This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 387 The Empire's Vigor for Half a Year
He let out a breath, rubbed his hands, and immediately sent a video link, which was quite powerful.

It's really interesting to fight with this old fox.

He raised his hand, and the surroundings suddenly became dark, the appearance changed, and Qinglong came online.

The screen flashed, and Prince Costat's majestic face appeared.

"Your Excellency Qinglong..." Costat said politely, "This is the first time we meet. I have heard of your name for a long time."

Li Ming did not comment. "Your Highness is in a high position and has great power. Perhaps I have seen you from below at a banquet."

Costat's eyes moved slightly, and he just smiled and said, "Your Excellency Qinglong is too polite. If we really met, I would definitely remember it clearly."

The two of them pretended to be friendly for a while, but no one got any useful information.

Costat stated his purpose, "I contacted you this time mainly to thank you for saving Abel's life when the student was in the most critical moment."

He said solemnly: "I will remember this kindness in my heart."

Old man, Li Ming snorted secretly. On the surface, he was saying that Qinglong saved Abel, but in fact he was also reminding him that he also saved Li Ming.

Li Ming said with emotion: "You have already paid it back, haven't you? In public, you are willing to stop Prince Ryan, which is touching."

Costat smiled and said, "I had already promised you, so I must fulfill my promise. Besides, even if I don't stop you, I believe that with your ability, Li Ming's life will not be in danger."

Li Ming's eyes flickered. At that moment, Ryan was right in front of him. For Class X, it was only a matter of thought.

Saying that it can be guaranteed sounds a bit hard-headed.

Saying no naturally makes you feel weaker, and there's a vague feeling that you owe someone a favor.

"A master craftsman is just a master craftsman. He can't reverse time and space." Li Ming said helplessly.

Kostat chuckled and was about to speak when he heard Qinglong continue:
"So during this time, I have been trying to find a way to repay your kindness."

"I have some connections in the Holy Revolutionary Army, and I got a few videos some time ago."

Costat's face tightened slightly, and the next moment he received the file sent by Qinglong. As soon as he opened it, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The video shows a seriously injured Diaz, who is wailing: "The royal family, it was the royal family who betrayed me, what on earth do they want to do!"

The primary suspects for the attack on Diaz were the Holy Revolutionary Army, as he disappeared on the way to an ambush.

Costat frowned slightly, not sure whether the video was true or false. The video might be fake, and the Diaz in the video might be someone else pretending to be him.

But he fell silent after seeing the earlier videos, which were the battle scenes from the beginning, in which Diaz showed his liberated form.

The liberated form of an S-class life form can already be considered a unique symbol, and coupled with those warships, as long as it is confirmed that this video is not a synthesis, it can be basically confirmed to be real.

The method to determine whether a video is synthesized is very simple, and he believes that Qinglong will not fool him in this way.

His face turned ugly when he thought of this. The empire had finally gathered some strength. If this video were to leak out, that madman Ryan would definitely not let it go.

Unnecessary turmoil will arise internally.

"This video is very valuable." Costat said in a heavy tone, "I hope it doesn't fall into the hands of others."

"Of course." Li Ming smiled. "I went through all means to find this in order to repay your kindness."

Costat was silent. It was their first confrontation, with Li Ming's life-saving grace as the key point. It couldn't be considered a failure, but it wasn't a success either.

As for who killed Diaz, Qinglong or the Holy Revolutionary Army, it didn't matter to him.

He restrained his expression, knowing that he could not gain any advantage, so he simply went straight to the final topic, "Sir Qinglong, there is another more important reason for contacting you this time."

"Oh." Li Ming cooperated and showed an expression of listening attentively.

Costat explained: "The interstellar situation is turbulent and undercurrents are surging. As an important civilization in the interstellar, the Empire is preparing to establish a peacekeeping organization under the Interstellar Alliance in order to maintain interstellar peace. We mainly invite life forms with good prestige and strength to join."

"It would be best to solve the many problems in the interstellar space in a non-war form."

This is the empire’s response, get people on board first?

Or in the name of the Interstellar Alliance, how did they convince the Federation and the Star Cluster Republic Alliance? Li Ming was puzzled.

"We call this organization the Alliance of Higher Life Forms. Are you interested in being the leader?" Costat then stated the real purpose.

"Leader?" Li Ming was surprised and sneered secretly. It was a good idea.

These organizations have more symbolic significance than practical significance. Moreover, they were created by the Empire to deal with the current situation. No one knows what changes will occur in the future, but the leaders will inevitably bear the brunt.

He had no interest in being a target, and was even somewhat reluctant to join in.

But on second thought, I felt something was wrong.

There is still no united organization of higher life forms in the interstellar space, and the Mechanics Association is already the largest unofficial united organization.

The union of higher life forms has always been a trend that all major interstellar civilizations have jointly resisted.

It’s not that there have been people in history who wanted to take the lead, but such an organization is too threatening. Any leader of a small civilization can see the hidden dangers, not to mention these top interstellar civilizations.

This peace organization has a similar prototype.

The empire’s ambitions are not small.

Li Ming tried his best to think from a macro perspective and not just consider this one matter. He then remembered something Abel once told him.

In response to the withdrawal of the Interstellar Mechanics Association, the Empire has drafted a prototype of the Royal Mechanics Association and is ready to directly take control of the resources left behind by the Mechanics Association.

He remembered a saying: crisis is also an opportunity. If the empire can really get through it, tut tut…

Although there may be some suspicion of over-speculation, but when facing the empire, no amount of over-speculation is excessive.

Let's leave some room for discussion. Li Ming changed his mind and said, "I'm used to being idle and don't have the ability to lead others. So, just leave a position for me."

Costat's face was calm; Li Ming's reaction was within his expectations.

"However, I'm a bit busy recently and may not be able to cooperate with the publicity, so there is no need to announce my joining for the time being." Li Ming added.

On the one hand, we think of the empire as being too powerful, but on the other hand, we also consider that the other party is suspected of trying to usurp the throne, for example, it actually does not have a single member now.

Costat's face turned dark, because he was afraid that they would get something for nothing, without giving him any chance at all. They were really thieves.

"Your Excellency is worrying too much." Costat said, without rejecting Qinglong's words.

After the game, both of them were a little bored with each other. Costat chatted for a while and then ended the call.

Li Ming thought about it and contacted Abel again, but he didn't receive a reply until the afternoon.

From him, Li Ming was shocked to learn that the Empire had not persuaded the Federation and the Star Cluster Republic Alliance at all, but was prepared to act first and report later. "The Empire is preparing to release the high-level life form alliance, a powerful weapon. There have always been many powerful life forms that intend to organize this alliance." Abel said solemnly, "Several overlords of the Chaos Star Gap will definitely join."

"Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?" Li Ming was very surprised and finally understood the empire's true intention.

The empire needs help, but now everyone wants to step on it, and it is impossible to give them help unless they cut their own flesh.

No one wants to cut their own flesh, so the empire simply plays a big game, bringing down all civilizations and unlocking the deadly weapon of higher life forms.

By then, they will unite several X-level life forms and announce it to the interstellar space. Even if the Federation and the Star Cluster are unwilling, what they will be facing by then is the embryonic form of the empire and the organization of higher life forms.

The empire was already riddled with lice, and didn't mind being trampled on a few more times. It was so happy to have so many new helpers out of nowhere.

Otherwise, they will be forced to admit this matter. Since the organizer is the Empire, they will inevitably take the initiative in the early stages and still have very strong support.

After figuring out the whole story, Li Ming couldn't help but marvel at it. The person who proposed this plan was none other than the Holy Emperor of Glory - Adam.

Li Ming exclaimed in admiration, saying that it was a very bold move.

If we unleash this powerful weapon without paying enough attention, it will grow into a behemoth that is out of the control of the three major civilizations. It will be many times more threatening than the Mechanics Association.

He was keenly aware that the empire's voice was gradually being recovered, and the Glorious Holy Emperor seemed to have been dominating the overall situation since the crisis occurred.

After the communication ended, Li Ming kept deducing the direction of events, but finally had to give up.

Whether it is the Empire or the Pioneers, he does not stand on either side. In this upcoming cosmic change, how to gain enough benefits and fill the blown blue dragon is what he needs to consider.

This organization cannot be established in just one or two months, and there are many things that need to be coordinated, which is very troublesome.

Another day passed, and the prophet of the Sisterhood contacted Qinglong. The prophet's attitude became very humble, and his tone was gentle: "Sir Qinglong, I haven't congratulated you on your fame in the galaxy yet."

"It's not a good reputation. I don't know how many people suspect that I am secretly plotting something." Li Ming said simply.

The prophet was silent, her eyes flickering. The Virgin Mary was standing behind her. The two of them thought for a long time before deciding to contact Qinglong.

They are now very resistant to contact with Qinglong. When they originally thought that Qinglong was a Casting Star-level mechanic, they didn't mind exchanging a few moves with him.

But now he regretted it very much as he easily took the bait given by the fox.

Before she could say anything, Qinglong took the initiative to say, "We are old friends. I won't waste my words. I want to discuss a deal with you this time."

"Listen to the deal, but don't agree to anything he says." The Virgin Mary's voice was cold, but it only reached the ears of the prophet.

They were not afraid of Qinglong, but they did not want to be entangled by such a guy in the dark. No one knew the benefits of hiding in the dark better than them, and now there was someone more mysterious than them.

"Transaction?" The prophet's voice was a little doubtful.

"It's like this, I stole some things from the empire, and I thought you might need them." Li Ming said slowly.

"Oh? What is it?" The Prophet frowned slightly, while the Virgin Mary had a blank expression. They first aroused curiosity and then offered a price. They were very familiar with this method.

"The Forgemaster is searching for clues to the Eternal Star in the deep dimensional world, as well as the anchoring program of the Holy Castle of Terrax."

The prophet was stunned for a moment, his face changed drastically, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look at the Virgin Mary.

The Virgin Mary's expression became even uglier, and she gritted her teeth, "You shouldn't let him speak."

The reason why this method is overused is because it is really easy to use.

She took a deep breath. Could Qinglong throw out such precious information for no reason? Who knows what trap is hidden behind this?

But can she refuse?

Even though I knew there was a problem, I could only close my eyes and bite down.

The prophet already understood what the Virgin meant, and felt helpless. "Are you sure about your data?"

"I can give a partial verification first. I believe that the Holy Mother Church is definitely honest." Li Ming said frankly.

"What do you want?" the Prophet asked.

"Well... ten pieces of Terrax Stone." Li Mingshi opened his mouth loudly.

"This..." The prophet immediately refused, and even went further, "Sir, since you have already contacted us, you should sell this kind of replicable information to more than just us. This price is too expensive."

The Virgin Mary Church is not stupid, but the problem lies here. Others have it, but you don’t?

"Forget it, just one price. Give me three ether crystals. I'm a bit short of them recently." Li Ming was too lazy to talk nonsense and simply gave the price directly.

The prophet was silent, looked at the Virgin Mary and nodded, then said: "No problem, where to send it?"

"The Mechanical Court."

The transaction was completed happily, and Li Ming gave them some information for verification.

Then, news came from Estelle, who contacted Deus. After another round of negotiation, the final price was set at three Terrax Stones. The Federation was still a little more generous.

However, when he contacted the Black Hole Palace again, he learned an unexpected news.

“I’m sorry, Lord Qinglong, we already have the relevant information and don’t need it for now.” Julius, the Forge-level mechanic in charge of the connection, apologized.

So fast? Someone has already resold it?
Li Ming muttered, That’s not right, I haven’t given out the real information yet.

Is it the empire?
Li Ming contacted the so-called united organization of higher life forms and guessed that the empire might use it as a bargaining chip to recruit powerful X-class life forms.

Some people may flock to this organization, but some people don't care much, so other means are needed.

Li Ming shook his head, muttered a few words, and temporarily stopped selling.

After finishing the current matter, Li Ming prepared to concentrate on seclusion for a while.

While the aftermath of the Central World had not yet subsided, the Mechanical King's Court began external recruitment. Due to the reputation of the Master Craftsman, it indeed attracted many people to come, and there were even A-level life forms who came here with the intention of joining the Master Craftsman's army.

But all of them were declined by Ulrich, who then issued more detailed rules, only looking for management talents, and emphasized that this was just Li Ming's small business and had nothing to do with the master craftsman.

Those who came to watch the fun left one after another, and the recruitment gradually got on track.

Although the Mechanical Royal Court is still not large in scale, its popularity is quite high, and it is still expanding rapidly by leveraging the reputation of the Master Craftsman.

And this is only a silhouette of the aftermath of the Central World. The bigger waves are still dominated by the Empire, which has finally begun to take tough actions, frequently mobilizing troops, and meeting with the heads of civilizations and organizations to deal with troubles from all sides.

Li Ming's external sales process has accelerated the undercurrent a lot. Visible and invisible forces are taking action, intending to get a piece of the pie.

Nothing can be achieved overnight. Time is an important catalyst. In such a turbulent situation, half a year passes in a flash.

(End of this chapter)