Global Awakening: I'm the Only One Ready

Zhou Yunqiong decisively summoned Uncle Zuo.

”Young Miss, what are your orders?” Uncle Zuo asked, looking as respectful as always. His aura revealed he was an Unfettered Realm expert. He was exceptionally powerful, having shattered at least ten genetic shackles.

”Have you seen the news regarding the Three Immortal Islands?” Zhou Yunqiong asked softly, having regained her calm composure.

”I have.” Uncle Zuo nodded. ”Lu Yuan forced those three islands into submission by himself. Even Golden Body Realm experts weren’t his match. He is very strong.”

Even now, he remained shocked by the news. Before the Global Awakening, he had met Lu Yuan once. Back then, the young man was just an ordinary young man.

Afterward, he soared to the skies like a comet, growing even stronger as time went on.

Now, he actually forced the Three Immortal Islands into submission all by himself. How could that not be shocking?

”Lu Yuan will definitely become a powerhouse in the future. The Zhou Family cannot afford to let him slip away,” Zhou Yunqiong said after a brief moment of contemplation.

”We must win him over and convince him to set aside past grievances.”

She knew she could not delay any longer. Although the Zhou Family had established contact with the Celestials and the Ji Clan, she couldn’t ignore a powerhouse who grew strong alone in this world.

She also had some plans for the future. If Lu Yuan worked with her, her plans would surely proceed smoothly. She had to win him over.

”Young Miss, I fear that will be difficult,” Uncle Zuo replied, frowning.

He recalled Lu Yuan as extremely domineering. Anyone who had provoked him was met with immediate and merciless retaliation. He harbored dissatisfaction against the Winged Celestial God and the Zhou Family. Convincing him to set aside grievances would be hard.

”You will not just talk to him,” Zhou Yunqiong said. ”Choose a few divine artifacts from the family collection. Offer them as a gesture of sincerity to resolve the misunderstanding between us.”

She also believed Lu Yuan once held feelings for her. With that sentiment and a few divine artifacts, she could surely dispel the resentment in his heart, even if he remained largely dissatisfied with them.

Once that was done, she could eventually speak to him personally.

Winning him over would surely not prove difficult by then.

”Understood.” Uncle Zuo nodded, showing no hesitation at all. ”Do you need me to make a trip to Mount Tai Trials Academy?”

”Not just you; Yi has to go as well. Bring Yi with you,” Zhou Yunqiong said, ”Since we’re going there to resolve a misunderstanding, we must be sincere. Have him apologize to Lu Yuan.”

In her mind, Lu Yuan’s value had already surpassed that of the Winged Celestial God, which was why she made this decision. She also believed that what had happened at Mount Li was somehow connected to the Winged Celestial God.

If she were to make the one responsible for those incidents apologize to him, wouldn’t that show Lu Yuan that she was truly sincere?

”That’s... The Celestials will be here soon. Won’t doing that displease them?” Uncle Zuo asked, looking somewhat hesitant.

”It doesn’t matter. I’ve been in contact with a prodigy among the Celestials, and there won’t be any issues at all,” Zhou Yunqiong said, shaking her head.

The so-called Winged Celestial God was merely a chess piece in her plans. Upon being in contact with much stronger individuals, she no longer placed much importance on him.

Furthermore, she had the backing of the Ji Clan. The Ji Clan from that distant starfield valued her bloodline greatly, and they had already hinted at that to the Celestials.

Zhou Yunqiong had nothing to worry about. Her very own bloodline was her greatest asset, after all.

”Understood.” Uncle Zuo nodded. Just then, he thought of something and asked, ”What if... Lu Yuan’s attitude remains unchanged?”

”You mean if he refuses to accept it?” Zhou Yunqiong paused and simply looked at him.

”I understand.” Uncle Zuo bowed and left the room.

Zhou Yunqiong sat on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought while staring at the news article before her.

***

Mount Tai Trials Academy.

Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and two more elders from the top echelons walked into a detached building within the Mount Tai Trials Academy grounds. Lu Yuan sat across from them, looking helpless. He remained silent and listened quietly.

”King Lu, we’ve already made arrangements concerning the people from the Three Immortal Islands. Those at the Unfettered Realm and above will proceed to the Aurora Academy branches to serve as instructors or assistant teachers.

”As for the breathing techniques and visualization methods that they’ve donated to us, we’ve found that they’re complete and can be taught to the students as long as they are talented enough for them,” said Elder Wu. He oversaw the Aurora Academy’s overall curriculum for the sake of training future Awakened.

His eyes shone with unmistakable excitement as he spoke. After all, he knew they could certainly cultivate more talents now that they had fresh blood and many more resources at their disposal.

Elder Wu truly hadn’t anticipated that the foundations of the Three Immortal Islands would be so deep. Their integration into the nation was a timely and invaluable aid, akin to receiving charcoal during a snowstorm.

Of course, all of this was thanks to King Lu.

Having learned from past mistakes, he had already made the decision to focus more resources on a select few individuals. They had to groom genuine powerhouses to hold the fort, after all.

”The Sect Masters of the Three Immortal Islands have also expressed that we can ask for their help whenever we need,” Elder Yun chimed in, smiling. ”If those beast kings ever dare to cause any trouble in the future, we can readily respond to their threats.”

The Three Immortal Islands had Golden Body Realm experts, after all. With such powerful allies, the nation’s strength had increased dramatically. Given enough time, they would only grow stronger and could handle more crises in the future.

”Actually, you can handle these matters however you see fit. There’s no need to ask for my opinion,” Lu Yuan finally replied, sounding helpless.

There was no helping it. Nowadays, the top echelons would always inform him of anything relevant and would always ask him for his opinion.

It made him feel as though he were the true éminence grise behind the scenes.

He couldn’t care less about such things, and he even found them to be quite troublesome. After all, authority was quite useless without sufficient strength. In the end, one’s own strength was what mattered the most.

”Yes, we understand,” Elder Ji and the others replied. Of course, their true thoughts remained unknown. In their eyes, the nation’s stability was entirely thanks to Lu Yuan.

Hence, they felt obligated to keep him informed when it came to any relevant news. They knew that they had to resolve all the minor issues on their own.

The nation was still growing more powerful as time went on, but it could already claim to be unparalleled in the world when it came to powerful Awakened.

The officials had to become powerful themselves, as it would be awkward for them to be weaker than the Awakened beneath them.

Elder Ji and the others left the building to attend to their duties. They knew this was the best time to become even stronger.

After all, they had no idea when those beings from the Outer Cosmos would descend. Once they were here, they would serve as the real test of the nation’s strength.

Lu Yuan shook his head. Now that the ongoing issue was resolved, he had to handle the crisis that would come after the second Global Awakening—the arrival of those from the Outer Cosmos.

Those entities weren’t like the natives of this world, and it would be difficult to handle them. The powerhouses of the great clans in the starfields outside were terrifying. They were formidable with virtually an endless number of divine arts.

Lu Yuan had to become even stronger.

He couldn’t remain at the Unfettered Realm any longer.

Conveniently, he was only eight genetic shackles away from shattering 108 genetic shackles to reach the ultimate peak of the Unfettered Realm. Afterward, Lu Yuan believed he could easily reach the Golden Body Realm.

Upon reaching the Golden Body Realm, he would obtain the ability to fly, and his physique would transform. He’d become substantially stronger. Afterward, he would reach the fifth stage of evolution, the Venerable King Realm.

Reaching the Venerable King Realm meant becoming a true king. By then, one could escape the constraints of gravity and survive briefly in the cosmos to truly transcend the limits of humanity!

Lu Yuan knew he had to move quickly. He had been staying at the Unfettered Realm for quite some time now. Having made up his mind, Lu Yuan began his approach to the Golden Body Realm.

Eight genetic shackles were basically nothing. He required no assistance from any divine artifact, as his deep foundation was more than enough to shatter eight genetic shackles.

However, this was the final step, so the process would take some time, but it was fine. Lu Yuan had plenty of time to spare.

***

While Lu Yuan was busy with his efforts to reach the peak of the Unfettered Realm, the officials finally established a standardized path that the Awakened could take on the path of evolution.

Fortunately, the Three Immortal Islands were there to help, which made things easier for them.

At the same time, the Aurora Academy’s branches in the five supercities started recruiting students with renewed enthusiasm.

They also gave more resources to talents like Ice Fairy, Zhu Qingyu, and Chunyang, hoping that they would reach the Unfettered Realm soon and begin making their way to the next stage of evolution.

Elder Ji and the others formulated a series of plans, aiming to create a powerful organization of Awakened. The organization would be similar to the Wanglong Pavilion; the only difference was that it would be composed of the cream of the crop geniuses of the nation.

If one wanted to become a part of it, one had to go through many different trials and pass. This organization would become the core organization of Huaxia.

The organization needed a leader. They already had someone in mind for the position, so they immediately sought out Lu Yuan and asked him to assume the role.

Of course, he didn’t have to do anything troublesome. They just wanted to use his name, as the officials would handle the specifics.

After some thought, Lu Yuan decided to accept the offer. The officials needed an idol-like figure to inspire students and geniuses alike. At present, he was indeed the perfect fit.

When it came to naming the organization, however, everyone was at a loss for words. They couldn’t make a decision. Many suggestions were raised, but all were rejected. In the end, they turned to Lu Yuan for his opinion.

At first, Lu Yuan felt helpless, but then he was reminded of the Celestial Emperor’s ancient token stored in his sea of consciousness.

”The Celestial Court,” he suggested.

Elder Ji and the others didn’t deliberate long before agreeing. They also found it to be quite apropos. The legendary Celestial Court truly was the perfect fit to represent Huaxia. From then on, those capable enough of passing the many different trials could become a part of the Celestial Court.

Naturally, the Lord of the Celestial Court was Lu Yuan.

The Celestial Court was an organization far stronger than the Wanglong Pavilion. In fact, it was the true core of Huaxia. For the time being, however, it only had one member—Lu Yuan.

Despite their talent and bloodline, Ice Fairy, Chunyang, and the others couldn’t make the cut. If they wanted to become a part of the Celestial Court, they had to become even stronger, which would take some time.

Soon, news of the Celestial Court’s creation spread to the Aurora Academy’s branches. When students learned that Lu Yuan was the leader, they grew excited, eager to join the organization. They wanted to stand next to King Lu.

This was the power of an idol, as it meant a goal to strive for. It was indeed an ingenious idea courtesy of Elder Ji and the others.

Of course, Lu Yuan paid no attention to any of that and remained in seclusion at Mount Tai Trials Academy. Over the following days, he shattered five more genetic shackles. He only had to shatter three more genetic shackles to reach the peak.

Just as Lu Yuan was about to continue his breakthrough, he received word that Zhou Yunqiong had sent someone to talk to him.