Another Empire

"How dare you show such disrespect to my god, Carl?"

Snor, standing beside Carl, stepped forward to defend his lord.

Snor wore a black cloak and a skull mask that concealed his true face.

Yet Hua Ye and the others could feel his furious gaze fixed upon them.

"Snor, do not be rude."

Carl stopped Snor and looked at Hua Ye. "What exactly happened?"

"See for yourself."

Hua Ye packaged the relevant footage from the Battle of the Solar System.

He sent it to Carl's personal database.

Carl reviewed the data quickly.

Before long, he had grasped the entire course of events.

When he learned that the Emperor had returned and effortlessly defeated Hua Ye, causing their disastrous defeat in the Battle of the Solar System, she frowned.

"That man turned a black hole into a painting? Then tore it apart? That isn't scientific!"

Carl had always devoted herself to researching the void, researching those peculiar powers capable of distorting the rules of reality.

Yet the methods displayed by the Emperor still left her profoundly shocked.

"I think it's fucking unscientific too. That bastard made us so-called gods look like backward primitives."

"Good thing we ran fast. If we'd been any slower, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now."

Hua Ye paced back and forth, his face still carrying the relief of having survived a disaster.

"Use all that void-engine and anti-void matter stuff to upgrade me. Let's see whether I can go toe-to-toe with that guy afterward."

"Bring out that Phantom Body thing too."

Hearing Hua Ye's words, Carl fell silent.

The Phantom Body was something she had created only by exhausting all her lifetime of knowledge and enormous resources.

A Phantom Body placed the spirit body in a higher-dimensional space, while the body left behind in the real universe was merely a higher-dimensional projection capable of interfering with the universe. It could use dimensions for defense, making its user invincible.

Once one ascended into a Phantom Body, one no longer depended on flesh or matter, embarking upon the path of eternal souls.

Hua Ye was an extremely ambitious man.

If he obtained a Phantom Body, Carl was not sure she could still control him.

"Stop hiding the good stuff." Hua Ye said irritably, "That guy is terrifying as hell. We don't have any advantages left."

"Don't forget what you did to Earth, Angel City, and Lieyang Star."

"Do you think they won't settle accounts with you? The mainstream civilizations have no way to deal with your Phantom Body, but do you think that man can't?"

Hua Ye's words made Carl hesitate.

The Emperor's various displays of power made her deeply wary.

His scientific talent was even more terrifying than hers.

Under his leadership, Earth's civilization would certainly launch a counterattack.

That bizarre method capable of tearing open black holes.

To be honest, she was not confident she could block it either.

"I cannot give you a complete Phantom Body, but I can upgrade your Black Hole Engine and give you some of a Phantom Body's abilities."

Hua Ye looked thoroughly displeased.

"Fuck, we're already tied to the same boat, and you're still guarding against me."

If he did not still need Carl's technology, he would have wanted to turn hostile and start a war.

Carl ignored Hua Ye's mood, her tone as calm and detached as ever.

"You may choose whether to accept or refuse."

Hua Ye had no choice but to nod.

"Fine. It's still better than nothing."

With Ryze's help, the Emperor established contact with Principal Gillan, who had become the Cosmic Consciousness.

After becoming the Cosmic Consciousness, Principal Gillan no longer possessed a physical body and had become a hazy, glowing mass of consciousness.

Upon learning that the Emperor had returned safely, Principal Gillan's tone was filled with joy.

"It is truly wonderful that you returned safely."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you before I left," the Emperor said.

Principal Gillan said, "It's all right. It is enough that you returned. Your wisdom surpasses Ding Gehei's. With your help, the mainstream civilizations of the known universe may be able to resolve the ultimate fear."

Raven, perched on the Emperor's shoulder, looked Principal Gillan up and down.

"No physical form, yet you can retain your sense of self. What a marvelous evolution."

"This is my companion, Raven," the Emperor introduced Raven to Principal Gillan.

"Your companion is very unusual."

Principal Gillan attempted to read Raven's information, only to discover that, like the Emperor, he could not be read.

Clearly, this raven had no ordinary origins.

Raven showed a trace of curiosity and asked, "After becoming like this, can you still savor the delicious taste of fries and ketchup?"

"The perception of food is feedback from the physical body. I no longer have one, so naturally I cannot taste food."

"If that's the case, what meaning is there left in life?!"

The thought of never again being able to taste delicious ketchup and fries made Raven feel that such a life would be hell itself.

No!

It was ten thousand times more terrifying than hell.

"The pursuit of truth and knowledge is the greatest pleasure."

Raven did not agree with Gillan.

"People always like to put a beauty filter on things they have not obtained."

"But once you truly encounter the truth and that ancient knowledge, you'll find it's nothing special. It's not even as good as having some fries."

"You two can save the debate about the meaning of life for later," the Emperor said. "I came here this time for something very important."

"..."

The Emperor expressed his desire to unite all Shenhe Body civilizations in the known universe and establish an empire.

He hoped Principal Gillan could use his influence to gather the survivors of Shenhe and help him accomplish this.

"Forming an empire?" Gillan's tone revealed hesitation. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"This is not for dictatorship or power, but to concentrate resources against the ultimate fear," the Emperor said. "There are no civilizations in this universe older than two hundred thousand years. You have become the Cosmic Consciousness. Can't you sense that something is wrong?"

"Once a mainstream civilization breaks through a certain threshold, it will invite a purge by some force. Like the many civilizations before it, it will be erased completely, leaving not even ruins behind."

"..."

Principal Gillan was persuaded.

Gaining his approval was equivalent to gaining the approval of the survivors of Shenhe and the Super Academy.

Next, the Emperor had to negotiate with forces such as Lieyang Star and the Angel civilization.

For the Emperor, Earth was the easiest.

He easily persuaded Xiong Bing Lian and China's upper leadership.

At the beginning of the war, Earth had more than two hundred countries.

Everyone swept the snow from their own doorstep, and the result was that the alien civilizations defeated them one by one.

This made the Battle to Defend Earth exceptionally difficult.

Carl was constantly pushing for the arrival of the void era, and future wars would certainly be even more brutal.

Only by uniting could they achieve ultimate victory.

As for Lieyang Star, Carl had previously ordered Nusa to destroy the Heavenly Dao Tower, and Lieyang Star had now broken apart.

Its former inhabitants had relocated to Mars, where they were painstakingly rebuilding their homes.

Lena did not reject the Emperor's proposal.

After Lieyang Star had previously been plotted against by Carl, she had personally experienced the hardship of fighting alone.

If the Shenhe Body civilizations could be united into a single government, it would be a blessing for the mainstream civilizations of today.

The most difficult one was the Angel civilization.

They had once been the strongest force in the known universe, celebrated by countless civilizations.

With Keisha and Hexi, the two queens, in slumber.

The Angel race had greatly declined in strength, Merlo Heavenly Court had fallen, and the surviving Angels had been forced to retreat to Fei Leizhe.

But a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.

They remained a powerful civilization with terrifying strength.

When the Emperor first revealed his desire for unification, he was unsurprisingly rejected by the New Queen, Yan.

"Angels will never become the vassals of any force." Yan's tone was incomparably resolute.

Even when the Emperor proposed allowing the Angels to retain the right to withdraw at any time, Yan did not relent.

Realizing he could not make a breakthrough with the new Angel queen.

The Emperor decisively chose another avenue and contacted the Sacred Angel, Keisha.

Although Keisha was asleep, her consciousness remained awake.

The Emperor entered her World of Mind with psionic power to speak with her.

He had expected to spend considerable effort persuading her, but unexpectedly, Keisha agreed as soon as she heard him out.

"During this period of slumber, I projected my consciousness into the universe and saw some terrifying things."

"The void era Carl is driving forward will be a terrible disaster for the known universe."

"Only by uniting all Shenhe Body civilizations will we have hope of achieving ultimate victory."

With Keisha choosing to support him, Yan could only agree.

After persuading all sides, the Emperor began establishing the new empire and gathering the resources of every civilization, preparing to use dimensional technology, Warp knowledge, and other methods to create a new Gene Engine.

PS: Daily loyalty. Praise the Emperor.

Sorry, I overslept.

I had finished writing it long ago, but I fell asleep while checking for typos afterward.