Chapter 944: The Eruption of a Civilization War (I)
As the grand army marched toward the Sky Battlefield, a towering black-and-red mech, a thousand meters tall, slowly advanced toward the edge of the dark region that spanned a thousand kilometers.
At that moment, Mech No.1 emanated an oppressive aura. The ancient presence swirling around it felt as if a colossal primordial beast had descended upon the world. With each heavy step it took, the heavens and earth shook. Distant mountains crumbled one after another, sending smoke and dust surging into the sky in a show of overwhelming force.
When it reached the edge of the space-time distortion radiating from Chen Chu's secluded cultivation, No.1 stopped in its tracks. A solemn light flashed in its eyes as it looked ahead.
Deep within the darkness, the faint outline of a massive and terrifying figure lay sprawled, its aura immense and suffocating.
"Luo Fei, you're not going to the frontlines?" As a surprised voice echoed out, a powerful will descended from the darkness ahead and took form as a figure with long, flowing black hair.
Hum!
No.1 jolted slightly, and Luo Fei's gentle voice echoed from within. "I won't be able to join this time. With No.1's help, my cultivation is about to break through to the mythical level. I must return to the Blue Planet."
"Is it because of the second mythical surge?" Chen Chu mused aloud.
After his access level was raised, Chen Chu had read the classified files on the Mech No.1 Project, and learned that No.1 had been chosen as the third candidate to support the heavens. However, after the Primordial King's secret attempt failed and gave him injuries that forced him into seclusion for half a year, No.1 was elevated to the top candidate.
There had once been another candidate, the Celestial King. However, with Chen Chu's guidance, No.1 had grown at a pace that far exceeded everyone's expectations. Soul strands of the primordial creature it had once been a part of, scattered through the river of time after the ancient being's fall, were even on the verge of awakening.
No.1 gave a slight nod. "Yes. When I break through to the mythical level, I will undergo my first fusion with No.1. That fusion must take place on the Blue Planet, free from interference by the mythical world."
Chen Chu fell silent for a moment. "So... it's come to this."
Luo Fei's mission was to hold up the heavens—to support and uphold the world of the Blue Planet. This "world" didn't refer to the universe where the Blue Planet originally belonged, but rather the galaxy that was centered around the Blue Planet and gradually being surrounded by the mythical world.
The mythical world's devouring power was slowly detaching the entire galaxy from its original universe, transforming it into an independent and extraordinary world of its own. The second mythical surge would be the moment the galaxy was completely swallowed and pulled into the mythical world.
Humanity's plan was to anchor a supreme-level being at the core of the Blue Planet's separated world. By fusing the power of principles into the world's depths, that cultivator would become its "Heavenly Dao," the guiding force that governed and sustained the Blue Planet's existence.
There was a vast difference between a world with an awakened will of Heavenly Dao and one without. As the will of the Heavenly Dao, this being could mobilize the world's own principles to resist being devoured by the mythical world. Although it couldn't fully escape, it could anchor itself to the mythical world's outer crystal wall, forming a complete and self-contained world of its own.
Unlike the fragmented worlds trapped in the mythical world's spatial crevices, a successfully established Blue Planet would have its own independent principles while remaining connected to both the mythical world and its original universe.
If this plan succeeded, any native human supreme cultivator would have a 30% higher chance of breaking through to become a civilization emperor, a ruler whose true form embodied the principles of an entire world. However, if the plan failed, humanity's only hope of producing a civilization emperor would lie with Chen Chu. Even Qian Tian, the First Councilor, had less than a 10% chance.
In the mythical world, colossal beasts were the dominant force. For any non-beast entity to break through its shackles and ascend as a being of principles was dozens of times more difficult than on the Blue Planet—in other words, almost hopeless.
This was also why alien beings who had lost their native lands found it nearly impossible to break through, no matter how powerful they were. Even ancient peak-level powerhouses like Tyretis and Tarodell, who had stood at the top since ancient times, were unable to shatter the shackles that bound them.
After the Primordial King's trial ended in failure, it became clear that just having a supreme cultivator to support the heavens was too much of a stretch. In truth, it was fundamentally impossible. After all, their principles had yet to become advanced, and they hadn't become principle-level beings. Without that, how could the Blue Planet's world acknowledge them, let alone allow them to merge with its origin and become its Heavenly Dao?
Because of this, the Celestial King abandoned further trials and placed all of his hopes on No.1. As an ancient being, No.1 had undoubtedly reached a life stage and power beyond the emperor level before its fall, meeting the basic requirements for supporting the heavens.
On top of that, Luo Fei, as a native lifeform of the Blue Planet, served as the "admission ticket." As long as the two completed their initial fusion, they could begin supporting the heavens. During the process, Luo Fei would also be able to use the Blue Planet's origin power to cleanse No.1's body of the ancient life imprint it once carried.
At this stage, the calculations run by the Celestial King's supercomputer predicted a 60% chance of success for Luo Fei. The remaining 40% was uncertainty that lay with the ancient being itself. After all, a plan was just a plan, and the future was filled with unknowns. No one could say for sure what would happen.
Furthermore, they were dealing with an unfamiliar being. Even after countless millennia since its fall, this ancient being still had a chance of revival. No one knew how great its true power could be.
Chen Chu looked at the towering black-and-red mech before him, its monstrous frame anchored firmly to the earth. He met its blueish-white eyes, glowing with a terrifying aura, and slowly said, "Although the supercomputer shows a high chance of success, don't rush things. Once you go back, try to slow down the process of holding up the heavens. It'd be best to wait until I break through to the supreme level before you take the final step. That way, even if something goes wrong... I'll be able to suppress it."
With the foundation he had built, Chen Chu was confident that once he stepped into the supreme level, he would possess the power of a civilization emperor, just like the Destructive Dragon Emperor. If he joined forces with the even stronger Dragon Emperor, then even if No.1's ancient essence were to awaken, Chen Chu still believed he could suppress it through sheer force. At worst... he'd just kill it.
Seeing the calm and steady look in Chen Chu's eyes, Luo Fei gave a slight nod and softly said, "I understand. Goodbye, Chen Chu."
With that, No.1, having come to say its goodbyes, slowly turned and walked toward the logistics city, preparing to return to the Blue Planet.