Although Fang Ritu's willingness to meet in his true form demonstrates his sufficient trust in Li Xingkong, this trust is based on two factors: firstly, Baili Qiu's introduction, and secondly, his extensive research into Li Xingkong's style of doing things.
Li Xingkong is neither a lone wolf nor a mercenary living on the edge; he belongs to someone.
A person who feels a sense of belonging won't act impulsively; they will consider the gains and losses, and they will have certain considerations.
Xuan Qingzi had touched a nerve. His relationship with Li Xingkong was already a matter of life and death. Under these circumstances, if he could provide cover for Li Xingkong's actions, Li Xingkong would never lay a hand on him.
Even when a shrewd and calculating person does something risky, it's always after careful consideration.
Since it's certain that Li Xingkong won't make a move, whether Phantom appears or they meet in person, the latter shows more importance.
Li Xingkong is very capable, and it's good to have him as a friend. It would be even better if he could be my henchman.
Of course, the methods needed to get people with different temperaments to willingly serve you will also be different.
Those who love wealth will be granted riches and honors; those who love beauty will be given beautiful women.
If you want someone like Li Xingkong to work for you, there's only one way: become his brother.
Wise people never worry about whether they need to get involved themselves; if necessary, they can be a part of the game themselves.
After Li Xingkong and Baili Qiu left, Fang Ritu stayed in the reception room for a long time.
The plan seemed simple, but he had much more to think about than that.
Now that they had the idea of befriending Li Xingkong, they naturally needed to make plans for it.
The kind of plot where someone deliberately trips you up, leaks information to Xuan Qingzi, and then adds their own dramatic hero-saves-the-sister act is clearly something only a mentally challenged person would do.
I've already said that we should make friends, and the key to making friends is sincerity.
Even if one's motives are not pure, it doesn't mean that one has to exaggerate or make a scene in order to achieve those motives.
With resources and connections, he could have easily followed the proper path; there was no need for him to pull this stunt.
"Men, according to this route, temporarily take control of all star systems along the way. If you can't take control of those, then shut down all the teleportation nodes and anchor points there."
Fang Ritu summoned one of his subordinates and began to escalate Li Xingkong's operation.
So Xuan Qingzi is here?
Li Xingkong looked at the huge star map in front of him, his gaze fixed on a dense nebula containing a particular galaxy.
"That's right, this is the base of the Fourth Scourge Army of the Sihali Kingdom, and also the true location of the Phantom Legion."
Baili Qiu zoomed in on the star map, and a route from their current star system to the nebula was marked out.
"As a military officer, Xuan Qingzi wields considerable power, but this also restricts him; without special circumstances, he cannot step outside the Nebula."
Looking at the star map before him, Li Xingkong felt a headache coming on.
Although he had made some preparations for the boundaries of StarCraft civilizations, he still felt that his imagination was somewhat conservative within the territory of a third-rate civilization like the Sihali Kingdom.
This one nebula alone is nearly several hundred light-years in size. According to classification, it is a giant molecular cloud, the source of planets and stars.
The reason for placing the legion's core in such a location is to utilize its nearly inexhaustible energy and matter.
After all, instead of searching for resource-rich planets all over the universe, it's better to wait where they were born and capture them one by one.
This is one of the reasons why small and medium-sized civilizations in galaxies still have room to operate. Advanced civilizations do not value the resources scattered in the outer star regions or remote star systems, as they have better ways to obtain resources and energy.
It would be better to delegate these places to those less advanced civilizations and then simply extract some taxes from them.
It saves you time and effort.
As a nebula located in the core region of the Sihali Kingdom, it is not easy to reach, especially for extraterrestrials, as many places are simply off-limits to them.
However, this was no challenge for Li Xingkong.
He simply adjusted his body to resemble Baili Qiu, and soon, a perfect replica of the Sihali Kingdom appeared before Baili Qiu.
Li Xingkong's transformation is so profound that not only is he indistinguishable from a human, but even the most advanced gene testing equipment would be unable to identify him.
"Let's go. We've delayed him for so long, letting him live a few more days."
Li Xingkong, now transformed into the Sihali Kingdom, had no time to admire his appearance. He only wanted to resolve this matter as quickly as possible and then return to straighten out the internal affairs of Divine Land.
The two made their way towards the core area. With the help of the teleportation array, their progress was quite fast, and they made it exceptionally smoothly.
We didn't encounter a single person checking our records.
Just as they were about to pass the final checkpoint and enter the nebula, the two finally encountered their first inspection.
The checks in the Sihali Kingdom are very simple; a simple scan of an individual with an instrument is enough to obtain basic information about each citizen.
Baili Qiu was naturally fine. Although he had been captured by Li Xingkong, his information was still on file in the Sihali Kingdom and had not disappeared.
Li Xingkong is in trouble. Although his transformation into the Sihali Kingdom is flawless, it's obviously impossible for a living person to have no information about them.
Just as Li Xingkong was about to rush over with Baili Qiu, the person conducting the inspection blocked the view to the left and right.
With a small instrument inserted into his hand, Li Xingkong, in his illusion, fabricated the past experiences and information of the Sihali Kingdom on the spot.
"The Star Lord asked me to convey his greetings to you."
Once the information was generated, the person conducting the inspection smiled and put the object away.
It turns out he was one of Fang Ritu's people.
Even before Li Xingkong, someone had already delivered the information to Fang Ritu.
Since Li Xingkong's transformation ability is so powerful, he wouldn't mind giving him another hand.
Who says that those who take human form aren't true Sihali Kingdom? With this citizen information, he's a genuine good person, pure and simple.
This group of testing personnel did not meet by chance; they had been waiting here for a long time. Not only them, but several other teams in the nearby star system were also waiting here.
As long as the two of them go into the nebula, they can't escape it.
"This star lord is really something, I didn't expect him to care so much about this matter."
Li Xingkong, who had become a formal citizen of the Sihali Kingdom, was somewhat speechless; this status had come far too easily.
"After all, Xuan Qingzi and he have more than just differing political views; their conflicts are numerous. Given such an opportunity, he certainly wouldn't let it slip by."
P. S.: It seems I've caught something, I might have to take a day off today.
But even though I asked for leave, I was urged to update yesterday, so this extra chapter can't be missed.
I catch a cold every time I go out. My immune system is so weak. What bad luck!