Him and their stars.

Chapter 2153 Technical Issues

Afterwards, Yu Lian told his master about the situation outside.

From the stabilization of the Spirit Vein Technology Academy's location to his own entry into the Celestial Realm. From the current chaos exposed within the Empire to the actions of the Empire's various armies.

They seemed to be watching helplessly as we stormed into the Heavenly Realm.

“Ah, this is typical of the Tireiro people. In fact, they were like this back when we were infiltrating the Empire during the War of Independence.” Master said proudly, “Of course, I was mainly responsible for traversing the territory, while Fellow Daoist Black Moon was responsible for infiltration.”

Yu Lian always felt that the second half of the sentence was his master's main idea, but he still asked doubtfully, "During the War of Independence?"

"When that dimensional lord was released, all the powerful factions in the empire watched as the emperor embarked on his campaign alone. They tacitly agreed that this was the emperor's own battle and that they shouldn't interfere." The master shrugged, his expression slightly sarcastic, but also tinged with sympathy.

“He is different from all the emperors. The emperor of the Nine Rings is a different concept from other emperors. When you sit on that supreme position for more than a century, you are no different from a true god. The subjects will naturally hold their ruler to the standards of a god.”

"To vanquish the evil that threatens the nation is indeed the work of God. And God cannot expose weakness." Yu Lian immediately understood that his master was truly prepared to exchange one for one, or even two for one.

Once the emperor is seriously injured, his followers will calm down from their fanatical loyalty that borders on religious worship, and a backlash will follow.

When the supreme ruler shows signs of weakness, this vast military empire will fall into a state of dysfunction before a new supreme power system is established. This may be in line with the normal logic of an authoritarian regime.

From this perspective, Lan Jiufeng has almost succeeded.

“If the person wearing the Void Crown wasn’t a ninth-ring psychic, but just an ordinary power holder, you wouldn’t have this loophole to exploit,” Lan Jiufeng said to Yu Lian.

This might sound a bit contradictory, but Yu Lian felt it was indeed the truth.

“King Velent may have wanted to be a power holder who conformed to the public’s perception, so he chose to sit idly by and wait for the imperial crown to be passed to someone else; while King Suruka was the latter, and chose to inherit the throne in a positive way,” Lan Jiufeng said.

Does positive inheritance refer to excessive filial piety?

"If we interpret this as a spiritual convergence and a challenge to higher levels of spiritual beings, wouldn't that make perfect sense?"

That makes sense, but Yu Lian only thought of Wakanda. What respectable civilized nation decides its supreme authority through brute force?

What? This is a universe and nation ruled by psionic nobles? Then there's no problem.

Yu Lian nodded: "Indeed! The more pre-modern a country is, the more contradictory it is."

“Isn’t that right?” Although Lan Jiufeng was hearing this term for the first time, he understood it instantly: “So, you’re planning to take the appearance of the ‘Origin’ as the dividing line of modernity, right? That’s much more arrogant than the emperors of the empires, but I actually think you deserve it.”

Yu Lian felt that refuting him at this point would seem pretentious, so she could only respond with a nonchalant smile. Besides smiling, she didn't know what else to say.

"Then, future emperors of the empire probably can't be classified so simply," Lan Jiufeng pondered. He had already accepted Eliser's demise.

"Of course he will perish." The master said with certainty, "If you don't make it in time, that guy might be able to come back, but with you along, he's doomed! I'm telling you, even the spirit of the universe can't save him!"

Although he didn't know where his master's confidence came from, considering that his girl was taking over the boss battle outside, he could only believe it.

Then, Yu Lian spoke of the Alliance's potential fate, and the standoff and conflict between Femor and the Imperial Army. Given the current situation, it seemed that a small conflict could escalate into a major war at any moment.

The master pondered for a moment and said, "The one leading the troops is General Harango Dormaise. I do know this young man. However, if we're talking about the alliance family that has the most marriage alliances with the Imperial Royal Family, it's not Rainbow Rose, but this family."

The Saint-Riddlemass family is almost on par with the Rainbow Rose Berencaster family, a powerful family in the alliance.

Admiral Harango Domas, who is currently leading the Alliance Grand Fleet into the confrontation between Femo and the Imperial Marshal Esther's group, is one of the family's current powerful leaders.

In another timeline, this person is someone who can rival Miss Bei for the position of Grand President.

"You mean the alliance chose this person as commander so that there would be a channel for negotiation with the Empire if necessary?" Lan Jiufeng shrugged: "No, what I mean is that we should not hesitate to assess the character of these powerful families with the utmost malice. In critical moments, the more they are involved in marriage alliances, the more ruthless they will be!"

That makes a lot of sense, though it's not exactly constructive.

Yu Lian looked at the divine sword in his master's hand and asked in confusion, "Speaking of which, I remember there's a saying that your master's wife's mother was the eldest daughter of the Mystic family of the Alliance! She also became one of the symbols of friendship between the Alliance and the Community."

Master nodded: "Actually, they are from a collateral branch of a collateral branch. Apart from having a famous surname, they are no different from ordinary citizens. She also married a mercenary of Earth descent surnamed Mei. I have some connections with them, so I cooperated to prepare a background for your uncle. Anyway, neither of them has their own children, and it's easy to get citizenship in the outer ring of the Alliance."

As for why the distant relative of the collateral branch became the eldest daughter, there's no need to ponder that for too long.

Then there's the movement of the snakes, the existence of the swarm, and all the information I know about the "Primarch Project".

The master stated that, based on his understanding of the snake, collaborating with Count Salvin on research into the Zerg swarm was perfectly in line with their style. As for the "Primarch Project," it was, of course, entirely consistent with the Imperial family's status as the universe's greatest villain.

Of course, there was also some news that was hard to say whether it was important or not. Yu Lian hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell him frankly. The captain of the "Goodnight Kittens" team, that national beauty who wasn't even eighteen yet, was exposed last month for being pregnant out of wedlock, and immediately decided to retire from the entertainment industry, get married, and become a housewife.

Well, for Master, this is probably the most important news.

Sure enough, the old man remained there for a full half minute, the longest pause he had ever made. Then he took two more forceful puffs of his pipe before letting out a heavy, almost mournful sigh: "Only this, only this, I simply cannot accept it."

"There will always be new captains and pillars. These are like a team with constant members and ever-changing crew. I remember the Little Cats team has had seven or eight captains already," Yu Lian comforted her.

"But every team leader has to be a universally recognized national beauty, right? The audience has watched her grow from a naive young girl through the auditions to a dazzling superstar. It's not that she can't get married, but not in this way!" The master looked at her with exasperation: "Why are all the young people these days so love-obsessed? They have no spirit at all!"

Who is this dissing? Yu Lian rolled her eyes discreetly, deciding to tone down her sympathy.

Then, Lan Jiufeng spat out a mouthful of purple smoke tinged with blood: "But it's alright, at least you did better than I expected. Your master has been sitting in this closed space for a long time, only to receive one predetermined piece of bad news. Isn't that wonderful?"

It's certainly a good thing to be able to get rid of negative emotions quickly, but judging from your expression, your loyalty to your idol isn't that strong. Also, what exactly constitutes predetermined bad news?
"The fall of the Miracle Ring you mentioned?"

“The Ring of Miracles will always fall. You are a man of military knowledge, you shouldn’t have any unrealistic expectations, should you?” Lan Jiufeng looked at Yu Lian, his eyes showing no obvious sadness: “Even if we end this war in a dignified way, the Galactic Empire will not give up the Ring of Miracles. Although my methods are not known for insight and perception, I have long guessed the sacrifice my disciple will make on the Ring of Miracles.”

Yu Lian fell silent.

The Emperor did not provide a list of those who sacrificed themselves for the Ring of Miracles. However, Yu Lian knew that among the comrades still holding out on that largest relic of the Enlightened Ones in the universe, besides the third-generation sons led by Long Yuan, there was even one of the Seven Sons, Sonny Grant.

He was the foremost alchemist and enlightened archaeologist of the second generation of the Spiritual Research Society, and believed that he was on the Ring of Miracles and could make the most of his strengths.

Yu Lian even avoided thinking about their current situation.

If I am truly a realist who only thinks from the perspective of those in power, I should now be thinking about whether they achieved enough results before they failed, and whether they properly preserved or even transmitted them.

“This is war. Farmers’ and workers’ children can sacrifice themselves, so why can’t psionicists? Or rather, they have received the most comprehensive psionic education, so they are already soldiers and should be the ones to sacrifice themselves first,” Lan Jiufeng said.

Yu Lian glanced at the ancient sword that his master was still holding and had no choice but to agree.

“And now, it’s our turn,” he said.

"Master..."

"What's with that expression? Someone like you just looks stupid. Although I'm old, I'm still a ninth-ring master and plan to live another two hundred years. If I can't outlive Emperor Yi, I'll be truly unsatisfied," Lan Jiufeng said proudly.

Yu Lian glanced at the ancient sword again: "Are you still planning to live and wait for your martial uncle to come back?"

“Of course.” The 108-year-old Lan Jiufeng held the sword, looking at it with deep affection, as if he had returned to the day when he was 28 years old and found his life partner and fellow traveler in the ruins.

He fiddled with his pipe again, looked up at the sky, and said, "Well then, there's a technical problem that needs to be solved."