Abyss Solo

"Alas," the Old Emperor patted Yang Ming's arm, trying to guide him, "But Hanton, the current situation of the Empire is like this, we must all face reality."

"Your Majesty, are you telling me this to suggest that I stop opposing these elders of the Sherman family?"

"No, no, no."

The Old Emperor shook his head and said in a low voice:

"Hanton, if you yield to them, the Empire would have no power to resist them. You must stand before them and apply pressure. You did very well this time.

"A system, without an effective oversight mechanism, will inevitably lead to corruption that seeps into the bones. They are beyond the supervision of the Empire."

"By the way, I heard you mention that you might soon be going to the High-dimensional World?"

"Imperial New Calendar 753, this is a critical time point."

Yang Ming explained carefully:

"That is, a high-dimensional civilization created a trial game for civilizations developing in greenhouses, those whose civilization level is less than level one, to compete and fight in this game. Out of five greenhouse civilizations, only three can come out alive from this game; the other two will be directly erased.

"Before the five-civilization battle begins, there is a preliminary examination where each civilization conducts an independent game—it's a civilization upgrade game that involves the entire population. The vast majority of greenhouse civilizations fail, their civilization gets destroyed once in a space-time bubble, then restored for the civilization competition.

"I have experienced the pain of my home planet being shattered by a Dreadnought, Your Majesty... truly, that pain is something I never want to experience a second time. Then, my parents, my family, I mean, the parents and family of my current dominant consciousness, all perished in the molten lava that gushed from the planetary surface.

"In that single-player game, Imperial New Calendar 753 is the start date of the game. According to the Faya people's routine, the game where five civilizations compete together will begin before the real Milky Way Empire's Imperial New Calendar 753."

The Old Emperor slowly nodded, with a bit of contemplation in his eyes: "Am I in this Faya-designed civilization game?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Faya people used a moment in the Milky Way, all the data of human civilization, to generate a game world," Yang Ming chuckled, "However, your presence is very low. Most of the time, we, the 'players' from closed planets, hear about the Sherman family, the Military Department, the Elder Court. Many plots suggest you are a puppet controlled by the Sherman Empire's shadow government."

"Ha," the Old Emperor let out a cold laugh, "They are the real puppets of power."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Yang Ming leaned closer to the Emperor, solemnly said, "Actually, Your Majesty, I know that you may want to reduce their influence, but that will inevitably lead to conflicts of interest with your uncles and elders. I am a bit pessimistic."

The Old Emperor slightly frowned, with light flashing in his eyes continuously.

Yang Ming advised:

"You have already left a significant mark in the history books. You have twice ventured far against the New Federation, striking it breathless, greatly suppressing the ideology that threatened the Empire. You have resisted the giant insect swarm, which is rare in history, and even eliminated that queen which posed a great threat to the human race—although her Thought Body escaped.

"Your Majesty, I must advise you.

"Your achievements are already dazzling enough on history's report card, there's no need to challenge them."

The Emperor gave a chuckle, squinting his eyes slightly:

"But Hanton, human desires have no end, but human lifespan always has a limit."

Yang Ming: ...

The Old Emperor did not say much else, just held Yang Ming's arm and chuckled:

"They are about to target you, possibly attacking you directly, you need to be mentally prepared. Although your uncle Eno repeatedly mentioned that you have infinite rebirth ability, they believe that as long as they attack you once every time they find you, it is enough to eliminate you.

"Stay a bit longer on the Emperor Star."

Yang Ming asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, if they attack me directly, I might really get rid of them."

"This is your war," the Old Emperor chuckled, "I will sort out a list for you later. The rest, feel free to play your part, my Knight Commander."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

There was a hint of fierceness in Yang Ming's eyes.

"Those who want to get rid of me should be prepared to be gotten rid of themselves. Now, I fear nothing. If they are eliminated, you can firmly grasp the Empire, and my home star can be protected... Isn't that right, Your Majesty?"

"Rest assured, even if you don't target them, I will take care of your home star."

The Emperor said seriously:

"This is my promise to you, and the reward you deserve, my Knight Commander.

"Although these old guys always want to negate your achievements, at least to me, you are the hero of the Empire, and what an Emperor must do is not to fail a hero's contributions."

He actively extended his right hand.

With a look full of emotion, Yang Ming gently shook hands with the Emperor.

The main concern was that using a little force might cause the old man to have compound fractures, then turn around and break the tie.

For a moment, Yang Ming could not tell whether he was acting to deceive the Old Emperor, or the Old Emperor was acting to deceive him.

Both turned their heads to the side, this short journey had reached its end.

...

The sister of the former Archbishop, now Archbishop of the Development Divine Sect, had not left a positive impression on Yang Ming.

Though the Imperial Development Divine Sect is nominally a religion, its influence reaches only parts of Emperor Star and the Emperor Star Circle, and this religion itself has no effect on maintaining the Empire's regime.