This is really not mechanical ascension-Chapter 885 - 457: Dinner at Dusk - Abel’s Resolve_2

"Holding together..." he thought again of what Anduin had said, that after the emergence of the High-level Life Form Union, in the absence of Ultimate Life Forms, the future interstellar scene will certainly lean towards forming alliances.

High-level life forms will form small groups with one another, which will in turn promote closer ties between civilizations as well.

Anatoli has already begun planning to maintain significant influence once the High-level Life Form Union expands.

Opening the wooden box before him, wisps of energy particles drifted out, forming a dark yellow sun emblem, emitting a dim yellow glow, with a piece of light yellow thin paper inside.

"Light Track Pattern Paper..." Li Ming immediately recognized the material of the paper, it was rather precious.

He took it out to see a few lines written on it in interstellar common language --

[Cordially invite Lord Azure Dragon to attend the Joint Banquet one year from now...]

"Quite courteous indeed..." Li Ming glanced over it, seeing no mention of how to decline, as if it were assumed he would attend.

"Hmm?"

Li Ming’s eyes moved slightly; beneath the invitation was another small piece of paper.

"In a month, I will host a preliminary tasting session with various rare interstellar ingredients. Your presence is expected; I know you have recently been interested in certain secretive information."

"Interesting..." Li Ming looked at the two pieces of paper, pondering the peculiar use of paper for communication in this highly advanced interstellar era.

The Dinner at Dusk is a large banquet; attending doesn’t necessarily mean aligning with Anatoli.

But this tasting session might be different, with strong privacy.

The past grandeur of the Dinner at Dusk was notable, with the last event seeing attendance by over thirty X Level Life Forms.

This re-invitation, combined with the completion of the High-level Life Form Union, could only signify an increase in scale.

"Do they know I’ve been interested in secretive information lately?" Li Ming glanced again, his eyes gleaming.

Whoom—a crimson flame burst from the paper, reducing it to ashes in no time.

"I despise enigmatic people..." Li Ming shook his head, clearly not intending to attend the tasting session, as the other party’s intentions to recruit him were not clearly stated.

If a clear price had been offered, he might have been interested in making the trip; now he preferred to leave it be, rather than risk being taken advantage of.

As for the Dinner at Dusk, with a year to wait, it would be reconsidered later.

Casually tossing the box into the parlor display cabinet, this was just a minor incident; having dealt with it, Li Ming returned to his room to continue development and communication with the Holy Castle.

...

Empire Mother Star

"Your Highness..."

Someone hurriedly traversed the palace corridor, reaching the deepest room, and knelt with a thud, his voice trembling: "News just arrived -- Marx fell in battle on the Cledia battlefield."

"What!?" Abel’s pupils widened abruptly, his expression turning grim, as he demanded coldly, "The highest Cledia rebels could have been were A Level Life Forms; he was an S Level Life Form, how could he die?"

"The battle report states that Major General Marx acted on his own, piloting a small spaceship into the fray, ultimately leaving no remains." The subordinate reported cautiously.

"Acted on his own?" Abel couldn’t help but sneer, "It’s quite convenient to leave no remains; my brothers are clearly afraid I’ll develop even the slightest bit of power."

Ever since the Dominion Holy Image incident ended, the people under me have been practically wiped out by them."

The subordinate lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to speak.

"I understand, send condolences to his family in my name." Abel quickly restrained his emotions, speaking indifferently.

The subordinate nodded and cautiously left. Alone in the room, Abel’s expression turned menacing, his voice almost strangled out: "This is too much, even daring to kill my combat instructor!"

He then felt somewhat disheartened; although he had unwittingly gotten trapped in the Dominion Holy Image incident, no one could have foreseen that, and it wasn’t a fault of anyone’s.

Furthermore, the highest responsible person that day was Costate, and along with Ryan’s interference, there was no way blame could be assigned to him.

Anyway, he obtained the Holy Castle’s orbital calculation program and clues about the Eternal Silence Star, earning great praise from his father.

In response, his brothers cooperated to completely eliminate the subordinates he had painstakingly cultivated.

"But the contest for the position of Holy Emperor has always been like this..." Abel exhaled deeply, calming his emotions as various thoughts intertwined in his mind.

Though frequently regarded as mature and steady by many, it was just that—regarded.

Every brother of his was no less, if not more capable than he was.

Age was a critical disadvantage, having matured decades or even centuries later than others, and lacking strong maternal support made dreaming of that supreme position nearly impossible.

But Abel didn’t lose heart, for a Holy Emperor similar to his background stood right before him—his father, Adam.

Adam wasn’t the youngest, but his situation wasn’t much better either, yet he climbed to the position of Holy Emperor step by step; what was his reliance?

External assistance; if his father could do it, could he not?

Was he really going to do this? His eyes showed both struggle and hesitation.

Ultimately, his gaze became resolute, fixing on a group photo displayed on the table, beside him stood a calm-looking Marx, his combat class instructor.

Pulling out a smart terminal, he set up jamming devices and found a contact to initiate communication.

No one answered at once; he wasn’t anxious and waited quietly.

...

"Barely able to withstand four Abyss Clan attacking together..." Li Ming opened his eyes, exhaling, his muscles trembling uncontrollably, the energy particles suddenly dispersed, then surged again.

Spiritual fluctuations induced physical responses, making him think he was still in combat.

Adjusting himself, he discovered someone contacting him on the Black Hole Network, and it was to Li Ming’s account.

"Abel?" Li Ming raised an eyebrow, quite astonished. After thinking for a moment, he dialed back.

It quickly connected, and the screen popped up.

Li Ming spoke familiarly, "Your Highness, what brings you to contact me suddenly; is there information exchange involved?"

Abel rarely exchanged information with him, maintaining certain boundaries; the last exchange was when Ryan died.

Abel’s voice was hushed, "I heard your instructor recently destroyed the Conservative faction’s stronghold of the Holy Mother Church?"

"You all know already?" Li Ming was surprised, as no one on his side knew this information, the only possible leak would be from the Holy Mother Church.

It’s penetrated like a sieve, he thought, shaking his head privately.

Abel continued, "The Conservative faction held control over the remnants of the Holy Mother Church’s influence within the Empire; your instructor should have that list, right?"

"Oh?" Li Ming remained noncommittal, understanding in his heart; so Abel came for this.

For him, the value of that list wasn’t so significant; utilizing one individual separately wouldn’t cause much impact.

After all, the people on the list are only someone’s wives.

But for Abel, it was entirely different.

"I need that list; name your price." Abel was upfront and straightforward.

Li Ming couldn’t help but smile; he enjoyed dealing with such straightforward people.

"Name a price?" He said slowly, "Your Highness, you should think carefully about what you could do for me, can you even transfer ten trillion Star Coins for me?"

Abel hesitated momentarily, barely perceivable sigh escaping, then after a pause, said, "I indeed have some intelligence concerning your instructor."

"Let’s hear it..." Li Ming responded indifferently.

"You want me to say it directly?" Abel countered.

"This is a matter of trust, by the way, Ryan’s death remains confidential within the Empire, right?" Li Ming suddenly brought up, "This information doesn’t mean much to me but offers significant maneuvering space for you."

"Go ahead, rest assured, I’ll set an appropriate price." Li Ming concluded.

Mentioning this, Abel fell silent, acknowledging Ryan’s death held considerable value.

He knew quite a few people within the Royal Family were secretly probing Ryan’s whereabouts, but he hadn’t traded anything with this information yet.

His expression changed, words at the tip of his tongue, he finally gritted out, "...it’s the Holy Castle..."

This chapter is updat𝓮d by fre(e)webnov(l).com