this respect, the Spiritual Research Society, which has only been established for a short time, still has a long way to go.

“However, you don’t need to worry. Miss ‘Past’ and ‘Spirit Healer’ have completed new research that can further enhance the concealment and stability of the Lonely Realm. In addition, the Lord is here. He will not stand idly by and watch our little world be destroyed.”

Before he finished speaking, Yu Lian saw the Seven Sacred Fish yawn like a cat that had just woken up, and wave a small yellow flag with its tail in the air.

The subtle spatial tremors vanished instantly, and the boiling gray mist outside the barrier ceased its movement entirely. Even the invisible giant hand, seemingly from a higher dimension, shifted its entire attention.

Yu Lian exclaimed in admiration: "We uninvited guests from the mortal world have only ever studied the virtual realm in two aspects: concealment and movement. It is only in these two aspects that we have made significant progress."

The lady once said, "Because it's universal. As for attacking and hunting, those are matters of the individual."

What she said makes a lot of sense.

The snake-headed figure seemed to remember something and quickly added, "Oh, by the way, Miss 'Spirit Healer,' as a social activist and renowned medical expert, has organized a humanitarian volunteer group and has been authorized by the Galactic Civilization Council. They are preparing to intervene in the Community's Hanging Arm sector to investigate the humanitarian disaster that occurred on the previous planet New Solomon."

“Oh? The new Solomon that my old friend almost had a bloody fight with his colleagues?” Yu Lian asked.

The woman nodded: "Lieutenant General Sobek has been transferred back to the country, and Major General Mayer has also been dismissed. However, the local Imperial garrison, in its struggle to control the mineral resources of the tundra, clashed with the guerrillas, which still affected the Sumi settlements. In the fierce fighting from October to the end of last year, preliminary estimates indicate that at least 100,000 Sumi civilians died."

Yu Lian sighed, but that was all.

What a tragedy.

However, compared to the Empire's original plan to bomb Sumi cities with neutron bombs, such losses seem acceptable.

The lives of 100,000 civilians, including a large number of the elderly, women, and children, were undoubtedly a horrific humanitarian disaster, but Yu Lian was almost unmoved. He rationally and coldly told himself that this was the inevitable price to pay for war.

If the guerrillas remaining on the cantilever continue to resist, similar tragedies will continue to occur, and will certainly not be confined to New Solomon.

Earth, New Asia, New Chang'an... and even Lumina, which he has come to regard as his second home.

Everything he and his fellow workers at the Red Maple Factory had created would crumble in the flames of war. The familiar and vibrant faces of his own life would be twisted in blood.

However, he could never order the guerrillas to stop resisting.

Yu Lian wasn't sure if this was maturity, coldness, or a combination of both. But it didn't matter anymore. This fluctuation and turmoil didn't even linger in Yu Lian's mind for half a minute.

With an international volunteer who wants to investigate humanitarian disasters in war, plus a renowned medical scientist, the true identity of the "spiritual healer" can be easily identified.

Needless to say, this is still a way for the snake to prove its sincerity to itself.

They were indeed very sincere, even to the point that someone like Yu Lian had to have doubts.

However, the fact that the Galactic Civilization Council would investigate "humanitarian disasters during war" is quite unusual for a mascot. This is merely an international consultative organization established after the Third Galactic War, providing a platform for the two superpowers and some second-tier powers to argue, quarrel, and launch personal attacks, ultimately leading to compromise.

It has few divisions, and in terms of authority, it is not even comparable to the United Nations of the previous generation; at most, it is only at the level of the League of Nations.

So, if you really want to know, the only one who truly endorses these international volunteer actions is the Nefi regime.

The one who is brave is not the Civilization Parliament, but the Alliance.

Or rather, after gaining control of the Colossus's power, the capitalists, who were initially wary of both sides and afraid to show their true colors, began to assert themselves.

"You guys are good at choosing sides," Yu Lian commented.

“Believe it or not, we have never stood on the opposite side of history,” the woman said.

During their conversation, it took Guangliu over a minute to finally complete the shaping. That must be the soul incarnation of the "Spellbreaker." Of course, it wasn't his harmless, herbivorous boy form, but rather a phantom barely constructed from many flowing halos and chains of light forming lines.

It was a burly body over three meters tall, with a robust torso covered in scales and a triangular head with horns, while its lower body was entangled in a swirling current of light.

If we disregard race, this is somewhat like a genie or something similar.

He was not a physical entity, nor did he possess any particularly powerful psionic aura. Although he was a semi-transparent figure, the details of his muscles and scales were clearly visible, and his facial features and expressions were even more distinct.

Even in his soul form, the Breaker's smile remained dignified and humble. Coupled with the head that resembled a Triceratops, it didn't appear ferocious at all; instead, it had a somewhat endearing charm.

Yu Lian looked up and stared at the other party, recognizing this race he was seeing for the first time from a paleontological diagram.

A member of that rare psionic race, that immortal race that produced so many alchemists. That race that was completely wiped out even after entering the cosmic age, that tragic race whose fate was even more miserable than that of the Eero and the Eredar elves.

"A Fafullongman?" Yu Lian asked curiously.

The lawbreaker lowered his head sincerely, with a touch of natural reminiscence: "The me of the past."

His voice at this moment was no longer the bright and refreshing youthful tone it once was; it was just an unremarkable, unremarkable, and even androgynous voice, which at first glance sounded like an electronic voice. However, although it lacked any distinctive features, it was not unpleasant; one could even sense a touch of historical vicissitude and profundity, which gave it a somewhat ethereal quality.

Speaking of which, Yu Lian's first Noble Phantasm, the Eye of Faful Dragon, was made by an alchemist from the Faful Dragon people.

Yu Lian's gaze fell on the other person's lower body, on the swirling stream of light that resembled a genie's.

The extinct Favullongans were indeed a powerful, psychic-sensitive race, natural-born alchemists and extraordinary warriors. In the early days of the Age of Space Exploration, with their extremely small population, they engaged in a protracted struggle with the Empire, even achieving a moment of glory with a surprise attack on the Celestial Realm.

In that primitive era of cosmic exploration, this powerful and rare race played the role of the boss in that historical period of the Tyreiro.

Although they were wiped out, they still left behind many significant stories in the history of the universe.

However, the so-called "lawbreakers" are still legitimate carbon-based humanoid intelligent beings, and their lower bodies are still legitimate legs; they can't possibly look like a genie.

Yu Lian laughed and said, "You are excellent alchemists and indomitable warriors. Perhaps your souls also have something special about them."

"The Faful Dragonmen are just ordinary cosmic beings. If our souls were truly special, how could they become mere decorations for the imperial hegemony?" He shrugged in his spirit form, a hint of nonchalance even showing on his face.

"My soul has manifested in this way after a long period of training and cultivation." His voice echoed repeatedly, resounding directly in Yu Lian's consciousness: "We call this form 'spiritual body and divine soul,' and this is the greatest sincerity that the Serpent of the World and my lord have shown you."

Yu Lian stared at the spirit before him, his demigod-like spiritual senses already fully unfolding without him even realizing it. He could only sense that the dazzling clusters of light and the neat chains of light that constituted the spirit were constantly decomposing and recombining in a complex and mysterious trajectory, just like cells.

It's not as simple as a soul; it's more like a spiritual being.

“Elements, ether, or spirit—you seem to be everything. I have never seen such a spiritual composition before.” Yu Lian looked at the other with great interest: “So, this is the mystery of your immortality?”

"I have never been immortal either. I am just a pathetic creature who has barely survived to this day because of the obsession of my clan. Because of this, the upper limit of my strength has actually been sealed. I will not be able to reach your level even in another thousand years, let alone the side of truth."

Yu Lian, resting his chin on his hand, said with great interest, "So, you want me to possess power like yours, and then spend my entire life unable to reach the side of truth?"

“You are the Dragon of Dawn, not a pathetic wretch like me clinging to life,” said the Lawbreaker.

Great, the emotional value has been fully provided again.

"And now, it is on behalf of the 'future prince's' will that I, the Emperor of Elither, possess similar power. The power that the rulers of the Dawn Royal Family and the wearers of the Void Crown have all possessed."

Under Yu Lian's astonished gaze, he swayed the spiritual light that constituted his body and solemnly declared, "If you do not know how to annihilate me now, you will certainly not be able to truly defeat the Emperor."

Yu Lian lowered his eyes and stared at the other person with doubt and scrutiny.

His brief encounter with the snake this time yielded considerable gains overall, but it was also the first time he had experienced such a level of astonishment.

"So, the future prince is..." Yu Lian was about to ask when he heard the other party continue:

"However, Emperor Elisel's physical body has been severely damaged by Master Lan, but his spirit is no different from mine now. He is at his strongest stage now, but also at his weakest."

...Oh my god, I didn't even know my own master had made a move, and now I have to rely on a snake to remind me?