Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Your argument is too arbitrary!

Li Yao said solemnly, “I believe that the Primeval Race a hundred thousand years later should be different from the early homo sapiens a hundred thousand years ago. Otherwise, wouldn’t our evolution over the past hundred thousand years have been in vain? The Primeval Race, which boasts extraordinary technology and wisdom, should have developed a higher level of ethics and the social laws of the universe and come up with a way to make multiple civilizations live in harmony. That is the pursuit of a god-level civilization!

“An arbitrary decision?”

The voice said coldly, “Don’t forget that the communication of civilizations is two-way. Wars are the best catalysts for a civilization to catch up. The alien species and the low-level civilizations may seem weak, but they have immeasurable potential, too. It’s just that they never needed to be activated before.

“Right now, with the conquest of the Primeval Race, the potential and desires of all the surviving alien species and the low-level civilizations have been fully activated. It is more likely that they will learn more about the high-level civilizations from the captives of the Primeval Race, including the war machines that they captured, and see the direction of their evolution clearly.

“From the Homo sapiens who wielded bone spears and stone axes to the Primeval Lord of Heaven who dominated the sea of stars, it only took us hundreds of thousands of years. Who knows whether or not the alien species in space who were born with powerful techniques could ‘mutate’ in such a short period of time and turn their civilization hundreds of levels higher into our greatest enemy again?

“Don’t say that it’s impossible. Tens of thousands of years ago, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was merely lurking in the tentacles of the Void Hunters and around the breathing holes of the giant crab. He was shivering and trying to curry favor with us in exchange for some leftovers that he could barely keep alive. Who would’ve thought that we would defeat the previous dominator after only tens of thousands of years?

“If we don’t set ten thousand feet right now and stop the dominators of the past from making a comeback, who knows whether or not they will reenact our rise and overthrow the reign of the Primeval Race? By then, I’m afraid that the Primeval Civilization will not get a second chance.

“Well—”

Li Yao was lost for words.

“Besides, how do you intend to ‘peacefully coexist’ with the alien species and the low-level civilizations?

The voice continued, “It must be noted that, when the Ultimate Order of Destruction was about to be issued, the Primeval Civilization had already conquered countless fertile universes, demolished the nests of thousands of alien species and the temples of the low-level civilizations, and reproduced in the natural paradises as the rightful masters. Should we return the new worlds that we seized at the cost of billions of warriors and our blood and sweat? Impossible! But if we don’t return the conquered territories, how can we talk about peace?

“Even if the issue of living space can be negotiated, what about the lives lost? Many species have lost more than half of their population in the war. How are they going to pay back and forget such hatred?

“Should we say to the alien species and the low-level civilizations that are full of hatred, ‘I’m sorry that we destroyed your home, killed your family, and wiped out your brilliant civilization’? But it’s all in the past now. We can lay down our weapons and talk about peace now. Although we are not going to return your home to you, nor are we going to revive your family who died miserably, we can prepare a new reservation for you in the desolate land where resources are scarce. You can start a new life there. As long as you don’t try to develop a higher civilization in case you create a weapon that can threaten us, we can turn a blind eye to it and simply ignore you.

“Do you want the Primeval Civilization to become such a hypocritical ‘cosmic police’?

“Or should we castrate the alien species in space and the low-level civilizations to a certain extent and modify their brains and nerves? Or should we even alter their physiology and force them to forget their past and transform them into something more docile, cute, and non-aggressive with our ethics and social rules so that they can live a ‘happily’ life with us?

“Of course, ideally speaking, we shouldn’t have started a war of conquest against the Universe Ocean in the first place. In such a case, there wouldn’t have been an unresolvable grudge, and peace, communication, and development would’ve been possible. However, if we hadn’t started the war, how would we have been able to survive? How could the humiliation of our race be washed away? How could the glory of the past be restored?

Li Yao thought for a long time and was rendered speechless.

“Admit it. Aggression and the desire to conquer are the most precious things for a civilization. A civilization that has lost its aggressiveness and the desire to conquer is like a louse or a castrated pet dog. It has no dignity, no pride, and no meaning of existence at all. Compared to forcibly depriving a civilization of its aggressiveness and achieving false peace through brainwashing, it is more satisfying and dignified to destroy the civilization directly.

The voice said, “Survival of the fittest. Such a rule is still valid in the universe. We and them have no other options.

“If—”

Li Yao took a deep, deep breath on the level of his soul. “What if I don’t want to choose the ‘Great Extinction Order’?”

“Then—”

The voice asked, “Do you have a better way?”

“No.”

Li Yao said, “I’m not a wise man, nor am I the leader of a broad-minded universe. I’m just an ordinary human being. I can’t think of a better way, but I’m not willing to make such... the worst choice, either. It is like I would rather starve to death than kill my own kind and eat their meat even if I can’t find anything to eat.

“But the alien species and the low-level civilizations are not our kind at all.

The voice said, “It is understandable that you are not willing to abandon your compatriots on billions of Earths in your first mistake, but your persistence right now is completely unreasonable. Are you going to project your brilliance that is as brilliant as the Virgin Mary on things such as the ‘Void Hunters’ and the ‘Mountain Giant Crab’? Even the hideous monsters that look like devils are objects of your overwhelming sympathy?

Li Yao was silent.

He did not know what he was trying to do.

Maybe because he had been an orphan since childhood, although he seemed to enjoy solo adventures, he was particularly scared of loneliness.

He liked the joy of being surrounded by his family and friends, and he liked the feeling of fighting for everyone even more!

The sea of stars was too vast and too dark and cold. It would be too lonely if the civilization of mankind was the only thing that existed.

If a civilization existed alone, who would it show its brilliance to? What was the significance of the persistence, progress, creation, and prosperity of a civilization? Even if such a civilization could exist forever, was it really ‘happily’?

However, the voice did have a point. The war had broken out, and the damage had been dealt. At the very least, there had been no evilness in the war in the beginning. Even Li Yao, as stubborn as he was, could not say that there was anything wrong with the struggle of the Primordial Beginning Clan for their own survival.

The war had reached the point of extinction. The seeds of anger, hatred, and suspicion had been planted in the hearts of all the survivors. How was the dark forest bound by the chains of suspicion going to be resolved?

Li Yao could not understand what was going on.

The voice was surprisingly silent for a long time. When it appeared again, it was apparently tired.

“I’m sorry. I’ve wasted a lot of my computational ability on other ‘testing fields’.

The voice said, “Another tester has failed.”

“What?”

Li Yao was so shocked that he almost jumped up. “Who is it? Is it—”

“Rest assured. It is not your own kind, but the Nuwa Clan named ‘Long Lianzi’.

The voice said, “The subspecies named ‘Nuwa’ is very similar to the aggressive and high-spirited Primeval Clan. It’s a pity that they are too undisciplined and sentimental. They lack the ruthlessness and tenacity to survive no matter what. In the end, they were wiped out by the counterattack of the alien species in space.

Li Yao sighed with mixed feelings.

The two commanders of the Pangu Clan and the Nuwa Clan were both godlike figures. If it were a different time and situation, they both had the potential to be the dominators of an area and fight against him for three hundred rounds.

He did not expect that he would die so quickly and miserably in the ultimate test.

“Then...”

His mouth was dry. He didn’t know whether or not he should ask, and he didn’t know whether or not his voice would answer. “How are my companions?”

“Rest assured. Up until now, your compatriots have been performing quite well. After all, in terms of genes, you are all 100% Primeval Beings. You just haven’t activated all your abilities yet.

The voice said, “Two of the testers performed exceptionally well and have surpassed the level of Dustless. It is very likely that they will pass the test and receive the heritage of our race.

“Really?”

Li Yao was overjoyed. “Which two?”

“In your names...”

The voice replied, “Lu Qingchen and the mental devil.”

“What?”

“Especially Lu Qingchen.

His voice couldn’t conceal his satisfaction and admiration. “Compared to you, he is simply a natural-born leader. He is a commander-in-chief who can lead his clansmen to lurk and explore in the darkness of ten thousand years and soar into the sky in the end to conquer the universe. During the entire process of evolution and conquest, he barely made any mistakes. He didn’t need my advice at all. Even before the test system came up with the strategy of ‘abandoning 95% of the Earthlings’ and ‘Great Extinction Order’, he had already thought of it on his own. Moreover, he was much more thorough and resolute than us. The series of strategies and arrangements he showed in the war of conquest also proved that he was absolutely capable of making good use of our heritage and was one of the most suitable candidates to fight against the Flood Tide.

“The mental devil was not bad, either. Although it was not as good as Lu Qingchen in regard to the big picture and leadership, it was even better in regard to strategical schemes and brutality. He did not make any mistakes and made the choice to ‘abandon most of the Earthlings’ and the ‘Obliteration Order’ without any hesitation.

“Right now, the two testers are in the lead and about to reach the finish line. If you want the legacy of the Primeval Civilization, you will have to try your best!