979 I Am Not Around, but My Legend Lives On

"Aunt Shea, are you saying that I appeared from the pathway? Am I not human?" Wang Zhong was extremely surprised.

The reasoning was simple. In the face of a destructive disaster, no one in Inca City survived other than Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong himself would not believe if it was said that there was nothing strange about this.

"No." Aunt Shea shook her head. "The pathway did not even open. You appeared out of thin air. Furthermore, you don't know how frightening the disaster was after the experiment failed. It was because of your appearance that the waves of energy that could destroy the entire Earth stopped. If not, do you think that only Inca City would have been destroyed?"

Wang Zhong was slightly dumbfounded. He had stopped the waves of energy that could destroy the entire Earth? He suddenly thought about the Fate Stone. Was it because of the Fate Stone?

Uncle Wang laughed and said, "To prevent you from being experimented on by the Patriarch Society, and to prevent the Patriarch Society from continuing such crazy ideas, Aunt Shea and I secretly brought you away. Only the three of us know about this now."

"Someone had to take responsibility for this." Aunt Shea added on, "As the people in charge, Uncle Wang and I naturally had to accept the punishment of being sent into exile. Therefore, we brought you to Tianjing to live in seclusion until a few years ago when the effects of the disaster slowly faded and a new treaty was signed with the Octopus people. Our punishment ended, and we were ordered to return to the Patriarch Society again. So, we left Tianjing."

"Is that why you toured the Holy Land?" Wang Zhong laughed helplessly. "I was just wondering. There is no such tour…"

This was a joke, but Lao Wang still had a myriad of thoughts in his heart. This piece of information was rather important. Although this resolved many doubts in his hearts, even more had appeared in their place.

Who exactly was he? He was able to survive the disaster at Inca City. Furthermore, his appearance had stopped the waves of energy that were strong enough to destroy the Earth… What kind of monster was he? Could it be that besides the Fate Stone, even he himself was some strange product?

"Don't think too much about it. You are a human to the core." Wang Zhanfeng laughed and said, "Although you have experienced many things, Aunt Shea and I are very calm. The true meaning of life is in your memories. Aunt Shea and I are both human, and you are our son. Of course, you are human!"

Wang Zhong laughed. Uncle Wang spoke well. No matter what, he was the son of Uncle Wang and Aunt Shea. He had grown up on Earth. He was a locally born and bred human to the core.

"Now, we have fulfilled the Holy Master's wish to join the Star Alliance. However, this is only the first step for our civilization. As a human, you also have to take on the responsibility to help it."

Aunt Shea shook her head. "In reality, we don't know much either."

Wang Zhanfeng added, "From what we have seen over the past two years, humans have benefited greatly from joining the Star Alliance. We have managed to circulate knowledge, information, and some special resources with the Alliance. However, that place is not a paradise. The Star Alliance does not place much focus on us, a level-4 civilization that has just joined them. The situation is much more complex than we had expected. Over the past two years, as we exchanged resources with other civilizations, we have always been exploited. We have no right to speak. Furthermore, it is said that many people who have gone there have either died or become slaves."

When he spoke about this, Wang Zhanfeng furrowed his eyebrows. The people who went there were the elites and the hopes of the human race. However, the Star Alliance was not as warm as a spring day to the humans.

Wang Zhong did not speak as he more or less understood. The Star Alliance had rules, but they were the rules of the strong. It was like someone from the Tutankhamun moving to the Federation. To be honest, they would probably not think much of him. They were a level-4 civilization, the lowest level to join the Star Alliance. Furthermore, the humans had advanced through their association with the Octopus people. One could imagine how they would be treated.

"We do not have any reputation in the Star Alliance, or any allies. Other than being certified as a member of the Star Alliance on their list, we are as good as transparent." Uncle Wang laughed wryly. "Now, the first step that we humans have to take is to establish some fame in the Star Alliance. We need to have a thorough grasp of the rules and control our right to speak. If not, the humans will be fully exploited before we can become a level-5 civilization."

"This will be our third year joining the Star Alliance. The list requesting for the new batch has arrived, and they require Heavenly Soul experts below 40. We need to make up for the lack of quality with quantity." Aunt Shea helplessly said, "But we cannot even gather a hundred immigrants to enroll."

When he looked at Uncle Wang and Aunt Shea's expressions, Wang Zhong knew that if they had a choice, they would definitely not ask him to come. Humans had contributed so much, only to find out that the Star Alliance was a bottomless pit. However, they still had to follow the rules. As a result, humans were stuck in a dilemma with no room to advance or retreat.

"Uncle Wang, Aunt Shea, I am also a part of the human race. Leave it to me. Living like a savage is part of my talents!" Wang Zhong laughed. Deep down, he wanted to see just what the Star Alliance was made of.

Wang Zhanfeng and Shirley looked at each other and laughed. This was Wang Zhong!

"As for what happens at home, relax. Scarlet is our daughter-in-law. No one will be able to bully her in our territory!" Aunt Shea laughed. This way, Wang Zhong would not have any fear of troubles back home.

…

There were many things to settle before heading to the Star Alliance. The first thing he had to prepare already gave Wang Zhong a huge headache as it concerned the presence of his soul companions.

According to the Patriarch Society, the transmission matrix of the Star Alliance had soul-tempering effects. To living beings, this was a blissful thing, but it was a nightmare to souls. In extreme cases, Soul Guards could completely vanish, losing their entire existence.

Wang Zhong, who had advanced to the Heavenly Soul Stage, had a different understanding towards his contract with his Soul Guards. Canceling the contract was not the problem. However, they had known one another for such a long time and were comrades. It would be nonsense to say that he did not have any feelings. However, the Patriarch Society would not mention this for no reason. With the current level of Salamander and the rest, they might completely disappear when they passed through the matrix. This might even cause them to lose their chance of reincarnation.

When it was time to be resolute, Lao Wang was not an indecisive person. Staying alive was a chance for them.

The first Soul Guard he dealt with was Big White. It was very easy to cancel his contract with it, but without the nourishment of Wang Zhong's soul, it would be very difficult for this monomer plankton to survive. Lao Wang spent a few days finding a plankton colony in a secret world with the resources of the Dimensional Hostel. With Big White's level, it was as if it would be losing its king — the simpler the dimensional lifeform, the clearer their societal system; the strong were the kings.

When they parted, they were naturally reluctant. It was rare to see Simba cry. His saddle horse was lost just like that. A clown and a plankton sobbed and cried for a long time. Lao Wang did not know whether to laugh or to cry at this sight. In fact, there were not many prospects if Big White continued to follow him. Allowing it to roam free and follow its kind was its final destination.

Then, he had to deal with Alice, Salamander, and the Headless Knight. These three were slightly more troublesome. Luckily, he had the help of the Patriarch Society. He got the two pieces of the Golden Stone Slab from the Stuart Clan. In the face of the greater situation, the Stuart Clan was rather decent. Everyone knew how important Wang Zhong was to the Holy Land and the human race.

Resistance? That did not exist. The New World could not be stopped, and this was the general trend of events. Of course, the influence of Stuart City was still present. Ma Dong could not kill all of them, and the Patriarch Society would not allow this. Furthermore, this would bring greater internal friction among the humans. Ma Dong's strategy was to slowly displace them and gradually make changes.

As for Carolyn, she had entered the Star Alliance, but there had been no news from her. Stuart City also hoped that Wang Zhong could lead the new batch there. There was hope as long as she was alive.

Uncle Zhang personally offered his help. Releasing them would not cause them to ascend to heaven, as Mo Wen had proven. Salamander and the rest would be placed in the Golden Stone Slab and live in another form. It was time to say goodbye. Salamander had the most "emotions" and came to hug Wang Zhong. Alice bowed and saluted him like a small princess, while the Headless Knight raised his spear. They were fragments of an illusion and did not have a sense of self, but they had undergone some changes during the time they were with Wang Zhong. They would not quickly disappear like fragments, but with the Golden Stone Slab, they could exist in another form. They would be able to cultivate and discover their own destiny.

Meanwhile, the Golden Stone Slab, which humans paid great attention to, was decoded by the Patriarch Society after Alice and the rest returned to their origins… It turned out the slab was more like a toy, similar to human board games. This showed the vile interests of the advanced civilizations in the Star Alliance.

As for Simba, he was not a Soul Guard. There was no soul contract between them either. If there was no normal contract relationship between Simba and Wang Zhong, how would they cancel the contract? Furthermore, their feelings were at a different level than the other Soul Guards. The two of them coexisted with each other. They were both teachers and friends to each other.

Of course, Simba had no plans to leave. The arrogant Simba looked down upon the Star Alliance matrix. He believed that he and the Fate Stone were god-like existences from the hyperdimension. He had simply saved Wang Zhong because he looked pitiful. As for the Star Alliance, he did not have to care about it. After all, Simba had made up his mind to charge his way through.

Wang Zhong also thought the same way. To be honest, with the Fate Stone, even though Wang Zhong did not look down on the strength of the Star Alliance, he did not feel that it would affect the Fate Stone. In essence, the Star Alliance was the top level in the Fifth Dimension, but the Fate Stone's performance showed that it was almost of the same level.

Charge!

...

The new batch of immigrants had gathered in the Holy City. Just like what Uncle Wang and Aunt Shea had said, it was true that there were too few people in the Holy City who fulfilled the criteria.

Humans were not lacking in Heavenly Soul experts. In fact, there were many more human Heavenly Soul Great Teachers than Wang Zhong had expected. However, if they wanted to find Heavenly Souls below the age of 40, there were very few of them. They had sent a full batch of 100 people in the first year. A majority of them came from the three ancient families — the Mo Family, the Zhang family, and the Compass Family. In the second year, the number of people decreased significantly. Lan Daier, Carolyn, and the others had just advanced to the Heavenly Soul Stage. Including Mu Zi, Aiolos, and the rest from the Empire, they had only gathered around fifty people that year.

There were even fewer people this year. They waited in the Holy City for about ten days, until the day before the deadline for immigrants. Even then, only 16 people had qualified. Although the humans had started to "induce" new Heavenly Souls, this was not like rearing pigs. They had to keep improving their resources and their methods. Furthermore, there was another reason. Some people were just observing. Were there really no more Heavenly Souls among the civilians?

Hadn't they seen it? The information was now made public everywhere. Was the Star Alliance that easy to enter? But some people preferred to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

It was said that the Octopus people had gathered 100 immigrants for all three years. Furthermore, they were in great surplus and had to organize rather intense internal selections. Meanwhile, the humans… Frankly speaking, the background of the human race was indeed very poor. After they joined the Star Alliance, all of the higher-ups knew that the human civilization was probably the weakest of the level-4 civilizations.

Civilizations that joined the Star Alliance could be split into two kinds. The first kind was the strength-type civilization that pursued individual combat ability with all their power. The other kind was the technological civilization that pursued innovations in technology and the development of resources.

By weighing these two aspects, a normal level-4 civilization would be able to easily give birth to 100 Heavenly Soul experts below the age of 40.

If not, they would need the technology and resources of a level-4 civilization, such as the most basic level-4 civilization standard: 10,000 tonnes of energy stones produced per year… My god. When Ma Dong first heard about this number, his jaw almost dropped. What did 10,000 tonnes of energy stones mean? With the secret realms and resources in their territories within the Fifth Dimension, including the Earth, and putting together all the refined energy stones they produced per year, humans would not even be able to produce 1,000 tonnes of energy stones. They needed ten times this amount.

Energy stones were the "membership fees" that every member of the Star Alliance had to pay. Humans were of little value in comparison. The Patriarch Society, who had seen a glimpse of the Star Alliance, knew that these were just frightening words to cause alarm, as there was no need to pay once they reached the Star Alliance. However, humans were able to join the Star Alliance, not because of how strong they were, but because of how special humans were.

Humans were a rare low-leveled civilization that was of the "celestial" level. This meant that the human race took on a similar pattern to the peak civilizations in the Star Alliance. This was also why the "myths" on Earth were so complex, unlike other civilizations that only had one version, or two versions that were in opposition with each other. The humans… had really been spoiled.

Perhaps this special characteristic had attracted the Star Alliance and gave the humans an almost charitable opportunity. Needless to say, the Patriarch Society, who understood this truth, was deeply worried. It was fine if they did not know about it as they could be as happy as a frog in a well. But now that they had managed to leap out, they had to face the reality. Not running away was also one of the merits of the human civilization.

Sixteen young Heavenly Soul experts were gathered in the transmission hall. Everyone wore the same uniform, which was made out of some strange scales. Wang Zhong had tried to rip apart the scales, but he was unable to do so with just his hands. It was said that it was a special material from the Star Alliance. It was rather sturdy and very light. The entire set of clothing only weighed over ten grams. Furthermore, they also had a small pouch that was also made out of the scales. This would be their wallets, and everyone had 50 black Star Coins that were square-shaped inside their pouches. The symbol of the Star Alliance was engraved on the surface of these coins. Star Coins were the basic currency that was circulated in the Star Alliance.

Star Coins were not just a form of currency, but also an energy bundle. According to how Ma Dong and the rest valued these 50 small Star Coins, they would be enough to buy a very large shop in the middle of the Holy City. However, they were not sure what the purchasing power of these coins were in the Star Alliance.

However, Wang Zhong's pouch was evidently bulging. Ma Dong had used his resources to obtain 50 more Star Coins for him, while Uncle Wang and Aunt Shea gave him another 50 Star Coins. They did not seem like much, but this was the limit of their abilities. Star Coins were still a rather rare resource to the humans in the Holy City. They had paid a heavy price to obtain the Star Coins they currently possessed from other civilizations as research material. Thus, they were relatively few in number.

The crew that was supposed to be mobilized had been mobilized, while the affairs they had to hand over were settled. Other than a few staff who were busy controlling the transmission array, there was no one else in the hall.

Wang Zhong looked around. This batch of people seemed very young. The average age was around 30 years old, while the youngest was 24 or 25 years old. They were all excellent sons and daughters from ancient families in the Holy City. However, frankly speaking, their strength was rather ordinary. They were probably "catalyzed" products that had been made in haste.

There was no need to compare them to people like him and Aiolos. Even Carolyn and the other exploration team leaders who had entered the Star Alliance over the past two years were much older in comparison. If they were able to advance to the Heavenly Soul Stage in their twenties, even if they relied on alternative methods, it was not difficult to see their natural talents. However, this method was akin to pulling shoots to help them grow, or killing chickens to obtain the eggs. One could see that the Holy City was at their wits' end. The position of the human civilization in the Star Alliance was already very awkward. If they were unable to send any immigrants, they would probably completely lose their presence in the Star Alliance and enter an even more vicious cycle.

The Patriarch Society had no choice either. It was taking into consideration the overall situation, even if they wasted a few talents; once they overcame these few years, successfully developed the star stones, and fully developed new cultivation environments by referencing other civilizations — humans would naturally catch up. Gradually, things would take a turn for the better.

While the staff was busy, the young Heavenly Souls quietly chatted with one another. They had come from different human territories in the Fifth Dimension. They knew one another's names, but they were not familiar with one another. At that moment, they started to build friendships with one another. They were about to head towards an unknown, new territory, and they were all from the human race. Having someone they knew would be a good thing.

"Are you Senior Wang Zhong?" A young Heavenly Soul warmly stretched out his hand towards Wang Zhong. "I am Wales Karon. I have heard your mighty name many times over the past two years in the Holy City."

The Karon Family could be considered one of the established families in the Holy City. In terms of strength, they were comparable to the 10 Great Families in the Federation. Although they did not set foot on Earth, they had two medium-sized secret-realm territories in the Fifth Dimension. Wales Karon was one of the geniuses of his generation.

"Our ages do not differ much. Don't call me Senior." Wang Zhong smiled and shook hands with him. This was interesting. Even though he was no longer at the Holy City, his legend still lived on.