Chapter 347: Ch

“All in all, I would say this—do not be so cautious. Have some backbone and do what needs to be done, instead of listening to meaningless chatter that is not worth our attention.”

Having said that, Bai Zenmi leaned back fully in his seat and closed his eyes, as if preparing to sleep.

He truly was preparing to sleep…

For now, he could not simply leave the chamber midway, could he? But since he could not leave, he also had no interest in whatever was happening here anymore.

So, without hesitation, Bai Zenmi created an isolated boundary around himself and closed his eyes, intending to take a short nap.

Seeing this, the others could not help but have their mouths twitch slightly. Yet, along with that reaction, there was also a faint trace of expectation in their eyes when they saw that visible—then invisible—shield appear around him.

As individuals of relatively high rank, they were aware of certain truths.

They knew of the existence of cultivation—something widely practiced within the Void Fleet. Every single member of the fleet was either a cultivator or an evolver, each progressing along their own path and rank.

Many among them possessed the power to move lands, mountains, and rivers, along with extraordinarily long lifespans.

And they also knew that those 2.5 billion people taken by the Void Fleet would one day gain access to the same path.

At that thought, they could not help but feel a trace of bitterness. They themselves could not have it. They lacked both the techniques and the means to cultivate.

(What they did not know, however, was that the mana around them had once been nonexistent. Only recently had it begun to flow throughout this region of space, including their solar system. Even if they had possessed the techniques earlier, they still would not have been able to cultivate.)

But even if they had known this truth, the longing reflected on their faces would have remained the same.

“Sigh… I can’t help but want to join the Void Fleet myself,” Jiang Wu said, his expression carrying a mix of bitterness and faint yearning.

The other three, hearing Jiang Wu’s words, merely pursed their lips.

Donvas then added, his voice carrying a quiet resignation, “But the truth is… we can’t. And that person neither wants us to join him, nor would he allow it. So all we can do… is dream.”

He shook his head, a trace of sadness and longing evident in his expression.

“Well now, now, my friend,” David said, though he too carried a hint of bitterness, “there’s no need to dwell on it too much.”

“We will have those things eventually. With our extended lifespan of nearly two hundred years, we can afford to wait. And let’s not forget—we are members of the Void–Star–Earth Alliance. With enough contribution, we might be able to trade for these evolution… or rather, cultivation techniques.”

“And along with them, gain access to technologies not inferior to theirs.”

Maximus nodded slightly. “Just as David said, gentlemen… we have time. We can wait while making contributions, accumulating enough merit to exchange for those resources.”

He paused, his tone shifting as he emphasized his next words.

“But all of that is only possible… if we can actually make those contributions and earn those merits.”

His gaze swept across the three of them.

“And how exactly will we do that?”A faint silence followed.

“Well,” Maximus continued calmly, “you are all intelligent men—you already know the answer. But I will say it anyway. We can only earn those merits… when we step into space itself. When we stop limiting ourselves to a single planet.”

“All of this can be achieved if we follow through on the objectives we have outlined for the Federation’s development… but the point is—we cannot afford to be distracted.”

Maximus’ tone hardened.

“And those so-called ’lords of the people’… ungrateful fools. We can already see it clearly. For them to cause such chaos—if not for our strict control over the regions under our authority, they would have already turned to physical violence.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“You remember the millions who died in that blast. It could have happened again. The only reason it did not… is because of the new and far more robust safety systems we implemented.”

“And now, because of those very restrictions, they turn to the Galactic Network to spread chaos—hiding behind their so-called ’protection.’”

“All of this can be achieved if we follow through on the objectives we have outlined for the Federation’s development,” Maximus said firmly. “But the point is, we cannot be distracted. These so-called ’lords’ and their followers are ingrates; they would have caused physical chaos already if not for our strict safety controls in the regions under our total command.

“Think of the millions who died in the Great Blast! A tragedy like that could have happened again, but it didn’t—only because of our new, robust security measures. Because of those controls, and those alone, these people are forced to limit their chaos to the Galactic Network. There, and only there, they can remain ’protected’ behind their screens.”

Maximus’s eyes turned toward the sleeping figure of Supreme Leader Bai. “We cannot be indecisive now. Nor can we give in to their demands. They don’t want progress; they want to go back to the fragmented world we once had. That is unacceptable to us, and to everyone within the Federation’s sphere of influence.”

“We know what you are saying, Maximus, and it isn’t that we don’t want to take strong steps,” Jiang Wu interjected. “But doing so will shed blood. It might have a negative impact on our image. We are talking about billions of people… even if we make a strong move and ultimately put them down, we would eventually cause a massacre.”

Jiang Wu spoke the words, though he didn’t truly care about the “image” problem. As a former royal and the emperor of a grand empire, he knew that to establish a kingdom, blood must be spilled. It was an inescapable truth. More importantly, he no longer treated those people as his own, nor did he consider himself the same species as them. To him, the people causing this ruckus might as well be aliens.

And against aliens, he felt no moral obligation whatsoever.

“It is as you say,” Donvas nodded. “The problem isn’t just that a massacre will happen. Even though public opinion might be on our side now, when they watch a massacre actually happening, they might have a change of heart. They will definitely feel the cruelty of it and might raise objections… and that is the problem.”

“I mean, I am clear on this!” Donvas continued. “Pruning the bad trees is a necessary task. Any good gardener would do it to ensure the healthy trees aren’t affected by the diseased ones. And I know you all are clear on this as well.”

David nodded, for this philosophy was his as well. He might have been unwilling before, but he wasn’t now—not after hearing the blatant threats these people were spewing.

He saw them as a potential threat that might slow him down in achieving his own goals. He was a leader, after all; even though his state no longer existed on Earth, that didn’t mean it couldn’t exist in the future within its own Cultural Zone or Economic Block. Space had more than enough room for that.

He viewed the local lords and the people behind them as a threat to the Federation’s goals—goals that were directly linked to his own motives. He couldn’t let them succeed.

Supreme Leader Bai Zenmi had made it clear to him—and he suspected the others felt it too—that whatever they did to the rebels would not harm their cooperation with the Void Fleet.

In fact, if they didn’t do something, that was when the relationship would suffer. The solution had to be a permanent one. In David’s mind, these people were parasites who would only rise up again in the future to mess up their plans and hinder the growth of the Federation once more.

“But be that as it may, a massacre is something we cannot cause,” Maximus added, agreeing with every point his colleagues had made. How could he not? He was a ruler, too; he knew that the foundations of his own empire had not been established easily. His ancestry had fought countless battles against invaders and rivals alike to stabilize their realm.

He understood that when an old order collapses and a new one begins to form, the last remnants of the old world—or those who benefited from it—will try everything in their power to make the new order collapse before it can even be fully formed. This was exactly their situation now.

They represented the New Order—the Federation—where humanity, despite having different beliefs, cultures, and heritages, stood as one, looking forward to what the future held. Meanwhile, those sitting below represented the Old Order, finding excuses in every little thing to cause problems and prevent stability.

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