The Senluo Azure Lord's Message

Yaxiu Heath. The mastermind behind the "Night of the Mayor's Trial" in Blood Moon's Shattered Lake Prison, the Gospel Board's chosen contender for "First Gospel," the fuse of the Six Realms War, the Yisu Empress's officially designated sole stepfather, witness to the fall of the Grey Fox legendary sorcerer during the Divine Fire Trial, and the true heir to the Thousand Wishes Legacy. In less than a year, spanning reality to the Void Realm, any tiny sliver of his legendary exploits falling upon someone else's head would have been enough for them to restart life several times over. Youlan Weise. Survivor of the Dead City, traitor to the Calamitous Fire Sanctuary, forced into flight after drawing the wary suspicion of the Mercury Trojan, plunderer of over half the wasteland's grand laws, and an infamous figure known to everyone from the Four Pillar Cult to the Harp Sun Alliance. From childhood she had befriended solitude and apprenticed herself to betrayal, trekking across wilderness under black night, dreaming of setting the world ablaze. Yet even these two sorcerers, who had weathered countless storms, could not help but lose their composure in sheer shock at this moment, their minds going utterly blank. White Dove, Fire Cat, Blue Bird. Even in the Senluo Wasteland, where civilization had been sliced in two, anyone who failed to recognize those names could only be found among children under the age of three. Even a migrant worker like Yaxiu, who had only been in Senluo for a few months and had faced constant ostracism from locals, heard these three names or their derivatives almost every single day. Because they were history itself—they were Senluo. The entire civilization of the Senluo people was built upon these three names; even their myriad faiths could not escape their shackles. Fourteen hundred years ago, the White Dove God Era began, and Senluo was unified. Twelve hundred years ago, the Fire Cat God Era began, ushering in the longest and most glorious god era. Seven hundred years ago, all great eras were destined to end, but with the perfection of the Divine Fire system, the Fire Cat God Era made a smooth transition into the Blue Bird God Era. Three hundred and fifty years ago, the Blue Bird God Era transitioned smoothly into the Grey Fox God Era. Back then, the people of Senluo believed that god eras would cycle endlessly as civilization renewed itself, and that bloody wars were nothing more than exaggerations in history books—even though the Divine Fire system was merely an embryonic creation with only a few centuries of history. Their names had once been the supreme ideals for which hundreds of millions fought. Their existence was the blossoming of this earth, the fruiting of this sky! They were the first grand laws that inaugurated the god eras! "The White Dove Grand Law, the Fire Cat Grand Law, the Blue Bird Grand Law." Weise subconsciously took a few steps toward them, but soon shrank back to Yaxiu's side. "Why have you appeared here?" Yaxiu completely understood the Silver Lantern's agitation and yearning to draw near. He would have felt the same if he saw the luminaries from history books who had made immense contributions to society and science. Conversing directly with history was enough to make puny mortals feel profoundly privileged. "First, we aren't grand laws; we're gods. But you can just call us by our names or nicknames—no need to tack on 'god,' just like you wouldn't attach racial labels like 'human' or 'orc' when addressing people." The lively Fire Cat held up two fingers. "Second, we naturally came for you." "You are the first heir to pass the hidden trial." The White Dove produced a long walking stick from somewhere, propped it upon the sand, and solemnly said, "According to the established protocol, when the Azure Lord cannot make an appearance, we shall make the proclamation on His behalf." "'Only one who is filled with courage, whose will never wavers, who deals with the world as an equal, and who forever sings their own song may pass the Silent Spiral Trial. Heir, regardless of your race, your strength, or your faith, you shall govern the land of Wanxiang Senluo alongside Us.'" "'You are Our vicar. At the end of the distant journey, we shall meet at the promised place.'" "'—Azure.'" Even though it was merely the White Dove reciting the words, and merely a short passage of text, Yaxiu and the Silver Lantern felt an inexplicable sense of awe. This was their first time hearing words spoken by a six-winged God Lord. Before this, they had no way of knowing what kind of beings the six-winged God Lords truly were—whether They possessed desires, whether They held self-awareness, or whether They still harbored any inclination to communicate with mortals. Everything had been an unknown. No matter which realm one looked at, the God Lords had essentially detached themselves completely from mortal beings. Even if They had thoughts, They would never notify those below—indeed, far from issuing orders, They did not even bother sending a single notice. Many sorcerers believed that God Lords and angels no longer perceived themselves as kindred variants of humankind (which was how most sorcerers viewed themselves). They possessed zero empathy for mortals, caring neither whether mortals resented Them or worshipped Them. Just as when playing chess, you wouldn't care whether a pawn liked or hated you; whatever it thought, it could neither harm you in the slightest nor render you any meaningful service. Now, while the other God Lords remained an enigma, the Azure Lord at least cared about mortals, even leaving behind a hidden trial through which a mortal could obtain an audience. Even if this care was, in all likelihood, merely the fondness one held for a pet. Translated into plain terms, it amounted to: *I'm leaving this cat bed in your hands; if you can show up before Me in the future, I might scratch your belly.* Nevertheless, both Yaxiu and Weise astutely grasped the core point of the message. "I will govern Wanxiang Senluo alongside the Azure Lord?" Weise asked, perplexed. "The Senluo Realm, Wanxiang Heaven," the White Dove explained. "Although the Azure Lord is currently transferring His Dream Lord share of the Senluo Realm to you, He also understands that a mortal cannot support the Senluo Realm alone. At the same time, the emergence of an heir is the result of His inability to maintain control over the Senluo Realm, which means the Azure Lord has run into trouble." "Therefore, once your inheritance of the Dream Lord share reaches a certain degree, the Azure Lord will be able to free His hands to resolve His own predicament. Once He deals with it, He will naturally reclaim the Dream Lord share and continue sustaining the existence of the Senluo Realm." "However, your experience serving as Senluo's Dream Lord will be an invaluable asset to you. Furthermore, as a reward for your assistance to the Azure Lord, He will open up partial Dream Lord authority to you in the future—not the share you've inherited but cannot currently use, but authority you may exercise at will." "Put simply," the Blue Bird chimed in, "you will become the King of Senluo." The White Dove nodded. "The Azure Lord rarely pays heed to Senluo. Unless He actively intervenes, your will shall be Senluo's destiny. Beyond that, you will be connected to Wanxiang Heaven, and the Azure Lord will allocate a world secret realm to you, helping you step into the divine domain as swiftly as possible." Yaxiu was left thoroughly stunned. Full-scale grooming! King of Senluo! Assistance in ascending to divinity! Material comfort, spiritual fulfillment, authority, status, and future prospects—everything had been provided for. What kind of treatment was this! What was more, unlike the Spectre Prophet, who remained merely a five-winged demigod upon entering the divine domain, she would be a five-winged angel backed by the Senluo Azure Lord! Even though the Silver Lantern had fought through an army across a single-plank bridge to snatch this singular position, wasn't this a little too generous? *Four Pillar Gods, take note! If you could offer terms on par with the Azure Lord's, I would have become your loyal feeler long ago!* More crucially, this arrangement revealed another, far more important piece of information: it was possible for the Azure Lord to recover! Although Yaxiu had spoken with utter conviction earlier, his plan actually carried enormous uncertainty. Take the simplest issue: how could Yaxiu arrange a migration on the scale of tens of millions of people? Tens of millions was just a number on paper, but gathered together, they would be enough to burst the Silent Spiral. On top of that, food, lodging, sanitation, the order of evacuation, and countless other logistical nightmares—any single detail explored too deeply would make Yaxiu's officially designated butler, Igola, break into a cold sweat. Not to mention that these were Senluo locals, who held conflicting faiths and had no fear of death! Differing faiths meant endless, fierce conflicts with no room for compromise, while having no fear of death meant clashes could erupt anytime, anywhere! Even with the pressure of the Silver Lantern's impending destruction of the world and the path to survival offered by the Empty Door passage, Yaxiu's optimistic estimate was that less than a fifth of the population could actually escape Senluo. The strife sparked by hunger and faith would be enough for internal attrition to grind them down to extinction along the way. In addition, the transport capacity of the Empty Door passage had never been tested. Even if sorcerers could continuously supply sorcery power, could the sorcery spirits truly sustain such prolonged operation? Tools suffered from wear and tear, too. The escape plan Yaxiu had proposed sounded wonderful, but if forced into a tight timeframe, it would inevitably devolve into a boisterous, grandiose funeral—with the Silent Spiral as the graveyard, the Silver Lantern as the gravedigger handling the burial, and Yaxiu, a cult leader, serving as the priest in an all-too-fitting role. Compared to an unpredictable end of the world, perhaps dying at the hands of their fellow countrymen was a way for Senluo's people to realize their life's purpose. Yet this arrangement by the Azure Lord was equivalent to providing an absolute safeguard for the escape plan! Doomsday would still fall upon the Senluo Realm, but it wouldn't compress all living space; the people of Senluo would have land to retreat and defend. As long as the news was spread that the Azure Lord would soon recover and reclaim their lost lands, the vast majority of Senluo's people would surely be willing to stand firm on their native soil. Meanwhile, faithless sorcerers from collapsed sects and the Four Pillar Cult could escape Senluo via the Empty Door passage during the migration instead of being slaughtered by other sects. Sects that still wished to realize their ideals would stay; ordinary people unable to realize their ideals would leave. The reduction in population would not only alleviate the food crisis, but after this upheaval unprecedented in sixteen hundred years, the convictions of those who remained would become firmer than ever. The Senluo Realm, the Senluo Azure Lord, the people of Senluo, and even the Silver Lantern—everyone would have a fresh start. Yet when Yaxiu looked over at the Silver Lantern, he discovered that far from showing any excitement, her face looked somewhat desolate and regretful.