Chapter 775

Chapter 775: Expansion

Year 6700 of the Xia Calendar, Ying Continent

Li Qing woke up from her retreat and felt that her abilities had improved further, feeling very joyful inside.

She had not broken through to Tao Achieving for long, only about two hundred years. This time is really not much in the world of cultivation, but she has already traveled almost half the road of Tao Achieving.

After leaving her cave, she sent a message to Zheng Yi, and he quickly arrived at Li Qing’s home.

"Master, you have come out!"

"Yes, I have been in seclusion for thirty years and my abilities have improved."

"This is a joyful thing!"

"Not quite, I still hope to break through the Transmigration Stage soon to surpass Lin Jiang."

Li Qing said, she had been embarrassed many times, holding her breath inside, determined to one day surpass him and show him her strength.

"Yes, Master."

"How is the Ying Continent now? I hope you have good news for me."

"Everything is fine in the Ying Continent. Our population, economy, military power, and research ability have all made great progress, leaving Qingyun and Zhou Liao far behind…"

Zheng Yi said, the Ying Continent’s territory is larger than Qingyun and Zhou Liao, and with a good birth rate, their population has already surpassed them. Population is an advantage.

In other areas, the Ying Continent continues to improve, and even in research, which was a weak point, they are no longer worse than Qingyun.

"Surpassing Qingyun and Zhou Liao is no longer meaningful. What about Huaxia? After hundreds of years of chasing, what has happened?"

"Um…"

"To speak honestly"

"Yes, Master, to be honest, we still have a long way to go, especially in technology. We are still several eras behind, particularly in aerospace technology. Many years ago, they revealed they had found habitable planets. The exploration spacecraft has been launched for over a hundred years, and I heard that in about seventy years, it will reach that planet for a real exploration."

"Can’t we go there?"

"Master, that planet is about eight light-years away from us. Even if you fly with all your strength, it would still take thousands of years."

Zheng Yi said. Although Li Qing was also very interested in technology, she didn’t know much about it. The distance of eight light-years was impossible to reach; they would run out of energy halfway.

"Darn it, it’s been hundreds of years, and we still can’t catch up with them."

"Master, don’t be anxious. Competition between nations is measured in centuries and millennia. We are indeed not far behind now. We also have several exceptional talents like those prodigies from Huaxia, and we are protecting them, so they won’t be lured away."

Zheng Yi said. At this point, he was somewhat angry. Many outstanding talents from Ying Continent have been lured away by Huaxia’s high offers. They have been training talents for Huaxia for nothing, which is truly infuriating.

"That’s good, we really need to protect these people."

"Yes, Master."

"What about the cultivators?"

"It’s also not bad; our number of cultivators has surpassed five hundred million. Eight new cultivators have already broken through Soul Changing, and among them, two are in the late stages of Soul Changing. They are likely to break through to Void Achieving within a hundred years. This number is quickly approaching Huaxia’s."

"You have done very well these past years. In a few years, you should enter seclusion and prepare to break through to Tao Achieving. It is different now than before; the path to the Great Way is much easier to break through to Tao Achieving than it used to be."

Li Qing said that Zheng Yi also has late-stage Void Achieving abilities, and he has good talent, so Tao Achieving is very promising for him.

"Thank you, Master."

"Tell me in detail, which areas have we surpassed Huaxia?"

Li Qing nodded and continued to ask. She was very focused on these matters; even if they had surpassed Huaxia in some less important fields, it would make her very happy.

········

"Is Qingyun and Zhou Liao crazy? No way!"

In Haigang City, Lin Jiang looked at a news report and said.

The news report mentioned that Qingyun and Zhou Liao actually intended to merge with Huaxia and become one family. It stated this with reasoning, explaining that the three countries are culturally intertwined, sharing the same primary language, and there are no issues with communication among citizens. Economically, the three countries are also deeply connected, mainly because the economies of Qingyun and Zhou Liao are largely controlled by Huaxia, or more specifically, by Lin Jiang.

To understand this, we need to go back to before the spiritual energy recovery. Lin Jiang was attacked in Qingyun, after which he infiltrated the economies of both countries. It took a long time, but he has already gained control over their economic lifelines, making their economic cooperation very strong.

Militarily, the three countries have been long-time allies, a history that stretches back one to two thousand years to the times when Demon Humans were rampant.

Since the economy, culture, and military are all highly unified, merging is not an impossible dream. In fact, many people in their countries support this idea because they admire the benefits provided by Huaxia.

"Don’t be so excited, Uncle. This article is just testing the waters; Huaxia’s officials won’t agree."

"They definitely won’t agree. Combined, Qingyun and Zhou Liao have a population of a hundred billion, with at least thirty percent living in poverty. With such a heavy burden, we would be dragged down."

"The problem lies in the economy. In the last fifty years, Qingyun and Zhou Liao’s economic development has been very slow, even showing a trend of decline. Their overseas markets have been increasingly taken over by Ying Continent, and their internal conflicts are very sharp. They are counting on us to save them."

Cao Ying said that after years of learning, she understands international affairs very well and knows the internal reasons of both countries; their economy is not doing well.

"That is true, so we cannot give them any hope. We should cut off their wishes early."

"That’s right; supporting Huaxia’s billion population is very difficult. If we add another billion, it will be too much for us. However, we could help them fight against Ying Continent. Ying Continent has been doing very well for hundreds of years and their strength has grown a lot."

"This is possible. On the Ying Continent side, although they are not strong enough to worry about, Li Qing is as annoying as a fly. It’s fine to give them something to do."

Lin Jiang said that Li Qing, that noticeable troublemaker, has bothered him several times, and he is very annoyed. It’s okay to give them a rival.

"Then it’s decided. By the way, Small Shadiao is back."

"Is he tired of playing?"

"Yes, he has left his mark in every dangerous place in the world. He is the first in extreme sports and has been playing for decades; he is indeed tired of it."

"Sometimes I really admire him because he doesn’t have to carry so many things and can live happily."

Lin Jiang said he sometimes truly envies this brother, who doesn’t worry about anything and just has to be happy every day.

"We can do it too in the future."

"Yes, we can. Come on, I’m going to find Small Shadiao to have a drink, are you coming?"

"Sure, but when I’m not here, you all will be drinking with the girls again."

"Ahem, I’m not that kind of person."

Lin Jiang cleared his throat and thought, what is he talking about? Is he really that kind of person? He hasn’t been with other women for hundreds of years!

·······

Spiritual Energy Research Institute Main Office

Liang Long left Cao Wang’s office, feeling a bit dazed because he had learned a top-secret piece of information from Cao Wang: that in the history of Blue Star, there had been visits from aliens.

"So there really are aliens! In the age of immortals, what a pity that I have never seen one myself."

Liang Long felt somewhat frustrated; in this age, he already felt somewhat invincible, as there were not many people he admired. Instead, he greatly longed for the age of immortals that Cao Wang and others had experienced.

After spending a long time together, Liang Long learned many stories from the age of immortals from Cao Wang. He loved those tales of remarkable heroes, dreaming of how joyful it would be to compete with them.

"I need to change my life goals. Being the first person of Blue Star is no longer interesting. From now on, I want to be a space pirate and conquer different worlds!"

Liang Long quickly revised his life goals. His previous aim was to become the first person of Blue Star and the most knowledgeable, but now he found that goal to be quite dull and unfulfilling.

So he wanted to set a greater goal for himself, like being a space pirate and conquering worlds in other galaxies, which sounded much more interesting and fulfilling.