Dawn of the Common People

The wind and snow of the far north gradually subsided. On the stone stele before Solitary Cultivation Hall, the Sea God's divine decree stood beside the words Yang Jun had carved: "The Dao lies among the people, not in divine halls." The two seemed like a silent confrontation between two wills. Yet before the frost had melted, a new presence was quietly stirring in the depths of the continent.

Inside Solitary Cultivation Hall, the lights blazed brightly.

Yang Jun stood before the hall. Before him were dozens of representatives from every region—farmers holding hoes, herbalists carrying medicine baskets, blacksmiths with hammers in hand, and even several independent Soul Masters. Their clothes were plain, but their gazes were resolute.

"From this day onward," Yang Jun said. His voice was not loud, yet it pierced through the wind and snow. "The Farmer's Alliance is officially established. We shall not rely on divine authority, attach ourselves to sects, or kneel before Imperial Power. We will protect our land with the Plow Array, pass on our hearts through Dao Seeds, and forge our fate through shared cultivation."

He raised the Shennong Hoe and lightly touched its tip to the ground. A string of Ice Thunder Runes spread out, burrowing into the earth veins like roots and instantly activating the Shadow Sealing Array across a hundred-mile radius.

"This array is not meant to control people, but to protect them," Yang Jun said. "Wherever the Farmer's Alliance holds ground, the people may farm for themselves, defend themselves, and govern themselves. Should Spirit Hall invade, the Plow Array will rise and freeze a thousand miles. Should corrupt officials and petty tyrants appear, the Dao Seeds will send word, and the people will rise as one to punish them."

Everyone shouted in unison, "Farmers shall have their land, and protectors shall have their rights!"

Their voices thundered, shaking snow from the eaves and startling the winter crows in the forest into flight.

Several days later, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

Xiao Wu and Tang Hao arrived at a village to find a stone platform already erected at its entrance. A Dao Seed Stele stood upon it. Simple words were carved into the stele, and beneath them was embedded a glistening ice crystal—the very split form of a Dao Seed.

"This is..." Xiao Wu said in surprise.

Old Plowman emerged from a house with a smile. "Dao Seeds can transmit messages, issue warnings, and link hearts. Whenever danger arises, the ice crystal will shine, and the entire village will know. Spirit Hall's Shadow Gu Masters will find it much harder to infiltrate."

Before he finished speaking, the Dao Seed Stele suddenly glowed with a deep blue light.

"Alarm!" A youth rushed out. "Spirit Hall traces have been found in Northern Ridge! Three people, carrying Soul Devouring Gu!"

Old Plowman's expression hardened. "Activate the Plow Array!"

In an instant, the ground shook. Ice Thunder Runes spread from the earth veins, covering the entire forest like a Spider Web. The three men in black had only just slipped into the woods when the ground beneath their feet froze over. Before they could even release their Martial Souls, their meridians had been frozen, leaving them unable to move.

Tang Hao stared at the freezing technique and murmured, "This is neither a Soul Skill nor divine power... It is an array founded upon earth veins and guided by will. Yang Jun, you have truly reached this stage."

Xiao Wu looked at the frozen Spirit Hall assassins and said softly, "So you don't need to become a Soul Master to protect everyone."

Sea God Island, Sea God Palace.

Tang San stood upon a cliff, gazing at the snowstorms in the north as the Sea God's Scepter in his hand trembled slightly. Bo Saixi approached slowly and said in a soft voice, "The Farmer's Alliance has expanded into twenty-seven cities, and Dao Seed Steles have been erected in thirty-six villages. They do not follow divine decrees, yet they do the work of gods."

Tang San closed his eyes. "I once believed that only gods could end chaos. But now... I am beginning to wonder whether the existence of gods is itself a kind of chaos."

Bo Saixi sighed. "You have wavered."

"No." Tang San opened his eyes, his gaze as deep as the sea. "I merely understand now that gods cannot live in place of humans. Yang Jun's Dao may be the true Dao of protection."

He turned to Bo Saixi. "Issue the order: Sea God Island will no longer interfere in the internal affairs of Solitary Cultivation Academy. If Spirit Hall invades Farmer's Alliance territory, Sea God Island will regard it as a provocation against the divine decree and send troops to join the campaign."

Bo Saixi froze. "You... support him now?"

Tang San nodded. "I do not support him. I support the human world that is willing to stand on its own feet."

Heaven Dou Imperial Capital, atop the golden hall.

The emperor sat high upon the dragon throne while the officials stood solemnly below. One minister angrily denounced, "Solitary Cultivation Academy has established private armed forces and gathered the people's loyalty. It has become a state within the state! Your Majesty, please dispatch troops at once and destroy it!"

Yet another minister knelt and pleaded, "Your Majesty, wherever Solitary Cultivation Academy reaches, famine retreats, bandits vanish, and the people live in peace. If we move against it, we may lose the people's hearts!"

The emperor remained silent for a long while before finally sighing. "Yang Jun, the Solitary Cultivator, is neither a disloyal minister nor a rebel... He is the beginning of another era."

He rose and issued his decree. "Proclaim this: Solitary Cultivation Academy may govern itself, and the Farmer's Alliance may establish defenses, but neither may claim kingship, mint currency, or secretly collude with foreign enemies. So long as they honor this agreement, the Heaven Dou Empire will tolerate them."

The officials erupted in uproar, yet none dared say another word.

Night, Solitary Cultivation Hall.

Yang Jun sat alone beside the Ice Lotus Pond. The ice lotus formed from droplets of water shed by the Shennong Hoe had grown three feet tall. Points of light within its heart revolved slowly like stars. He reached out and gently touched a lotus petal. In an instant, countless images flooded his mind—children in Star Dou Village reciting the Farmer's Declaration before a Dao Seed Stele; farmers in the Heavenly Soul Kingdom using the Plow Array to withstand a snow disaster; craftsmen of the Star Luo Empire studying the Ice Thunder Runes; even slaves within Spirit Hall-controlled territory secretly burying Dao Seeds...

"The Dao Seeds... have taken root," Yang Jun murmured.

Yu Xiaogang approached, carrying a newly compiled volume of the Record of Cultivating the Dao. "I organized your ideas into a book called the People's Way. It speaks neither of Soul Power nor gods, only of how the people can protect themselves."

Yang Jun accepted the book and opened to its first page. On it were written:

He smiled faintly. "This is... the true Dao."

At that moment, a rift suddenly tore open in the night sky of the far north.

A crimson meteor streaked across the heavens and crashed deep into Sunset Forest. It was not a meteorite, but a blood-red seed. Ancient Runes covered its surface, and it exuded a nauseating soul aura.

At the same time, in the deepest reaches of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong opened her eyes. The corner of her lips lifted. "The Seed of God has finally awakened... This time, I will turn the entire continent into my Dao Seed."

She raised her hand, and black mist rose up, forming a colossal phantom—a Blood Tree that towered into the heavens, its roots coiling around the continent and its branches and leaves blanketing the sky.

"Douluo Continent... it is time for a different god."

Outside Solitary Cultivation Hall, dawn began to break.

Yang Jun stood on a field ridge, watching the rising sun in the east. The farmers had already begun their work. The Plow Array was operating, Dao Seeds were glowing, and a new day had begun.

Xiao Wu and Tang Hao came through the snow. Xiao Wu smiled. "Yang Jun, we have brought Star Dou Village's Dao Seed Echo—they said, 'We ourselves are the Dao Protectors.'"

Yang Jun nodded and looked into the distance. "The Dao Seeds have been sown, and the Core Flame has been lit. Whether gods descend or demons arrive, this land will never again be trampled by others."

Tang Hao looked at him and suddenly said, "You are not a Soul Master, yet you understand the meaning of the soul better than many Soul Masters."

"The soul?" Yang Jun chuckled. "The soul is not power. It is will. It is the will of countless people to live on together."

The wind rose, and snow fell.

Across the frozen plains of the far north, countless Dao Seed Steles stood quietly, illuminating the human world like stars.

And in the distant sky, the bells of Sea God Island slowly rang, as if offering a moment of silence—or perhaps a blessing—for the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one.