Chapter 739

Chapter 739: Two-Handed Preparation

“The current issue is how we can curb the expansion of the Great Flame Empire.”

Lu Qingxian’s gaze swept across the faces of those present. “If we let the Great Flame Empire expand this rapidly, it won’t be long before their military might turns toward our human federation.”

“We can only wait for the Tree-Dwelling Tribe’s reinforcements to arrive.”

A high-ranking member of the council said helplessly, “The mysterious disappearance of the five two hundred and ten level strong fighters means Bunier and Blake cannot possibly head to the Tianling Star Cluster.”

Lu Qingxian shook his head. “What I mean is, even if the reinforcements arrive, they may still fail to capture Yi Chen.”

Everyone was taken aback.

They understood Lu Qingxian’s meaning.

This made them feel that Lu Qingxian was perhaps worrying unnecessarily.

Instinctively wanting to argue, the words all got swallowed back.

Worrying unnecessarily isn’t always a bad thing.

They too were worried about the significant issue of whether the Tree-Dwelling Tribe could capture Yi Chen after their reinforcements arrived.

Since they were concerned, no matter how high the success rate, it indicated that such a situation could indeed occur.

The best solution, without a doubt, was to wait for the Tree-Dwelling Tribe to resolve this matter.

The problem is, who knows if the Tree-Dwelling Tribe can solve it?

In the past, every time seemed reliable, yet they always returned empty-handed.

Seeing that everyone had grasped his meaning, Lu Qingxian sighed. “Just like before Yi Chen came to collect the second interest from us, whether the Tree-Dwelling Tribe can resolve this mess or not, we can’t just wait idly for the result.”

“In fact, it is precisely because we had little hope in the Tree-Dwelling Tribe back then that we kept trying to contact Yi Chen through the Revival Army. This ultimately led Yi Chen to collect the second interest.”

The crowd couldn’t help but show thoughtful expressions.

Given Yi Chen and the current strength of the Great Flame Empire, the human federation had no means to suppress them at all.

Deploying troops to the Tianling Star Cluster or the Undying Star System would purely be courting death.

Moreover, if ordinary soldiers learned about Yi Chen and the Great Flame Empire, it would be very difficult to completely block that information.

Yi Chen had likely reached the peak of the star cluster, becoming its strongest member.

The citizens of the Great Flame Empire were also rapidly advancing to the Human Immortal Stage, thanks to the Third Generation Cave Paradise.

If this news reached the citizens of the federation, who knows what kind of chaos might ensue?

Their gratitude to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe would surely dissipate, perhaps even turning into hatred.

The praise from these high-ranking leaders would likely transform into endless scorn.

Because if it weren’t for the interference of the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, and if these high-ranking leaders hadn’t been reluctant to give up their power, perhaps the human federation would have reconciled with Yi Chen long ago.

And if reconciliation truly occurred, it was highly probable that the citizens of the federation would be reaching the Human Immortal Stage by now.

That represented at least a lifespan of sixty to seventy thousand years.

Just this alone would be enough to overshadow any benefits provided by the Tree-Dwelling Tribe.

Not to mention remaining subordinate to others, feeling pleased about being a vassal race.

In this situation, it might be better to take the opposite approach, just like last time, and proactively reach out to Yi Chen without the Tree-Dwelling Tribe knowing, regardless of the cost.

Last time, they successfully met Yi Chen’s second interest request.

Yi Chen surprisingly provided the human federation with potion making techniques and various spirit pill recipes.

This shows that although Yi Chen has long harbored hatred for the human federation, at least their relationship has not reached the point where Yi Chen is unwilling to trade with them.

As long as the human federation is willing to pay the price, they can gradually repair the relationship.

This is far better than placing all hopes on the Tree-Dwelling Tribe.

However…

A senior military official spoke up, “The second interest that Yi Chen collected seemed a bit strange at the time. But judging from the information provided by the various tribes, the materials for this interest likely consist of the ingredients needed to refine the Third Generation Cave Paradise.”

“And all of those materials are low-grade rare immortal mines. Initially, we in the human federation spared no expense and exhausted vast resources and connections to acquire the necessary amount from all tribes across the star cluster.”

“At this stage, as Yi Chen unifies the Tianling Star Cluster, the entire Undying Star System will soon fall into his grasp. The only thing that might catch his eye is the materials required for the Fourth Generation Cave Paradise.”

“The materials needed for the Fourth Generation Cave Paradise are definitely mid to low-grade rare immortal mines. Looking across the star cluster, we certainly cannot collect them. Where can we gather these materials to meet his needs?”

“Can we ask the Tree-Dwelling Tribe for them?”

A high-ranking council member suggested.

“This…”

The federal high-ranking leaders all displayed expressions of hesitation.

“Considering the Tree-Dwelling Tribe’s changing attitude towards our human federation, the situation in the super star cluster will undoubtedly become tense.”

Lu Qingxian said, “If we ask the Tree-Dwelling Tribe for some mid to low-grade rare immortal mines, the chance of being refused is slim. But the issue is that our human federation’s average cultivation level is low; we cannot make use of mid to low-grade rare immortal mines. Furthermore, since the Tree-Dwelling Tribe envoy is already aware of the information regarding Yi Chen and the Great Flame Empire, they must also know we are secretly contacting Yi Chen.”

“In this case, I feel it may be better to confront the Tree-Dwelling Tribe directly and inform them that we are trying to ease our relationship with Yi Chen through a different approach.”

“Of course, this would be after the Tree-Dwelling Tribe’s reinforcements arrive and still fail to resolve the troubles brought by Yi Chen.”

“Doing so would also pressure the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, making them even more eager to capture Yi Chen.”

When Lu Qingxian said this, all the federal high-ranking leaders nodded in admiration.

This is indeed a way to achieve a win-win situation.

The only downside is that while it may seem like the human federation is actively coming clean to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, it clearly shows distrust in their abilities.

Although the Tree-Dwelling Tribe has failed to capture Yi Chen, which truly warrants skepticism, displaying it directly could be a slap in their face.

This might make the high-ranking officials of the Tree-Dwelling Tribe feel displeased with the human federation.

Yet, for the sake of having another option, this small cost is something the human federation can bear.

“Besides, there’s actually something that Yi Chen desperately wants, which we can provide…”

Lu Qingxian hesitated.

Everyone present, skilled and clever, quickly realized what Lu Qingxian was hinting at.

Those infants.

The Great Flame Empire lacks in population the most.

Back when Yi Chen was still at the end of his time on the exile planet, he levied the first interest from the human federation, and among the conditions he put forth was a challenging request for fifty million infants.

Since then, the Great Flame Empire, through the Revival Army and the second interest, has taken away billions of infants over the years from the human federation.

Whether on the exile planet or in the Tianling Star Cluster, various reports indicate that Yi Chen has always regarded humanity as the cornerstone of his empire.

In this situation, a billion may not seem like much.

But given the current expansion speed of the Great Flame Empire, the population is still far from sufficient.

Meeting the population requirements of the Great Flame Empire would be akin to drinking poison to quench thirst, only serving to strengthen Yi Chen’s resolve to eliminate the human federation.

But at least, for now, it could help ease relations with him.

The benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Lu Qingxian’s hesitation is because addressing such matters severely violates federation law, and it cannot be openly discussed.

Otherwise, if this information leaks out, the Parliament Building and Military Headquarters could be overturned by an angry populace.

“Let’s find a smaller race and secretly train a batch of death soldiers as scapegoats! If news leaks, we can shift all the blame onto the Revival Army. If that doesn’t work, we can put this smaller race out front, claiming they have secretly allied with the Great Flame Empire.”

A high-ranking council member suddenly spoke.

All the federal high-ranking leaders fell silent.