In the enigmatic, labyrinthine depths of the cosmos: darkness, and streaming light.
Among countless black craft of varying sizes and disparate shapes, a colossal gold-and-gray vessel—so vast to the naked eye that it seemed boundless, rendering its shape indescribable—was cruising slowly forward.
"Slow" was only relative to the boundless, unfathomable expanse of space it occupied.
In truth, the vessel's actual speed far exceeded human comprehension.
It had traveled through this universe like this for a long, long time.
No one could estimate the number of beings aboard the colossal ship, for its population density was unknown. After all, if the entire global population of Azure—nearly six billion people—were gathered together, they would hardly take up much space at all; their footprint might not even cover Lake Tai.
Its journey had seemed utterly silent, always so very quiet.
Except for a day nearly a century ago, when the entire civilization's fleet had roared in unison like beasts howling at the heavens. That roar was their celebration: on that day, in the twilight of its existence, the Great Spike civilization had finally birthed another true-rank Miwang—a God of War.
As for its name, if one insisted on crossing the gulf between civilizational consciousnesses to force a translation, it could roughly be rendered as Xiuxigelai.
On that day, on the brink of breaking through to the next realm, Xiuxigelai had left the ships and the fleet, standing small and alone amidst the galactic cosmos.
On that day, the energy of breakthrough reset to zero and surged anew; the colossal shockwave shifted celestial bodies, triggering a massive cosmic collision deep in the universe that went unnoticed by anyone.
At that instant, with all the energy dissipated from its former rank and concentrated into its new realm, it slashed a sword toward the planet designated by the coordinates.
The energy of that slash coalesced into a single point, streaking across the star-strewn universe ahead of the entire fleet...
None knew whether it had successfully crossed time and space to finally reach its mark.
Nor did anyone know whether it had already arrived—and if so, how long ago, in what form, and with how much energy.
***
In the central chamber of the colossal ship.
*Thud, thud...*
These were the footsteps of a single being pacing alone within the vast expanse.
Because the intelligence from the vanguard Daie had not yet crossed the sea of stars to reach them, they had no idea what kind of scene would greet them when they finally arrived at that planet:
Perhaps nothing remained but deathly stillness and desolation.
Perhaps the low-tier utility craft dispersed across nearby space had already taken complete control long ago.
Naturally, it was also possible that the creatures called humans still existed.
None of this mattered.
What mattered was that the hopes entrusted with reviving their civilization had to still be there... indestructible, something they called Yanxiu.
*Thud.* Xiuxigelai's footsteps halted.
It stood in place.
With solemn reverence, it bowed its head, once again recalling in its mind the sole message transmitted back by that "predecessor."
It was said that when that predecessor embarked on the path of exploring the unknown, it had just fallen from the Puda'er rank and was entering its twilight years (Note: twilight years in the eyes of high-tier Great Spikes).
At the final moments of its life, it arrived at the graveyard planet of the Yanxiu and transmitted this message. (Note: what the Great Spike civilization judged to be its final moments; in truth, after sending that solitary transmission, the aging high-tier Great Spike lived on Azure for another two to three centuries, only it could never transmit any further messages).
"The graveyard of the Yanxiu—perhaps one of them—I have found it."
"I no longer have the time to hear the chants and hymns echoing across the stars in the future, but you must do so."
"Remember me in the name of a god."
"..."
"This is another civilization. The creatures ruling here are called humans. In their current civilization, there is no history of the cosmic Yanxiu era; they know nothing of it."
"Their lives are fragile and fleeting."
"They are so very weak."
"I believe I could conquer this place single-handedly, but I have no more energy to squander. With the last trace of my energy, I will perform the most valuable act for my civilization and for you."
"I have disturbed the will of this place, which cannot be severed... I shall do everything in my power to restrain them."
"I will take and bury all their remains so that no terrifying beings can emerge here until you arrive."
At this thought, Xiuxigelai saluted solemnly. Then it raised its head and peered through the vessel's hull toward the endless darkness in the distance.
Throughout this journey—a voyage long, unknown, and seemingly unending—it was this very message that had sustained them and driven them forward.
"By the way, these otherwise useless creatures seem to possess a capacity for mimicry, learning, and creativity that astounds me and defies understanding, along with a bizarre willpower. That is the only thing that concerns me."
The final line of the predecessor's message surfaced in Xiuxigelai's mind.
This was precisely why they had pooled peak-tier energy at immense cost to dispatch the advance force, and why it had poured everything into unleashing that sword strike upon its breakthrough.
*Chua!* A glimmer of light that had suddenly appeared within its consciousness went out.
Xiuxigelai spun its head sharply toward the direction of the coordinates, freezing in place.
"What is it, Miwang?" a voice asked.
"Oh. I just sensed it." Xiuxigelai did not turn around, but its voice resonated, speaking slowly: "That energy... someone intercepted and extinguished it."
Its tone seemed devoid of emotion.
Yet the shock and astonishment it brought were monumental.
For this meant that the trajectory of that weak civilization described by the predecessor had very likely undergone immense, unforeseen transformations in the history that followed.
***
In truth, by the time Xiuxigelai sensed it... that had already occurred thirteen years ago.
Thirteen years ago, Huaxia's Chen Buer had shaken off the old injuries left by a Red Shoulder, absorbed every insight the Red Shoulder had to offer, and stood without question at the very pinnacle of human combat prowess.
Yet at the same time, he had lost his direction.
No one could tell him, nor could anyone even offer him the slightest spark of insight or inspiration as to where the road lay or how to take the next step forward.
Absorbing source energy gradually seemed meaningless; he relinquished all the source energy rations accorded to his rank, post, and Star Glory Medal back into the legion's depot.
At the same time, with Ne in hiding, the world no longer seemed to need his sword.
And so, this legion commander of Huaxia's Sole Witness Legion returned to the grasslands where he had once been stationed.
Herding sheep, eating meat, and hacking Great Spikes, he delivered lambs, drove off wolf packs, and frequently attended festivals, weddings, or funerals hosted by the herders...
Xu Xiaohong and a few close generals would occasionally bring a couple of people out there to eat mutton.
He remembered it had been the Mid-Autumn Festival. Under the full moon of an autumn night on the steppe, seven or eight people sat huddled around a bonfire. Mutton sizzled over the flames, sputtering droplets of fat, and wine flowed from large bowl to large bowl...
The shepherd tried to charge them for it.
The boisterous scene suddenly fell quiet. Chen Buer raised his head alone toward the sky. After staring for a long time, he said:
"If an enormous surge of energy swept from north to south, cleaving like a blade all the way through the Yellow Sea, the East Sea, and the South Sea, what would happen?"
Everyone around him was bewildered, for none of them had sensed anything.
Until Xu Xiaohong asked, "How big?"
"Big enough to cleave open the seabed, roughly," Chen Buer said.
"Then undersea earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tectonic quakes, and a massive tsunami that might swallow everything along the coast." Xu Xiaohong asked, "Is there time to evacuate?"
"Oh, probably not," Chen Buer replied with a calm shake of his head. Then he asked, "What's the highest an aircraft can fly in this world? Xu Xiaohong, call it here."
Chapter 639