Chapter 595: Reality and Illusion

Upon hearing Amurong's words, Hong Tianqi was flabbergasted by his thick skin. "Amurong, just what do you want?!"

"Who knows if the research results you've given me are valid? Surely you need to give me some time to verify them."

"How long do you want?"

"Ten years."

"Ten years—you just want to destroy Zhang Lie's future!" Hong Tianqi shouted.

Amurong shrugged. "I simply want to be cautious. Zhang Lie's a dangerous fellow, as you know, able to defeat an asura in the second realm alone. This sort of existence will surely exceed us two in strength, and I have to at least try to curb it a little."

"I won't agree."

"In that case, I suppose you'll learn of Zhang Lie's accidental death tomorrow in the news." Amurong was certain that he had a good grasp of Hong Tianqi's personality, that he would surely accede to any request on Zhang Lie's behalf.

If Zhang Lie remained under Amurong's control for ten years, then Hong Tianqi would likewise be under his control for ten years.

"Three years, three at most!"

"No—ten!"

Hong Tianqi shouted back, "In that case, I suppose neither of us will have what we want. Three years—that's it."

Amurong scowled. "If you insist."

The rest of the transaction proceeded smoothly.

When Amurong glanced at the papers in his hands, he raised his head to the skies and laughed. "Haha, Zhang Lie, Hong Tianqi! What you've both worked hard to achieve has become my possession and mine alone!"

Upon confirming the veracity of the documents he had received, Amurong thought he could see a long and illustrious future ahead of him. With these results in hand, his race would be able to obtain limit fragments as well.

Not long afterwards, Hong Tianqi sent half of China's stockpile of spiritual herbs to Hong Tianqi. Thanks to Zhang Lie, that stockpile filled the entire suite of warehouses around the harbor. The crates were stacked several dozen high, and there were so many of them that each warehouse felt like a maze.

Amurong happily sent Hong Tianqi a message. "Thank you for the herbs. Don't forget to move your troops further back—I'm uncomfortable having them so close by. And of course you'll resolve all that nonsense about the kidnapping incident for me, won't you?"

Hong Tianqi roared in rage, "Amurong! Don't think you can get away with everything!"

"Hmm? Zhang Lie's doing fine now, with good food and a good place to live, and servants of his own. From your tone, it doesn't look like you think he deserves those amenities. Very well, then..."

"Are you threatening me?!"

"Of course!"

A fearsome aura erupted from Hong Tianqi. Even across the transceiver, Amurong could feel his rage—but his mask of calmness didn't slip.

In the end, it was Hong Tianqi who gave in. "Very well. I'll have my troops retreat, and I'll deal with the kidnapping incident. Is that satisfactory?"

"Haha! I'm very thankful, Hong Tianqi."

Three years' respite allowed Amurong to develop and flourish at leisure.

The limit-fragment research that Zhang Lie pioneered continued to flourish, supported by China's massive stockpile of spiritual herbs.

Amurong himself began leading research into limit-fragment development for his race. At the beginning, he wasn't able to make as much progress as the skilled researchers sponsored by the four prime races, but he quickly began poaching talent from all over the galaxy.

The development went surprisingly smoothly, and he even established a competing organization to contest the four prime races' laboratory for superiority.

The four prime races were against this development, but Amurong's mature results quickly prompted investment into his laboratory.

After all, not every race was on good terms with the four prime races, and not all of them were large or strong enough to get priority in that laboratory.

Amurong's research laboratory successfully broke the monopoly that the four prime races' lab held.

As for Zhang Lie, he had long since been crippled.

Amurong had been secretly adding aphrodisiacs into Zhang Lie's food. Initially, Zhang Lie was able to resist their effects given his constitution, but increasing dosages over the long term eventually wore down his resistance.

As the drugs took noticeable effect, Amurong sent some prostitutes into his apartment.

Zhang Lie's long-term imprisonment and drugged mental state gave him no outlet for his boredom but sex. He neglected his cultivation and growth as a genetic hunter; his honed skills fell by the wayside.

If he had been a sharp blade three years ago, he was nothing more than a rusted old club now—just a piece of worthless trash. When he was finally freed from his captivity after three years, he even looked longingly back at his apartment and the women within...

Amurong had no intention to keep him alive. He had already arranged for his men to find a suitable opportunity to kill Zhang Lie, then to retrieve his corpse and bring it back.

Useless though he might be now, Zhang Lie was still a latent threat. He might seem harmless at the moment, but who knew when he might explode?

As for Hong Tianqi, ever since Zhang Lie had been taken away, he was like a tiger whose claws had been cut off. He had even tried to rescue Zhang Lie two years ago, but after that, he was hard-pressed just to protect himself.

Without Zhang Lie's stabilizing presence, the four prime races gradually took over the limit-fragment research—and without these limit fragments, China was nothing more than a small country in a small planet.

Hong Tianqi had lost his reputation and position after continuously acceding to Amurong's requests. Apparently, he had devoted himself to improvement within the dimensional world, but he had gone missing during one war or another.

Amurong glanced at the starry sky. This was his time to shine.

A decade passed. Amurong managed to re-establish the world federation based on his growing influence. His underhanded means and connections meant that he was prospering day by day, and even the four prime races had to defer to him.

One day, while he was walking through the streets, he saw a beggar by the roadside. Only when his son pointed him out did Amurong recognize the beggar as his erstwhile rival, Hong Tianqi. Amurong shook his head in pity, tossed down a ten-thousand point banknote, then walked away.

Behind him, the beggar suddenly yelled out, "I'm the king of the galaxy, the head of the world federation, hahaha!"

Two decades later, Amurong had no equal.

Three decades later, Amuron was crowned the monarch of the Milky Way. There were no dissenters.

Everyone in the world federation was forced to put on a collar. Only by paying a sufficient amount of tax would they be able to breathe freely and enjoy pure, unpolluted water.

Everything was proceeding according to Amurong's dreams, for everything was indeed nothing more than a dream...

"What's this fellow doing?" Hong Tianqi glanced at Amurong, who was standing before the teleportation array and dancing like a fool, in shock.

Upon learning that Amurong was planning to attack Zhang Lie, he and his men had rushed over, only to witness such a sight...