Him and their stars.

Chapter 2140 The Crown of the Earthbound Spirit
Like a lifelike earthbound spirit, Yu Lian looked at the emperor's heroic spirit, felt his will, and confirmed that this supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire should still be quite healthy.

At least, in terms of spiritual state, he is indeed very healthy.

What kind of Force Earthbound Spirit?

However, psionicists aren't the same as those who wield the Force; attempting to bind a spirit to another body comes at a price. Allowing the soul to remain detached from the body for an extended period might have irreversible negative consequences, and it's hardly a respectable act.

Yu Lian's eyes began to dart around, his intuition instinctively extending towards the small door, searching for the emperor's true identity.

“My body isn’t there. That’s my bedroom, my playroom, and the only resting place for my soul.” The emperor sighed. “If you were seriously injured, would you turn your playroom into an ICU?”

Okay, what he said makes a lot of sense. So, it must be somewhere in Dragon's Palace? This space city is even larger than the Hand of Glory; it could easily house a metropolis of millions without being crowded. Finding it will be quite a hassle.

Or, how about we send an electric arc to Longlin Palace?
Also, the game... is it the game I'm thinking of?
Seeing Yu Lian's suspicious expression, the emperor continued, "Look at what you're saying, I also play games. I'm a Mithril VIP in the game, and I've won the online 'Stellar Fighter' championship four times. I started playing Gaberia Online ten years ago, and I played a female mage character named 'Dragon Palace Grandmaster'."

Yu Lian felt he must have heard this ID somewhere before, and immediately felt like he had been subjected to a huge mental shock. However, considering that he hadn't logged in since the outbreak of the war, and that the account might have been deleted by Huanyu, he decided to pretend he hadn't heard anything.

Of course, he's increasingly eager to shine a power arc into this spot.

By the way, I just promised not to fire on the civilian space city. Does that mean the imperial palace counts?
The emperor continued candidly, "My body is not in the Dragon Palace, but on Rui Star. Thanks to the blessings of past emperors, the spiritual energy there is beginning to circulate. In your Earthly terms, it would be considered a blessed land, suitable for recuperating."

Yu Lian pondered whether he should burn the glass on Rui Xing a few more times. Planets like this, which have already unlocked the "abundant spiritual energy" attribute and are home to various mythical beasts forming a unique magical ecosystem, might turn into zero-element minerals if their oceans were evaporated by the positron cannon.

More than one alchemist has thought about this.

However, on another note, didn't I just promise Count Conroy that I wouldn't burn the glass on the Imperial homeworld?
Tsk, that's such a pity!
The emperor continued, "Although there are no longer any large-scale residential areas on Ruixing in principle, there are still tens of thousands of manors of varying sizes scattered around, and two million people still live there."

Since the scale has reached the million level, it is impossible for them all to be noblemen.

Okay, even if there are no civilians on it, I can't really burn glass on a populated planet.

To be fair, the Galactic Empire's history of cosmic wars is a bloody history of racism and anti-civilization, but in this brutal meat grinder war with the Commonwealth, it has never carried out any large-scale acts of harm against the inhabited planets of Earthlings, let alone burned glass.

Yu Lian lacked the legal and emotional basis of the same standard, and he himself did not have the emotional basis to do such a thing.

What a terrifying person! Did he actually take advantage of my moral weakness? Yu Lian looked at the emperor's soul with a face full of solemn respect.

Indeed, the prerequisite for a qualified ruler is to stop at nothing!
"This is also for the sake of existence. For the sake of existence, I am indeed in a very sorry state. Whether I can get through this is something no one can guarantee. Yu Lianqing, there is no need to force yourself to maintain etiquette anymore. You can definitely smile. If you don't smile, I will want to smile too."

Since His Majesty had issued the decree a second time, Yu Lian naturally could not disobey, so he frankly burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, he thought of another timeline of his life.

He had roamed the galaxy freely throughout his life, making a great name for himself, but he also knew that he had reached his limit.

However, on this timeline, he had the possibility of peering into the side of truth.

More importantly, he is a challenger, but not just a challenger in the realm of psionic power.

Amid the laughter, he suddenly realized that he had stood on the threshold of truth.

As the master of this empire, this star system, and this palace, the emperor naturally displayed great magnanimity and generosity. He waited for Yu Lian's laughter to subside before speaking in a tone as if stating an objective truth: "No matter how history unfolds in the future, I will always stand on the opposite side of history, and even become the clown."

Yu Lian nodded, his tone polite but his words quite rude: "Actually, this was all your choice. Your Majesty, you launched this war, and you lost two Titans and double-digit numbers of Dreadnoughts. The mighty Galactic Empire paid three times the casualties and warship losses to finally occupy Earth, but it is far from conquest. In addition, you still haven't conquered the Earthlings."

"The anthem of Earthlings is an anthem of courage, and also an anthem of humanity," the Emperor said.

"But all of this should not have happened. All of humanity was waiting for a period of prosperity."

The Emperor shook his head: "You know this is impossible. Yu Lianqing, even after the end of the Seventh Galactic War, in this sixty-year period of peace, peace has only existed between the Empire and the Alliance. Other than that, the wars between nations have rarely ceased. Young man, didn't your masterpiece happen in the same way?"

That's true, but wasn't this also instigated by you two polarized factions behind the scenes? So this is the kind of shameful, earth-shattering act that emperors are supposed to do!
Yu Lian realized that he had learned more in that one minute of serious conversation with the emperor than he had in the past N years. This must be the benefit of having a good teacher.

Think about Captain Lu back then. What he learned from Teacher Kai's three sharp rebukes far exceeded what he learned from Teacher Xi's three years of arduous study. That's probably the feeling.

Yu Lian expressed his deepest gratitude to the emperor amidst these sentiments, only to see the emperor then ponder, "In that case, do those small countries that sit on the periphery of the Galactic Civilization Council not deserve to enjoy peace?"

How could an emperor speak from the perspective of a small third-world country? Is the world changing too fast, or is your skin too thick?

Yu Lian stared at the other party in awe, and couldn't help but put his hands together in a gesture of respect, as if he were worshipping a god, before saying, "Your Majesty, you don't mean to say that only through war can there be unification, and only through unification can there be peace and order, do you?"

"A very classic statement, but isn't it the truth?" the emperor laughed.

“It can only be said that the logic is valid.” Yu Lian couldn’t agree: “But this logic is not unique, and it is just an extreme political concept.”

"Regardless of whether it's extreme or not, as long as it's logically consistent, there's a possibility of success. Before the Common Era, during the Galactic Age of Exploration, after gradually moving from early exploration and exchange, from chaotic wars between states to a more stable border system, what successive monarchs pursued was unification." The Emperor frankly stated:
"Moreover, only the Galactic Empire can accomplish such a great undertaking, not the opposing alliance. The leaders of the Gaberians are obsessed with the game of accumulating wealth, and have lost interest in expanding their territory. They will soon realize that territorial expansion will only become an obstacle to the expansion of capital. They have no sense of responsibility for the future of the universe or the future of humanity. Therefore, the Galactic Empire must shoulder the responsibility for the future of civilization. The Empire's glorious achievements over the centuries are all for the sake of the great harmony and unity of the universe!"

Even though he was only a soul, the ecstatic expression on his face resembled that of a fanatical martyr.

To be fair, the Galactic Empire is not lacking in such figures. Having ruled such a vast territory, their three-thousand-year history of conquest naturally includes many who faced death without fear. However, such an expression should not appear on the face of the Galactic Empire's supreme ruler.

Yu Lian carefully observed the other party, noting the fluctuations in the emperor's spiritual appearance and sensing the rhythm of spirituality.

Behind that fervent and intoxicated expression, there seemed to be another layer of information flickering. However, it was so subtle that even Yu Lian's spiritual senses thought it was an illusion.

If he hadn't already suspected it, he might have truly thought it was just a misperception.

However, just before Yu Lian could show a look of doubt, the emperor instantly withdrew that expression and once again put on a rather amused smile: "This is the choice of the Tireiro people, and also the choice of the times."

“Not everyone wants to become fuel to fuel the great achievements of the Tyrone Kings. The numerous uprisings that have erupted throughout the empire have already proven this. And the rebels are not just aliens; there are also a large number of humans, even citizens and noble children.” Yu Lian shrugged.

He paused for a moment: "Last month you arrested a group of veterans."

"This was all the work of the Prime Minister's office." The Emperor adopted a posture of absolute power, but his eyes held admiration: "But, young general, isn't this all thanks to you?"

Yu Lian spread his hands, looking completely innocent: "If it wasn't me, there were others."

"No, it's you. Without you, they're just a bunch of angry nationalists and pseudo-progressives in their studies. Don't deny the role of heroes in creating and advancing history; that doesn't fit your view of history, young leader," the Emperor said.

Yu Lian felt as if he had heard these words somewhere before, and then it took him three seconds to realize that he had vaguely mentioned them somewhere before, and then received high praise from Mr. Qi and had them added to "Yuan".

You actually used mine...

Before Yu Lian could speak, the emperor added, "Besides, as you said in your book, it all boils down to a matter of distribution."

He's actually using my tricks! Yu Lian was unsure whether he should be flattered or not.

The emperor continued, "I am ultimately just a mortal, unable to solve everything. The first thing my ancestors and I must do is achieve unification. Distribution will come later, in a time of peace and prosperity. We must trust in the wisdom of future generations!"

Yu Lian looked up at the sky to keep his expression from crumbling.

The emperor's smile remained playful and relaxed: "For the past thousand years, the twenty emperors before me have all done this, and I haven't found any problems with it, so I've continued to follow suit."

He seemed to be discussing this point in a playful and relaxed manner. Anyway, this national policy that had been implemented for many years didn't seem to have any problems, so why not give it a try? There was no harm in it for him.

Yu Lian could feel his anger building up. If the other party had just acted like a fanatic, he might have felt a little better.

Thousands of inhabited planets ignited by war, and hundreds of millions of civilians and soldiers killed or wounded, have become such frivolous topics of conversation.

The emperor looked at Yu Lian, his meaningful smile inexplicably taking on a peculiar, sculptural quality. Though still a spirit, he seemed to be transforming into a divine statue.

“I sense your anger. Very well, young man, very well! Many years ago, I felt the same way as you, but now, I can hardly remember what that feeling was. The mission given to the Tyrellians by the Spirit of the Universe is to unify the universe, and I choose to respect and lead. The appearance of the Ring of Miracles has brought this war forward, but even without it, it would have happened someday in the future.”

Yu Lian scoffed, "Your Majesty, a bunch of pre-modern people shouldn't be making predictions about the future. The Tirelo people led by the Dragon Kings are merely expanding based on instinct. Your desire for conquest and domination is like a hyena's belly—it's never full. The Alliance's unscrupulous merchants pursue capital accumulation, while you are a bit more pre-modern. The reason you can dominate half the universe is simply because there's always a so-called 'strongest' in charge, whipping everyone's backsides equally."

This time, the emperor did not answer, but his smile became even more meaningful, making him look more like a statue.

"So, are you representing the will of the Tireiro people, or are you imposing your own will upon them?" He stared intently at the other person: "And where does this will come from?"

The Emperor's spirit smiled, his gaze seemingly piercing through Yu Lian and looking towards something grander, more essential: "You've gone deep. Hahaha, this should have been a secret belonging solely to the Emperor, but it was accidentally discovered by Latis and Messena. What a pity, if it weren't for this scene, their lives wouldn't have ended like this. That child, Shirley, wouldn't have had to wander and bear such a heavy life."

He waved his hand, and a circular crown slowly appeared above his spirit form.

It was merely an unremarkable black crown, radiating a cold light, as if made of chrome-plated black iron. A large gemstone, the size of an infant's fist, was set in its center. It was entirely crimson, and its interior seemed to shimmer with golden patterns, like the eye of a mythical dragon of dawn.

But that's all there is to it.

For ordinary people, a ruby ​​the size of a fist is certainly a treasure, but even for an ordinary wealthy person, it is just a plaything, let alone an emperor?

His headdress was even more unremarkable, smooth but without any carving, as if it were a piece of iron rolled out from a stamping machine.

Yu Lian knew that it was an empty crown.

He hoped that he could see the intricate spiritual patterns arising and passing away within this royal treasure of the Dawn, that it contained the ultimate principles of the universe, and that it possessed an ancient, vast, and supreme aura.

But he saw nothing.

If there really was something different, it was probably just a subtle feeling. Yu Lian's intuition told him that he sensed a similar aura to Little Gray from that ordinary, unremarkable Void Crown.

However, this was just a fleeting intuition.

Similar to the sensation he had just experienced, Yu Lian wasn't even sure if it was just an illusion.

That's precisely why it's so heartbreaking.