If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Zhou Ming closed his eyes; there was still quite some time before negotiations officially began.

There was nothing else going on at the station for the time being, and the intelligence personnel and array craftsmen were all busy at their respective posts.

Zhou Ming originally planned to use this time when he would not be disturbed to carefully review the negotiation plan.

Just then, the guards on duty at the palace gates quickly passed through the outer hall, walked up to Zhou Ming, bowed, and announced that a representative of the Federation's human race was requesting an audience outside the hall.

Upon hearing the guard's report, Zhou Ming opened his eyes.

After a moment's thought, he began to weigh the options in his mind.

Before formal negotiations have begun, it is common practice for representatives of various forces to make private visits in advance.

The main negotiators from the Federation's human race chose to come at this time, presumably to communicate relevant matters in advance.

Zhou Ming had no reason to refuse him entry outright. After a moment's consideration, he instructed his guards to bring the man into the main hall.

After receiving the order, the guard turned and left to greet the guest.

Not long after, a guard led a middle-aged man into the main hall.

The middle-aged man was dressed in a long robe, and his demeanor was composed; he appeared to be a refined and cultured person.

When the middle-aged man was a few feet away from Zhou Ming, he stopped, clasped his hands in a respectful bow to Zhou Ming, and introduced himself.

"Greetings, Your Majesty Ming. I am Song Qingshu, representative of the human race of the Federation."

Upon hearing the name Song Qingshu, Zhou Ming's expression shifted.

A thought immediately popped into his mind, and he almost blurted out, "Is your father Song Yuanqiao?"

However, Zhou Ming ultimately suppressed his question and did not ask it directly, but simply repeated the other person's name aloud.

"Song Qingshu?"

When Song Qingshu, who was standing below, heard Zhou Ming call out his name, he mistakenly thought that Zhou Ming had heard of him before.

So he clasped his hands in greeting again and asked, "Have you heard of my name?"

"Hmm, I've heard so much about you, your name is legendary, haha..." Zhou Ming replied casually, then chuckled.

That laugh left Song Qingshu completely speechless.

For the past year, the Federation's human race has never stopped gathering intelligence on Zhou Ming.

A large number of people were involved in compiling all sorts of information.

Through extensive investigation, the high-ranking officials of the Federation's human race have reached a consensus that Zhou Ming is not an easy person to get along with and is a difficult character to deal with.

Being remembered by such a person is not a good thing.

Zhou Ming's polite remark and laughter left Song Qingshu momentarily speechless, unable to discern Zhou Ming's true thoughts, and he stood frozen in place.

Zhou Ming noticed Song Qingshu's brief moment of distraction but didn't take it to heart or speculate too much about what the other was thinking.

He raised his hand, gesturing for Song Qingshu to sit down first.

Song Qingshu composed himself and sat down on a chair to the side of the main hall.

After sitting down, he noticed that Zhou Ming's gaze remained fixed on him and did not look away.

Song Qingshu dared not delay and took the initiative to explain the purpose of his visit.

"Your Majesty, I have come here mainly to discuss matters related to this negotiation. I hope to communicate with you about some things beforehand."

"Okay, go ahead." Zhou Ming gave a soft "hmm," signaling Song Qingshu to continue.

"Your Excellency, the Alliance of All Races was nominally the initiator of this negotiation, but the Federation of Humans also contributed a lot to this matter and promoted many things."

"Since the disintegration of the old Federation, numerous wars have broken out between various ethnic groups, and the continuous conflicts have caused great harm to all ethnic groups within the Federation."

"That is why all parties hope to use this opportunity of negotiations to mediate the current war."

After listening to Song Qingshu's story, Zhou Ming nodded slightly.

He knew perfectly well the real reason behind it: the Federation of All Races did not genuinely yearn for peace; they were frightened by his actions over the past period.

In just six months, more than a dozen great worlds changed hands and fell under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

The Alliance of Ten Thousand Races no longer had enough strength to continue fighting the Ming Dynasty, so it wanted to stabilize the situation and cut its losses in time through negotiations.

Song Qingshu continued, "Therefore, in this negotiation, the Federation of All Races Alliance and the Federation of Humans share a common goal."

"Both sides hope to use this negotiation to determine the territory of each ethnic group."

"Once the boundaries of territory are clearly defined, territorial disputes between different ethnic groups will decrease, thereby reducing the possibility of war between them."

After saying this, Song Qingshu fell silent, his expression tense, his eyes fixed on Zhou Ming, waiting for Zhou Ming's response.

The main purpose of communicating privately in advance was to test Zhou Ming's attitude towards the ceasefire.

Song Qingshu was well aware that whether the entire negotiation could proceed smoothly depended largely on Zhou Ming's stance.

As long as Zhou Ming is unwilling to cease hostilities, all plans regarding the demarcation of territories and the end of the war will be impossible to implement.

After listening to the other party's request, Zhou Ming gave a direct answer without any hesitation.

"That won't do. If the war is mediated, who will bear the losses of my Great Ming Dynasty?"

"As you know, war is about vying for resources. Our Great Ming Dynasty has invested so many resources; we can't just stop the war without gaining any benefits."

Song Qingshu was stunned when Zhou Ming said these words.

Song Qingshu has tens of thousands of years of cultivation experience. Over the long years, he has traveled to all the worlds, big and small, in the Old Federation and has dealt with all kinds of cultivators.

Song Qingshu had basically encountered all kinds of cultivators with different personalities and styles of doing things.

He had seen many greedy and selfish cultivators, but no matter how many he had seen, Song Qingshu had never met anyone like Zhou Ming.

Song Qingshu did not agree with Zhou Ming's account of the so-called war losses.

He began to mentally review the entire course of the battle over this period of time.

The only battle in which the Ming Dynasty truly paid a heavy price was the initial great war against the Canglang Clan in the Lingxu World.

In that battle, the Ming Dynasty mobilized a large number of troops, and the two sides fought head-on. The Ming side did indeed lose a lot of cultivators.

However, after the war in the Spirit Void World ended, the situation was completely different in the subsequent series of actions to conquer other worlds.

In the subsequent series of expansion operations, the Ming Dynasty's fleet merely followed behind Zhou Ming.

Each time, Zhou Ming would clear out the defensive forces of the various worlds on his own, and then the warships of the Ming Dynasty would pick up the pieces.

The higher-ups of the Myriad Races Alliance had long been aware of Zhou Ming's strength.

Most of the Mahayana stage demon cultivators either died in battle alongside the Golden-Winged Roc at the void interception battlefield, or they activated the interdimensional teleportation array early on to evacuate the Great World.

By the time the Ming Dynasty's fleet arrived at the target world, there was no longer any organized resistance from the demon race.

Throughout the subsequent phase, the Ming fleet did not fire a single shot, and the Ming Dynasty's army did not lose a single soldier.

Once the fleet arrives, it only needs to carry out the tasks of destroying the old teleportation array, building a brand-new interdimensional teleportation array, and waiting for the receiving personnel to move in.

From beginning to end, the only person who truly determined the fate of the world was Zhou Ming.