After tens of thousands of years of development, Angel Civilization had advanced from the most primitive Cold Weapon Era into the Gene Era. As their technology continued to improve, they suddenly discovered that the "conventional" energy sources people knew—such as nuclear power, solar power, and electricity—were no longer sufficient to support the operation of certain large-scale equipment.
So, in order to find new alternative energy sources, the angels turned their gaze toward the unknown universe.
The universe was accelerating in its expansion; this was common knowledge. But that raised a question. The universe was so vast and immense that nothing people knew of, including supernovas, could possibly accomplish such a thing. Did that mean some mysterious force, still unknown to humanity, must exist in the universe?
With this bold hypothesis, the Scientific Research Council of the Heavenly Palace began continuously exploring the universe while researching and consulting texts from ancient civilizations. At last, they learned what this entirely new cosmic force was—Dark Energy.
Research by the Scientific Research Council showed that 27 percent of the universe was composed of something called dark matter. Like glue, it connected all matter in the universe together, forming an enormous cosmic framework.
However, part of that dark matter was disappearing, and Dark Energy was what caused it to vanish. Gaps appeared in the framework, indirectly revealing why the universe was accelerating its expansion.
Dark Energy was extremely violent and uncontrollable. It was no easy task to make it as docile as those "conventional" energy sources. In order to find a way, Angel Civilization expended enormous amounts of time and resources, and also discovered the era-defying physical law known as the Dark Conversion Constancy Theory...
After more than two months of emergency "cramming," though his primary purpose had been to deal with the Old Angel King's assessment, Hua Zhen had not come away empty-handed. Setting aside the obscure explanations and headache-inducing data equations, he had at least developed some understanding of this so-called Dark Conversion Constancy Theory.
Take a First Generation Super Warrior, for example. Through the Gene Engine inside the body, it absorbed Dark Energy and transformed it into various abilities. The energy released afterward remained constant. In other words, however much it absorbed was how much it released. There would be no ridiculous situations from novels where someone erupted with strength beyond their level and released more powerful energy.
The same applied to a Second Generation Super Warrior. As science and technology improved and the genes were upgraded, more algorithms and computing power were implanted into the engine, and the speed and intensity with which it absorbed Dark Energy increased accordingly.
After that came the Third and Fourth Generation Divine Body, and even the Sacred Body. At that point, Super Warriors could store the Dark Energy they absorbed to maintain the functions of their divine bodies, but they still had to abide by the Dark Conversion Constancy Theory!
The person who proposed the Dark Conversion Constancy Theory had not been some scientific giant of Angel Civilization. No one knew who they were, but in Hua Zhen's eyes, that person had been a genius. It was precisely because of their contribution that ordinary people could develop methods to harness Dark Energy. Improvements in genetic technology had thus extended lifespans to several thousand, even tens of thousands, of years.
Some people might not understand why, after technology advanced, Dark Energy could allow people to break free of the shackles of lifespan and live so long.
Speaking of that, one had to mention the great physicist Ke Zhen'e... No, Schrödinger. Of course, this was not about his cat, but rather one of the most despairing physical laws he had ever proposed—"Life feeds on negative entropy and ultimately marches toward death!"
Entropy increase was defined in physics as a spontaneous process of development from order toward disorder. Negative entropy, meanwhile, meant a decrease in entropy, a measure of a material system's state of becoming ordered, organized, and complex!
What Schrödinger meant was that the human body was a vast storehouse of chemical reactions. Life's metabolic processes were based on biochemical reactions. From a certain perspective, the meaning of life lay in its ability to resist its own entropy increase—in other words, its ability to decrease entropy.
The most typical example was eating. We drew "negative entropy" from food to maintain the order of life.
But! Spontaneous and non-spontaneous processes coexisted and depended on each other in the body's biochemical activities. Because entropy increase was inevitable, living organisms would constantly return from order to disorder, eventually aging and dying irreversibly. That really was despairing, wasn't it?
Yet the proposal of the Dark Conversion Constancy Theory allowed ordinary people to control Dark Energy through the Gene System. The "negative entropy" drawn from Dark Energy was countless times more powerful than that obtained through eating and similar actions. Because of this, the rate at which living organisms aged was greatly reduced, allowing ordinary people to break free of the shackles of lifespan!
This was the power of science!
Thinking of this, Hua Zhen could not help sighing inwardly. Fortunately, I transmigrated into a world where technology reigns supreme. If I'd ended up in some Cold Weapon Era, forget whether I could return home—even living past a hundred would be uncertain!
He rubbed his chin. Wanting to go home isn't something I can rush. Young people should stay grounded. First, I'll set a small goal, like upgrading myself into a Sacred Body or something. Infinite resurrection, immortal and indestructible... Hehehe... heh...
...Eh? That wasn't right. Wasn't I supposed to be reviewing my "lessons"? How had my thoughts drifted somewhere so strange just from reading? Damn it, I always got distracted whenever I studied. This habit really couldn't be changed.
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Hua Zhen activated the Light Energy Projection from his storage device. His fingertips moved continuously as he began flipping through the material again.
He did not know how much time had passed when a strange fragrance suddenly rushed into his nostrils, nearly suffocating him into falling over.
"Ah~~ damn! What the hell is that smell..." He pinched his nose, but stopped halfway through his sentence. A pair of exquisite gold-carved boots had appeared before his eyes. He instinctively looked up, and when he saw who it was, Hua Zhen suddenly had the urge to curse. Fuck, is this never going to end?
Hua Ye looked him over with great interest for a while before casually sitting beside him. Throwing an arm around his shoulders, he teased, "Hey, you little brat, you've really got airs. Is it really that hard to get to know you? Sending someone over to call you didn't work either!"
His tone was dripping with sarcasm, like some street thug.
Before Hua Zhen could say anything, the little fatty Hua Xiong suddenly jumped out again and pointed at his nose. "You made me embarrass myself in front of so many people, Hua Zhen! You're too despicable! Just wait until I tell Father King!"
The red marks running from his forehead to his chin had yet to fade. The fat on his cheeks trembled wildly whenever he spoke, and he looked so arrogant that it was as though he wanted to vent every bit of anger Hua Ye had caused him onto Hua Zhen.
Hua Zhen could not be bothered to argue with this little brat. He could no longer stand the suffocating fragrance coming off Hua Ye. A grown man wearing lipstick was bad enough, but he had sprayed on so much perfume too. Had he come to celebrate the Old Angel King's birthday, or to compete for the title of chief courtesan? Did he think he was some proud little peacock?
With a look of disgust, Hua Zhen slapped away the arm draped over his shoulder, then turned to Gus and knowingly asked, "Gus, who's this heavily made-up guy?"
"Hua Zhen, you..."
"What's with you? Blabbering away like that—go stand off to the side!" Hua Zhen snapped at the little fatty as though shooing away a fly.
"I..."
Gus was nearly frantic with worry. The First Prince clearly had ill intentions, but instead of handling things carefully, His Highness had chosen to confront him head-on. Wasn't that just asking to be bullied?
"Your Highness, this is the First Prince I mentioned to you before..." As Gus spoke, he did not forget to shoot his own prince frantic looks.
"What did you say?" Hua Zhen widened his eyes in exaggerated shock. "Th-this is my big brother, who handles ten thousand concubines every day!!"
"..."
Gus wanted nothing more than to rush over and crack him on the head. At a time like this, he was still cracking jokes.
Hua Ye looked at Hua Zhen with a sleazy grin, as though he did not care in the slightest. The smile at the corners of his lips only deepened.
He stood up and placed a hand over Hua Zhen's little head, giving it two rough rubs. "That little mouth of yours really doesn't spare anyone. You don't even recognize your big brother. How exactly have you been getting by in the Heavenly Palace?"
Caught off guard by such treatment, Hua Zhen froze at first. Then his little face instantly darkened. He had never expected this Peacock Man named Hua Ye to disregard his status and bully a child like him in front of so many people in the great hall.
A man's head was like a tiger's ass—it was not to be touched. The Left Wing King had been the exception. Did he really think I was some soft persimmon he could squeeze whenever he wanted?
Gus could not help clenching his fists. What he had worried about had indeed happened. Seeing Hua Zhen being bullied like this, he could not stand by any longer. Gritting his teeth, he said, "First Prince, please do not blame His Highness. You have been fighting abroad, so His Highness has never met you. It is only natural for him to be unfamiliar..."
"Was my prince speaking to you?" Su Ma Li reached out and wrapped an arm around Gus's shoulders. His action looked intimate, but those phoenix eyes of his were filled with provocation. He had not forgotten being told to get lost by Gus earlier.
"Su Ma Li!!"
Hua Ye paid them no attention. He increased the force of his hand, mussing Hua Zhen's hair into a bird's nest before smacking his lips. "Oh? Look at those eyes. Old Third, that's not right. Your big brother asked you a question, so why aren't you answering?"
He looked as though he would not stop until he made Hua Zhen cry.
Seeing Hua Zhen's "furious but silent" expression, the little fatty beside them nearly laughed out loud. His already tiny eyes had narrowed into slits. Heh heh, smug Hua Zhen, Big Brother had rubbed my head like that before too. You didn't escape it either. Serves you right for making fun of me.
"Hey, say something already~"
"Smack!"
Hua Zhen viciously slapped Hua Ye's arm away. "How fucking old are yo—"
"Eldest Brother, you're already thousands of years old. Why are you becoming more childish the longer you live? Do you really get such a sense of accomplishment from bullying Old Third, a mere child?"
Just as Hua Zhen was about to start cursing, a deep voice suddenly rang out from afar. Everyone froze.
Hua Ye turned toward the voice. When he saw the newcomer, his brows first furrowed, but he quickly broke into a grin. "Tch, I was wondering who dared speak to me like that. So it's Old Second!"
Before you continue