Blue Star, Huaxia War Zone, Jiangnan Base City First High School.
Today was the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, said to have been a day of reunion in Huaxia on Blue Star a thousand years ago. But now, it was the day all adult members of Blue Star's myriad races entered the Haotian Pagoda to undergo their beginner trials!
"Xu Kun!"
On the field, the homeroom teachers of each graduating class were calling roll.
Standing at the back, Xu Kun stepped forward when he heard his teacher call his name. The homeroom teacher nodded at him, and then the class monitor handed him a metal wristband!
The young man named Xu Kun stood six feet two, with a well-proportioned body that seemed to follow the golden ratio. His gaze was calm, his features striking. Simply standing nearby gave others a sense that he was dependable and reassuring!
The moment he stepped out, the boys looked at him with jealousy, while the girls all blushed with infatuation. If not for the occasion, they would have wanted to cling to him!
There was no other reason. As a graduating student, Xu Kun had good looks, a good personality, a good physique, good grades, and a solid foundation in physical training!
Aside from his family background, he was practically a perfect all-rounder. A man like that was undoubtedly the dream lover of many women!
Faced with the complicated looks around him, Xu Kun paid them no mind. He thanked the class monitor and fastened the metal wristband around his arm!
The final student had received their wristband, and the homeroom teacher began his last speech.
"From the moment you first entered this campus, you have been preparing for today!"
"The road ahead is full of hardship. What awaits you is everything the textbooks have failed to properly record. Your future will have to be forged by your own hands!"
"Are you all ready?"
"Ready!" All forty-nine students in the class answered in unison.
Entering the Haotian Pagoda was not only a fight for their own survival, but also a fight for humanity, which had suffered under the oppression of the myriad races for a thousand years!
It was their duty. They could not refuse!
The homeroom teacher nodded in satisfaction. "Before the bright moon hangs overhead, as your homeroom teacher, I still have to repeat humanity's bitter history over the past thousand years!"
Everyone held their breath. Even though they had heard what their homeroom teacher was about to say countless times, they still wore solemn expressions.
"A thousand years ago, the Haotian Pagoda descended upon Earth from beyond the heavens, piercing into the center of the Pacific Ocean. It stood between heaven and earth, vast and boundless. Beginning with the Cherry Blossom Nation being destroyed by a tsunami, human civilization entered a new era!"
"While humanity was still dealing with the various natural disasters caused by the Haotian Pagoda's arrival, no one expected the myriad races to follow close behind, descending upon Blue Star in spacecraft resembling asteroids!"
From the myriad races that descended upon Blue Star, humanity learned a new term.
Ancestral Planet!
It meant that Blue Star was the ancestral land of the myriad races!
"Continental shifts occurred. After being struck by all manner of asteroids, Blue Star's size and mass increased by an unknown amount. Yet the disasters this caused were only the beginning for humanity..."
The original six continents merged together, becoming a remote corner of the world. No one had yet managed to determine just how vast the expanded Blue Star truly was. Humanity, once the rulers of Blue Star, had not even fully explored it!
Gravity, species, climate, and all sorts of once-stable factors began developing in unknown directions!
"During the turbulent century that followed, the powerful myriad races began slaughtering Blue Star's humans like invaders attacking a backward civilization. Countless lives were lost, and Blue Star's humans were butchered like pigs and dogs..."
This was known as the Dark Age!
Before the Haotian Pagoda descended, Blue Star humanity had numbered over ten billion. After a hundred years of slaughter, fewer than one billion remained!
Fortunately, after the continental shifts merged Blue Star's former continents together, the surviving humans began relying on one another for warmth and survival amid the cracks between the myriad races!
"Nine hundred years ago, the Haotian Pagoda illuminated Blue Star. The supreme power sought by the myriad races lay within the Haotian Pagoda. Humanity, now united as one, sent its first pioneers into the Haotian Pagoda as well. In one battle... they were wiped out, and humanity suffered another devastating blow!"
"Eight hundred years ago, Azure God, an SSS-tier human trial-taker, emerged. He crushed all others of his generation and won humanity a sliver of hope. For the first time, humanity's name entered the eyes of the myriad races..."
"Seven hundred years ago, Pangu, an SSS-tier trial-taker, wielded a giant axe to split open chaos and pioneer a path for humanity..."
"Six hundred years ago, Xuanyuan Lord, an SSS-tier trial-taker, joined hands with SS-tier trial-takers Cangjie, Hanba, and others. Inheriting the ambitions of Azure God and Pangu, they expanded humanity's territory..."
"Five hundred years ago, Kite God, an SSS-tier trial-taker, rose to prominence, while Light God Odin, an SSS-tier human trial-taker of the same era, shone with Radiant Brilliance..."
"Four hundred years ago, Zeus, an SSS-tier trial-taker, returned with the gods and ushered humanity into its golden age!"
"Three hundred years ago, humanity's glory faded. There was a gap in talent, and no SSS-tier trial-taker emerged in that generation. The human era established by our predecessors was suppressed by the myriad races..."
"Two hundred years ago, Douzhan Martial Saint, an SSS-tier trial-taker, descended from the heavens and held up humanity's spine!"
"One hundred years ago, Sky Eye, an SSS-tier trial-taker, perceived all beneath heaven. Representing humanity in negotiations with the myriad races, he attached humanity to the Black Tortoise Race, one of the Seven Royal Races. Humanity was no longer bullied by the myriad races, and we were able to establish war zones and base cities on the land beneath our feet, allowing humanity's flame to be passed on!"
It was not until a hundred years ago, under the leadership of the great figure Sky Eye, that humanity officially entered the Myriad Races Sequence as a subsidiary race of the Black Tortoise Race!
"Today, humanity has multiplied once more to a population of six billion. Thanks to our predecessors' achievements, after enduring countless hardships, humanity has finally gained a foothold and no longer needs to suffer the bullying of the myriad races!"
"By learning from history, we can understand the rise and fall of nations. Looking at humanity's thousand-year history of new civilization, we can conclude that every hundred years, an SSS-tier talent powerhouse emerges among humanity!"
"Tonight is not only the once-in-a-century era in humanity's new civilization, but also the thousandth year since the Haotian Pagoda descended upon Blue Star!"
"Sky Eye has long since delivered a divine prophecy: humanity's rise or fall will depend on you seeds of this generation!"
Sky Eye's divine prophecies were renowned even among the myriad races. He seemed omniscient and omnipotent, capable of seeing through all things in the world. Every human on Blue Star treated his words as sacred truth!
The homeroom teachers of the other classes were repeating the same words. The field was filled with noise!
Perhaps one of these student seeds, who had been protected as they grew up, would become a Lord of the Era!
Who did not want to become a savior who rescued the people from fire and water?
Even if they did not become the once-in-a-century savior, experience showed that behind every generation's SSS-tier trial-taker, a great number of powerful followers would inevitably emerge!
Xu Kun could clearly sense that when the Lords of the Era from each generation were mentioned, the surroundings became noisy and the atmosphere grew exceptionally heated.
"Hey, Kun Kun, I've got a question!"
Beside him, Xu Kun's best friend Hao Jian, who was round as a ball, tugged at his sleeve.
"Spit it out."
Hao Jian rubbed his nose. "Based on past experience, humanity produces an SSS-tier Lord of the Era every hundred years. But why did Kite God and Light God Odin emerge at the same time five hundred years ago, while no one appeared three hundred years ago?"
Xu Kun frowned. "Who can say for sure about something like that?"
Every Lord of the Era had to endure trials of blade and fire. Perhaps the Lord of the Era born three hundred years ago had been killed by the myriad races, who feared humanity's rise...
This was precisely the kind of thing the textbooks failed to record in detail. If he wanted to know, he would have to climb the Haotian Pagoda himself. When he stood at the pinnacle of the world, there would no longer be any secrets in his eyes!
"Hey, Kun Kun, I have another question!"
"Why do you have so much to say?" Xu Kun said helplessly.
"Hehe, isn't the moon not up yet? Tell me, what talent do you think we'll awaken?"
"Do you think I might be that Lord of the Era?"
"Honestly, I don't really care whether I become a Lord of the Era or not, because being one is too exhausting. His followers can grow strong under his protection instead. Tell me, wouldn't it be great if I became a Lord of the Era's follower?"
"Kun Kun, why aren't you saying anything?"
Xu Kun's face darkened. After holding it in for a long while, he said, "Keep dreaming!"
After a thousand years of exploration, humanity's research into the Haotian Pagoda had made landmark progress!
Everyone who first entered the Haotian Pagoda would awaken a corresponding talent!
The highest was the SSS-tier talent possessed by Lords of the Era, while the lowest was the F-tier talent that reduced one to cannon fodder!
There were nine talent grades in total: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, and F!
Unlike the myriad races, whose talent ceilings and floors differed only slightly, humanity's talents came in all shapes and sizes, with vast gaps between them!
Setting aside the SSS-tier talent that appeared once every hundred years on average, the number of SS-tier talents humanity awakened each year could be counted on one's fingers. In the years when no SSS-tier trial-taker emerged, humanity relied on SS-tier trial-takers to fight for the Haotian Pagoda's resources!
S-tier talents could become humanity's peak seeds, while A-tier talents formed the backbone of humanity's future!
Each year, fewer than one in a million awakened an SS-tier talent, fewer than one in a hundred thousand awakened an S-tier talent, and fewer than one in ten thousand awakened an A-tier talent!
B, C, and D were the norm, accounting for ninety percent according to calculations.
E and F were bottom-tier trial-takers. The myriad races also had races with such low-level talents, but they either became food for the other races or were completely absorbed by the Haotian Pagoda, turning into monsters within it to be slaughtered at will!
Trial-takers with such talents... might not even pass the beginner trial!
Xu Kun was not aiming too high, nor did he fantasize about becoming some Lord of the Era. As long as he could awaken a talent above B-tier, he would be able to fight for humanity until death!
"A Lord of the Era will appear this century. Humanity should achieve good results in the beginner trials. Mom should be safe this year..."
Xu Kun clenched his fists. His mother was an F-tier trial-taker at the very bottom. She had barely passed the beginner trial and avoided being permanently trapped in the Haotian Pagoda, but ever since he could remember, every week after Mid-Autumn Festival, he had lived in fear that he might lose his mother!
"Damn Haotian Pagoda!"
Boom!
The moment Xu Kun cursed, the entire field erupted. A phantom descended from the sky!
Checking the time, it was 6:15 in the afternoon. Looking east, the full moon of the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month rose like a jade plate, its moonlight falling upon the land of the East Eighth Time Zone!
(PS: Don't ask what happens if it rains during Mid-Autumn Festival~ Just know it's been keeping you warm for a thousand years!)
The projection of the Haotian Pagoda continued solidifying after absorbing the moonlight. Even though they had seen it many times before, they were still shocked by the sight.
Especially since they were the ones entering the tower this year!
"Get ready. Relax your bodies and minds. When the moonlight falls upon your shoulders, the Haotian Pagoda will naturally guide you away!"
"The wristbands contain everything humanity's predecessors saw and gained during the beginner trials. Make sure you put them to good use!"
"Though it may be unrealistic, as your homeroom teacher, I still want to offer you a blessing... come back safely!"
By this point, Xu Kun's homeroom teacher's eyes had turned red.
He had been a homeroom teacher for ten years and had sent off ten classes of students. Half of them either failed the beginner trial and never left the Haotian Pagoda again, or died on the Myriad Races Battlefield. Of those he could still contact, fewer than one-third remained!
Xu Kun silently closed his eyes as the moonlight bathed his entire body in flawless white!
Light enveloped the entire time zone. In the sky, the projection of the Haotian Pagoda shattered. The teachers on the field dared not look directly at the sudden burst of intense light. When they opened their eyes again, the once-crowded field was completely empty!
Xu Kun's homeroom teacher collapsed onto the ground as if all strength had left him. He murmured, "In one week, all of you must come back safely!"
Xu Kun opened his eyes again, and darkness stretched out before him.
"Awakening space?"
He could clearly feel a sense of being watched. Before long, a cold, emotionless voice sounded out. Its words made Xu Kun's face turn pale.
Ding. Human Xu Kun, physical examination complete. Awakened talent: F-tier...
Before you continue