"Did you hear me clearly? If you say even one more word, we'll send someone else. The one thing Divine Land has in abundance is people."
Li Xingkong shook the person he was holding, trying to "wake him up."
Seemingly intimidated by Li Xingkong's strength, the man calmed down slightly. Although he stopped speaking, the anger in his eyes did not subside at all.
"I'm asking you, do you all know what's going on here?"
What Li Xingkong was asking was perfectly clear to these cultivators who had come to his door, but at this moment, not one of them dared to speak.
As far as he could see, there wasn't a single person who dared to meet his gaze.
For a moment, there was silence.
"If you don't say anything, does that mean you agree?"
Li Xingkong didn't hear the answer he wanted, and he didn't know if they were afraid or just too guilty.
"Since that's the case, I'll give you two choices: either cripple your cultivation and await public trial with me, or let me do it myself and die a quick death."
Li Xingkong's pressure suddenly intensified, pressing heavily on all the cultivators present, causing their bodies to begin to deform.
"No, that's not right. We did nothing wrong. This is all for the development of Divine Land. These are necessary sacrifices."
The person held in Li Xingkong's hand seemed to realize that Li Xingkong was not joking. His eyes widened and he stammered out a sentence.
"A necessary sacrifice? Tell me, how is it necessary?"
Although Li Xingkong wanted to just kill all these guys outright, he still wanted to hear what kind of twisted logic this guy had.
" The Divine Land is weak and vulnerable. We had already unified Earth Star and explored the starry sea, but after joining the Convention, we realized that although the Divine Land seems strong now, it is just the tallest among the dwarfs. In the end, it is still a third-rate civilization, and it doesn't even have a voice."
"Our great nation, with its thousands of years of history, has never been treated like this! In order to gain a voice as quickly as possible, this is the only way."
"We were naturally unwilling to make this decision, but for the sake of Divine Land's development, we had no other choice. The sins may be committed in this generation, but the merits will last for generations. What wrong have we done?"
"It's just a matter of the common people suffering; I'll take the blame."
The man put on a compassionate and grief-stricken act, and his performance actually conveyed a sense of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
"Ha, I knew you guys had a silver tongue, and it turns out you were right."
Li Xingkong laughed. What this guy said seemed to make some sense, but it was all sophistry.
"Since that's the case, then let me ask you, all these years, what have you done to be so powerful? Have you been powerful in depriving ordinary people of their right to cultivate? Or have you been powerful in misappropriating Spiritual Root for other purposes?"
"Cough, cough."
The man remained expressionless, looking utterly heartbroken.
"You've seen our strengths, haven't you? We've gained the trust of the Sihali Kingdom, established a strong cooperative relationship with them, and increased our influence in neighboring star systems. Isn't that enough?"
"As for the servers, this is the price of cooperation; otherwise, how can others respect us?"
"The right to cultivate oneself, because everyone can cultivate, requires a large number of people to maintain order, which brings considerable difficulty to the administration of Divine Land. Controlling cultivation is also for the stability of Divine Land."
"But now, all our efforts have been in vain, and we've offended the Sihali Kingdom. We're truly ashamed before our ancestors."
Li Xingkong scoffed at his words, as if Li Xingkong were some kind of political novice.
A powerful nation can be built by being someone else's lackey? Even a dog wouldn't believe it.
The truth lies only within the range of cannon fire; this statement holds true everywhere.
All compromises and attempts at cooperation are less important than enhancing one's own strength.
"Alright, since it's for the prosperity of the Divine Land, let me ask you: how many cultivators have reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection? What is the current strength of the Divine Land's army? Show me your troops for inspection. Or is your so-called prosperity just a bunch of crooks and scoundrels?"
Li Xingkong showed them no mercy whatsoever. What did they care about saving face? They were capable of such a thing; they were lucky to even survive.
"Since cultivation requires control, then fine, let's consider this matter closed. Apart from cultivation itself, I have also kept a copy of the principles of cultivation intact."
"Whether it's space knowledge, plant modification, or even if you build a space carrier or a star destroyer, bring it out and show it to me!"
Even if they abandon cultivation, so many fundamental principles are universal. If they could truly understand what Li Xingkong left behind, would they still need to seek cooperation with the Sihali Kingdom?
Are they really just lying in Jinshan begging for food?
With each sentence Li Xingkong spoke, the cultivators became somewhat evasive, hesitant to face him.
He was absolutely right. This theoretical knowledge has long been stored somewhere on the moon, but unfortunately, it has been completely ignored.
It's not that I look down on these things, but rather that they are all legacies from before the expedition. Even if we follow the established path and make Divine Land advance further, we would only be on par with the likes of Emperors Wen and Jing.
They wanted more than just the deeds of Gaozu; they wanted the demeanor of Emperor Wu.
The plan was well-thought-out, but the execution turned out to be in the style of the Great Song.
"That's all nonsense. Now that you're here, come with me to the moon and we'll make a decision about all these matters."
Without giving these people time to hesitate or a chance to argue, Li Xingkong reached out and took them all into his space. With a few steps, he moved them from the ruins of the industrial zone to the moon.
The situation had already escalated when Li Xingkong made his move. Whether they were cultivators from Divine Land or aliens, the entire galaxy was vast enough that they weren't blind and had seen what was happening long ago.
Realizing the situation was turning against them, the aliens fled from the node in a panic, while the cultivators of Divine Land remained undecided, observing the situation with suspicion.
It's no wonder Divine Land People are like silly roe deer; in such a peaceful and stable environment, they've long since developed a unique way of thinking.
Divine Land People love to watch the drama unfold; that's just how they are.
Unfortunately, things didn't wait for them. By the time they arrived at the scene, Li Xingkong had already moved to another location, leaving only a pile of wreckage.
The destruction of the industrial zone remains an unsolved mystery, but this does not frighten the cultivators of Divine Land.
After confirming that the place was now a complete ruin with no sign of human life, a large number of cultivators could not contain their excitement and rushed forward.
Whatever the reason, this is the industrial zone of the Sihali Kingdom. Even if you can find a single intact item here, it would still be a treasure, wouldn't it?
Even for cultivators who can traverse heaven and earth, occasionally rummaging through the trash is only human nature, isn't it?