Su Rui fell silent for a full three seconds before slowly speaking up.
"Mr. Ye Chuan, we cannot accept this condition."
"The Apocalypse Galaxy has three thousand seven hundred habitable planets and over two trillion Federation citizens. Destroying a galaxy means the loss of two trillion lives. This is not a bargaining chip that can be used for negotiations."
"The Federation can compensate you with ten thousand resource planets, all undisclosed technical data from the Supreme Academy of Sciences, and the highest level of lifetime clearance in the Federation."
"You will have free passage in any Federation star sector, the ability to mobilize any Federation resources, and even a seat on the Supreme Council." She paused, then added,
"This is the utmost sincerity we can offer."
"Sincerity?"
"What I hate the most are apologies after the fact!"
"Kill!"
"If I hadn't crushed your Divine Punishment Squad and confiscated your Starfall Fleet, would you be sitting here talking to me about sincerity?"
"If I were just an ordinary cultivator from a border star sector who happened to defeat an Outer God Apostle, I'd probably have been dragged into the Supreme Academy of Sciences' laboratory by Augustus and sliced up for research by now, wouldn't I?"
"Remember, I am not the one making things difficult for you."
"You were the ones who put a knife to my neck first. Now that I've snatched the knife away, you want to talk to me about lives and sincerity?"
"I had no ill will toward the Federation in the beginning!"
"It was Kalen who forcibly provoked me. After I slaughtered him, I came to the Federation for an explanation, yet you sent a squad to ambush me!"
"And then you sent a fleet after that."
"Are you kidding me?! If there is no sufficient sincerity, then there will only be slaughter—"
With that said, without waiting for Su Rui to say anything more, Ye Chuan directly cut the communication.
The moment the screen went black, Lin Xi finally spoke up cautiously.
"Mr. Ye, are you really going to blow up the Apocalypse Galaxy? There are so, so many people there..."
"I was lying to her." Ye Chuan yawned and closed his eyes again.
"I have no interest in killing people. I just find them annoying."
"Every single one of them thinks they sit high and mighty above everyone else, killing when they want to kill, negotiating when they want to negotiate. How can they get away with that without paying a price?"
"Besides, I've been cultivating for so long, and the total time I've spent killing people doesn't add up to more than a year."
Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. "You scared me to death. I thought you were really going to..."
It seemed Mr. Ye was actually quite merciful; the total time he had spent killing amounted to no more than a year.
...
...
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting of the Federation's Supreme Council was underway.
The massive circular conference room was packed with councilors from various star sectors.
The holographic screen was playing the recording of the negotiation between Su Rui and Ye Chuan that had just taken place.
"Absurd! This is absolutely absurd!" A councilor in a red robe slammed his hand on the table and stood up, speaking angrily.
"How dare he threaten to blow up the Apocalypse Galaxy! I think he's gone mad!"
"I agree!" another councilor echoed.
"Our Federation possesses billions of star sectors. Are we supposed to be afraid of one single man? I suggest we immediately mobilize all border fleets and besiege him in the warp channel!"
"Besiege him? With what?" Su Rui spoke coldly, interrupting them.
"Twelve black hole ships and three hundred frigates didn't even harm a single hair on his head. How many more fleets do you think we need to send to kill him?"
The conference room instantly fell quiet.
Everyone went silent.
The annihilation of the Starfall Fleet was no joke.
That was the Federation's ace fleet, specifically designed to fight against Outer Gods, yet it was so fragile before Ye Chuan that it had absolutely no room to fight back.
"But we can't just agree to his unreasonable demands like this!" a councilor said unwillingly.
"If we compromise this time, what happens if he makes even more outrageous demands in the future? Are we supposed to agree to those one by one as well?"
"Do you have a better idea?" Su Rui retorted.
"Can you bring forth a stronger combat force than the Starfall Fleet, or can you find a way to kill him?"
"Of course, there are weapons stronger than starships, and there are stronger combat forces."
"But what if we lose?"
"It's obvious that the other party hasn't even used his full strength yet."
That councilor opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head.
The Supreme Speaker, sitting in the head seat, tiredly rubbed his temples. "Alright, stop arguing."
"Now is not the time to argue. Su Rui, do you think what he said is true? Will he really blow up the Apocalypse Galaxy?"
"It's hard to say." Su Rui shook her head.
"Judging from his previous actions, he is not a bloodthirsty person, but he is definitely not someone who will compromise either."
"If we really do nothing, it's highly likely he will take action."
"Su Rui, go and negotiate with him again," the Supreme Speaker said.
"We are willing to exile Augustus, along with their family, as well as Kalen's family and all related members, to a non-core galaxy, and then destroy that galaxy."
This single sentence left everyone present stunned.
Was he serious?!
"This... alright, I will go communicate with him."
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Sitting in his star shuttle, Ye Chuan spotted something interesting.
On the periphery of the warp channel, there was a planet far off in the distance.
In the boundless, dark universe, a colossal behemoth was slowly swimming.
Its body seemed to be composed of countless twisted nebulas and dark matter, emitting an eerie deep purple hue. And seemingly right near it, or perhaps not quite near it—
There was a solitary planet floating there, and next to the monster, this planet looked like nothing more than a small pebble.
"Interesting." Ye Chuan's eyes lit up.
It was his first time encountering such a massive creature.
What was it?
"Mr. Ye, what's wrong?" Lin Xi noticed Ye Chuan's unusual reaction and asked curiously.
"A big guy showed up." Ye Chuan stood up, walked to the porthole, and pointed at the distant darkness.
"Look."
Lin Xi looked in the direction he was pointing. Instantly, her face turned deathly pale, and her whole body trembled.
In the distant darkness, a massive shadow was continuously enlarging.
The shadow drew closer and closer, becoming clearer until it finally revealed its terrifying entirety.
"Wh-what is that thing?!" Lin Xi was so frightened that she hid behind Ye Chuan, tightly gripping the hem of his clothes.
"Wait, is that a type of Star Behemoth?!"
A Star Behemoth?
Ye Chuan was taken aback. Were they this big? The one he had gotten from Kalen was just a juvenile.
So this one...
"This is also a type of juvenile Star Behemoth. They feed on planets, but Star Behemoths are generally very rare," Kalen said.
Ye Chuan said, "Change course. Let's go over and take a look."
"But Lord Demon King, it looks very dangerous..." Kalen said.
"Danger is what makes it interesting."
"Yes."
The pure white star shuttle changed its direction, turning into a streak of silver-white light as it left the warp channel and sped toward that terrifying Star Behemoth.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
