Chapter 1 The End of Night in Misty Mountains

Misty Mountains no longer had night.

Ever since Professor Svetlye planted the Emberwood Divine Tree atop the high tower twelve days ago, the sapling, seemingly condensed entirely from light, shone brilliantly, illuminating the entire mountain valley and a good portion of the Misty Mountains, as if it were daytime.

No, not the Misty Mountains anymore. Since that powerful professor used his own Heartlight Body to break through the eastern and western barriers, allowing the humid sea breeze from the East Sea to pass through the mountain range unhindered, the mountain range, which had once seemed to be forever filled with moisture and mist, was no longer shrouded in fog.

Instead, there was a seemingly endless gale – a fierce wind that swept through the valley, occasionally creating tornadoes on both sides of the mountain range. Source energy gathered here, and lightning would even spontaneously form in the cloudless sky.

Thunder, gales, and the almost perpetual daylight were strange phenomena that made the adventurers and spies from various forces who had come here with all sorts of purposes feel inexplicably frightened. In a sense, this was a man-made natural disaster, a method that had surpassed ordinary people's understanding of the Disaster Realm, a power even greater than that!

And that was indeed the case.

At this moment, the Misty Mountains, or rather, the mountains that had already begun to be known outside as 'Hopeglow,' had become a forbidden area full of mystery and danger.

Those who harbored malicious intent, or rather, those who did not come here with sincerity, wanting to join the Hopeglow Covenant, would be driven away by the strange celestial phenomena here.

Those adventurers who merely wanted to explore and test the waters, to see just how strong this emerging organization, the Hopeglow Covenant, really was, would be politely escorted out of the mountains by irresistible gales. If they still didn't give up, the force of the gales would increase again and again, until finally, tornadoes filled with lightning would directly hurl them into the sky, recreating a 'so annoying' experience.

But if they harbored malice... what these people would face would be the ubiquitous roots of the Divine Tree, and even vine tentacles wielding various nearly indestructible weapons. These 'Calamity Woods,' cultivated by Su Zhou with his own divine powers, were extremely skilled at both killing people and opening cans. These wonderful little kindred of the Candle Sun were very happy to use the flesh and blood of evildoers to nurture the next generation.

Like their master, the Calamity Woods were not picky eaters at all, and no one cared whether what they ate was raw.

A mysterious organization hidden in the mountains, a top-tier expert who was unbelievably strong... the situation within the Hopeglow Covenant was indeed very mysterious to those who didn't know the truth. In just over ten days, more than a dozen different versions of stories like 'Professor Svetlye dug out an ancient relic from the last Epoch in the mountains' had appeared.

Although in a sense this was not wrong, the First Radiance Ship, parked right below the Hopeglow Tower, was indeed very ancient, and a relic created by an Epoch that was who-knows-how-many years ago.

But in reality, Su Zhou and his followers lived a very simple life, not mysterious at all.

They woke up in the morning for morning exercises, followed by classes until lunchtime, then practical work in the afternoon, building the Covenant, followed by evening lectures, and finally sleep.

Such days were quite leisurely and simple for both Su Zhou and his students and followers. After all, Su Zhou's lectures were indeed easy to understand and innovative.

Even veteran adventurers who initially didn't take it seriously and thought it was just initial lectures began to pay attention after listening for a while.

Because they realized that if the cultivation taught by others was nothing more than drilling wood to make fire to boil water, then yes, it could ignite flames and boil raw water, but it was nothing more than the speed of friction being fast enough, the strength used being great enough (diligence), and the wood (talent) being good enough.

But the cultivation taught by Su Zhou started directly from the principle of why fire would ignite, and although drilling wood to make fire was also taught, it was more based on it as a foundation, deriving all kinds of new methods of boiling water – such as finding new fuels, inventing true qi engines, internal combustion engines, and so on... it was simply teaching people how to enter the industrial revolution from the Stone Age step by step.

Moreover, this method of cultivation did not value talent very much.

Cultivation is always considered mysterious by ordinary people, requiring all kinds of opportunities and talents, but this is just because they have not grasped the key points. Su Zhou, from a high vantage point, knew that cultivation was nothing more than a process of mastering spiritual energy. The talents of the body and soul were ultimately just tools used by one's will to control spiritual energy, innate tools.

Since they are tools, then there is no reason why they cannot be replaced. Of course, the original body is the most compatible and best to use, but it can be transformed and optimized.

The Rotation Undying Method, optimized by Su Zhou according to the situation of the Aean World, contained the Dao of the Divine Tree, which was a good way to self-transformation.

As long as the Rotation Undying Method is cultivated to the point of 'Undying Root,' no matter what the original talent is, the few Divine Tree roots naturally derived from the cultivator's body can replace and strengthen the holder's spiritual energy perception and control ability.

These roots are naturally derived from each person's flesh and blood, so naturally they have their own different attributes and talents, and the types of spiritual energy they are compatible with are completely different.

Su Zhou named them 'Spirit Roots,' but that was too traditionally Chinese, and no one in the Aean World would understand it, so Su Zhou also called them 'Source Energy Circuits.'

Source Energy Circuits are spiritual energy constructs that exist simultaneously on the body and soul. They are bound to the owner, and unless they lose both body and soul at the same time (in short, die), then at most they will only lose half of them.

It can optimize the cultivator's talent without any sequelae, and strengthen the resistance to Source Energy erosion, and can also give the holder a high regenerative ability.

It sounds perfect.

The only drawback is that this thing, like a real plant, needs to regularly ingest nutrients to maintain a good working state.

In other words, those who practice this cultivation method will become gluttons in the early and middle stages of cultivation, eating seven or eight people's portions in one meal is very normal.

"That's it?"

This was the true feeling in the hearts of all the students and followers present after Su Zhou solemnly said this sentence when he was lecturing one day.

Anda, the adventurer who joined the Hopeglow Covenant besides the original orphanage children, couldn't help but complain: "This can also be called a drawback? Then I can eat ten people's portions!"

Now, no one would doubt Professor Svetlye's strength anymore. Not to mention the three giant dragon Heartlight Bodies still organizing the mountains around, just the bursts of light full of vitality and pure Source Energy released by the Emberwood Divine Tree above the tower made everyone know how powerful and promising the force they had chosen to join was.

The cultivation method was not difficult, and many adventurers quickly got started after a short period of learning. However, precisely because it was not difficult, many adventurers who joined later were shocked to find that their cultivation progress was not even as good as those orphanage children under the age of ten!

As Su Zhou's true direct descendants and core disciples, the children of the former orphanage had already completed the cultivation of Source Energy Circuits when they were in the Seaside City, with an average of more than fifteen circuits per person. Among them, the strongest, Loya, Gasha, and Seneca, all had more than forty circuits, and Loya even had fifty-five.

Such talent was simply comparable to Su Zhou before he obtained the Undying Blood.

So now, in addition to the Undying Method, the children are learning Su Zhou's Dao Imitation and the simplified version of the Five Virtues Divine Light.

In time, this will be thirty-plus Divine Intent experts with abundant Five Virtues as the foundation, and it would not be uncommon for a few Disaster Realm experts to emerge from them.

"Put away your textbooks, today's class is over. The combat training ground in the back mountain has been built. Tomorrow morning, I will form groups and start conducting combat drills."

"See you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Teacher!"

A neat and unified response sounded, full of enthusiasm and hope.

At the bottom of the Hopeglow Tower, in a huge stone hall carved directly out of the mountain, Su Zhou closed the lecture notes in his hand. Even though the young man who had once been a real professor in China was not very professional, he had at least seen professional pigs run.

In the end, he was a powerhouse among Heavenly Immortals. Now, his lectures were just using the teaching of students to summarize and organize his past, rather complicated path of cultivation. Naturally, it was easy to understand and interesting.

Nearly a month had passed since the Battle of the East Sea.

Those who could pass the test of the Thoughtless Heart and sincerely wanted to join the Hopeglow Covenant had begun to gather one after another from all over the Aean Continent, and there were now eighteen people.

Although it didn't sound like much, these eighteen people were the first batch who immediately set off and arrived as soon as they knew that Su Zhou was teaching here. Generally, those who were not very firm and of a lower grade would hesitate for a while and arrive later.

By that time, the Hopeglow Covenant's headquarters would not be so easy to join... They would at most be stationed on the outskirts of the mountains, and Su Zhou would also go there to lecture, publicize his cultivation methods, divine powers, and beliefs.

Teaching without discrimination did not mean teaching everyone the ultimate skills. At least, he would have to prove that he sincerely wanted to learn before Su Zhou would sincerely teach.

"Professor Svetlye."

Walking out of the hall, Su Zhou originally wanted to go to the top of the Hopeglow Tower to check on the condition of the Emberwood Divine Tree sapling, but he was stopped by a familiar voice halfway.

He turned his head, and the Silver Sprite Dawn was floating in mid-air, looking at him with a solemn expression: "Do you know that your 'Equality for All' concept has spread throughout the Aean Continent, but the public opinion is very wrong. Many people say that you are protecting monsters, psychologically twisted, and actually think that the Demihumans and ordinary people are the same!"

"Many Demihumans are moved by your ideas, and many of them, who are Demi-human slaves and laborers, are breaking free from their shackles in various ways. The riots are intensifying, and they want to come to you – and the factory owners and landowners who have suffered losses are furious. These wealthy and powerful guys are urging the major forces to attack you and eliminate you, this freak!"

The Silver Sprite had obviously rushed over. She had been learning about this continent through the adventurers and students who had recently joined the Hopeglow Covenant. She naturally knew the conflict between the Demihumans and ordinary people, and learned from the latest batch of students who came to the Covenant about this rather bad news.

—Because it did not side with any party, the current Hopeglow Covenant had become a thorn in the side of the major forces simply by existing.

Even Seaside City had to be forced to choose a side, let alone Professor Svetlye, who had only recently appeared? Even if this old man's strength was really terribly strong, which major force would not have trump cards, and who would really think that a hermit old man who had only recently appeared could compete with the empire and the major nobles that dominated the entire world?

Although Dawn felt that it might not be impossible to fight, she also felt that they should be careful and vigilant, instead of being like Su Zhou, who spent every day cultivating and teaching, as if he couldn't smell the tense atmosphere outside.

But Su Zhou nodded.

"As expected." He had an expression that said he had expected this: "Even a little slower than I thought."

Su Zhou was not stupid. Of course, he knew that his thinking and ideas were heretical to this world, especially for those who based their interests on exploiting Demi-humans and exploiting others. The concept of equality for all that Su Zhou advocated was digging at the foundation of their exploitation.

Seizing people's wealth is like killing their parents. According to this saying, Su Zhou could immediately transform into the Aean World's biggest parent killer, and it was normal to be resented and targeted.

"I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."

Su Zhou handed out the lecture notes in his hand. A somewhat dazed Dawn accepted them. Su Zhou casually flicked the ahoge on the top of her head – it had the touch of a metal spring – and then said with a smile: "They are angry, which proves that I am doing the right thing. These guys have been triggered by me, so of course they will become obsessed and have to target me."

"Moreover, it is precisely because of this that our enemies will appear, and our friends will also appear."

Su Zhou raised his head and looked south.

He looked towards the area where the Hopeglow Orphanage used to be, in the direction of Avendell City.

—The spark I scattered in the past should be quite strong now, right?

Thinking like this, the man smiled.

But in fact, Su Zhou did not know that the spark he had thrown out was not just a spark anymore... Under the influence of certain special existences, the little sparks had already ignited a prairie fire.

Southern Continent.

In a mobile city that seemed to have been abandoned for some time, many figures were walking back and forth in a hurry, seemingly wanting to repair this small mobile city that had been abandoned due to the blooming of the Demon Moon's light and the damage to its shield.

It could be seen that all these figures were Demi-humans.

"Keep up the good work, everyone!"

A cheerful, even heroic, female voice spread throughout the city through the broadcast in the center of the city: "We are now going to join the strongest boss and create a homeland for us Demi-humans!"

"We will suffer a little now, endure a little hardship, shed a little blood, and in the future, our children will have Disaster Realm experts to protect them, and they won't have to sweat and bleed anymore!"

The pioneer adventurer's slogan was simple, but very effective.

In the entire city, all the Demi-humans who were working hard became even more determined.

They began to bury their heads in hard work, for themselves, for the future of their descendants.

The Holy Sun had already set.

Twilight was dim, the road was long, and under the setting sun, this Demi-human team, with confusion and bewilderment, enthusiasm and determination, and a firm belief, began a long march from south to east.

The small city traveled on, carrying smoke and hope.

Countless gazes were cast here, harboring apprehension and vigilance.

But no matter what the situation, everything had already happened.

The spark's expedition had begun.

The world was changing because of it.