According to later research, that mist, incomprehensible to this day, had not seeped into the Solar System—at least not within observable frequency bands. Under some mechanism humanity at the time could not understand, this mist of unknown origin and unknown nature had completely enveloped the outside of the Solar System.
It neither crossed Neptune's orbit nor failed to wrap the Solar System up tight and fast.
From this day forward, the river of stars vanished, and heaven and earth underwent vast changes. Looking up, humanity could no longer see the boundless starry river. Every star and celestial body had been obscured. Only the sun still shone in the sky, and only the reflected light of several major planets remained barely visible.
Humanity's connection with the cosmic deep space beyond the Solar System was completely severed by a mass of mist. The entire Solar System was like it had been locked in a cosmic-scale dark room, utterly unable to glimpse the scenery outside.
Of course, if that had been all, it would not have amounted to much. For the vast majority of humanity, not seeing them was simply not seeing them. In any case, as industry developed, Earthlings had gradually found it difficult to see the stars as well.
Even in this world, if the air had not been clean and the weather clear last night, and if it had not been late enough for the ground's light to dim, Shi Tiexin likewise would not have seen the stars, much less considered their absence anything strange.
But the changes far exceeded humanity's prior expectations.
On January 22, 1919, an Origin Sage was born. On the very day the Solar System entered the mist zone, the Origin Sage enlightened humanity, lectured on the Way for twelve days, passed down the great path of Martial Arts cultivation, and kindled the flames of legendary evolution. From that day onward, Martial Arts revived, stepping out of history's yellowed paper heaps and into a new age.
Moreover, compared to the ancient Martial Arts and ancient national arts of the past, the new Martial Arts passed down by the Origin Sage were immensely powerful, had an extremely low threshold, and consumed far less. So long as one wished to practice Martial Arts, almost anyone could do so.
The balance of power among nations underwent earth-shaking changes from this day forward. Martial Arts shattered science's monopoly, which had stood unshaken since the Industrial Revolution, and became a brand-new source of strength for humanity on Earth.
After enlightening the world, the Origin Sage drifted away into seclusion, vanishing into the starry sky. After the Origin Sage, sages emerged generation after generation among humanity. Shi Tiexin could not fully explain who humanity's sages truly were, because his Natural History was only at the first realm, Good. But he knew of at least one Science Sage, a teacher for all ages.
Beyond the great path of Martial Arts, this Science Sage expanded the great path of science. This sage closely linked the mind-energy cultivation method passed down by the Origin Sage with the study and research of scientific knowledge, opening up a complete and powerful new path of mind-energy cultivation.
The Six Fundamental Mind Arts Shi Tiexin cultivated today could be traced back to the Science Sage's organization and creation.
From then on, study and cultivation became one. If one studied well and conducted research well, one's cultivation realm would naturally rise level by level, smashing through barriers like bamboo splitting. From that point onward, scientists and Martial Artists became incomparably tightly integrated to a certain extent. The fixed image of martial men as brainless, skilled only at fighting and killing but not creation, was completely overturned.
Countless people of extraordinary talent threw themselves into cultivation and study. As they could see themselves growing stronger and touch their own evolution, the entire populace's enthusiasm for scientific research surged to unprecedented heights. Generation after generation of heaven's favored talents pressed forward one after another, continuously pushing the limits of cultivation and the boundaries of science ahead together, and humanity's technological level became more powerful than ever before.
Besides the Science Sage, several other sages had emerged among humanity. Every one of them profoundly and thoroughly changed humanity's state of existence; one could even say they completely reshaped humanity's worldview. Shi Tiexin vaguely knew that the final sage to emerge was the Time-Space Sage, and the appearance of "secret realms" bore a close karmic connection to the Time-Space Sage.
And beyond the extremely limited number of sages, many sub-sages took the place of the stars of the firmament, illuminating the entire heavens. Though these sub-sages could not change all humanity as sages could, each was able to reshape rules and transform the world within a smaller sphere.
Individual power rose steadily, while technological standards advanced by leaps and bounds. Theoretical achievements emerged without cease, and the speed at which they were realized exceeded imagination. Humanity's horizons and standing climbed at a pace far beyond every era throughout all of history.
As naturally as water flowed into its channel, humanity broke free of Earth and began exploring the Solar System on a massive scale.
From Venus, nearest the sun, to Uranus, farthest from the sun, humanity's footprints spread everywhere. Extraterrestrial colonies expanded one after another, and artificial celestial bodies were built one after another. Other than the mist zone beyond Uranus's orbit, humanity had made the entire Solar System flourish with bustling vigor.
Amid this enormous opportunity for development and this new social landscape, all old systems and rules no longer matched the speed of human progress. In 1941, humanity's nations cast aside past grievances and shelved disputes amid various internal and external factors, establishing the Human Federation and joining hands to enter an era of great development.
Thus, humanity rapidly entered its golden age.
Mind arts and force arts advanced together; science and divine arts coexisted. Wherever the sun shone was humanity's domain. Beyond the sunlight lay the territory of mist.
This immense tide of the age far surpassed any literary revolution, Industrial Revolution, or technological revolution in history. No one knew whether the Origin Sage's enlightenment was connected to the sudden mist, but the old system of dating was completely abandoned.
January 22, 1919—a historical turning point inscribed within the secret tome of Natural History.
On this day, the Common Era ended, and the New Era began.
Humanity bid farewell to the old days and entered the Era of Mist.
Yet this world had no intention of entering the Era of Mist at all. The stars of the firmament remained, the many nations remained, and wars and conflicts remained. There was no Origin Sage, no force arts or mind arts, no technological explosion.
What exactly was going on?
Where exactly had he come to?
Moreover, when Shi Tiexin had asked Zhou Nan about the calendar last night, he discovered something else that was neither unexpected nor lacking in intrigue.
That was, the year here was not the same as the year on his side.
Beginning in 1919, the Old Era was abolished, and humanity began dating years according to the brand-new New Era calendar. Shi Tiexin remembered it clearly: just a few days ago, Tumubao had held a grand "Mist Centenary" celebration. The event had been spectacular. It was said that from Central Star—Earth—to the farthest reaches of Uranus, there had been grand revelries and all manner of activities.
There could be no mistake. On Shi Tiexin's side, it was precisely the Mist Centenary. Converted to the Western calendar, it should have been 2019. But Zhou Nan said it was 2020 here. In other words, time here was about a year later than on his side.
Shi Tiexin himself had vaguely noticed that the body he had descended into was a year older than he was. It was both unexpected and not unexpected; after all, something like transmigration had already happened, so what was impossible?
But strange as it was, it truly was strange, leaving Shi Tiexin with an exceedingly subtle feeling.
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