Qin Heng prepared contingency plans in case his journey ran late—or he never returned.
If he returned late, the Earth Lineage would not need any major changes. They only needed to develop discreetly, build up their economy and population; martial arts, culture, and all other aspects would naturally rise with the tide.
If he did not return, they would have to establish a new Martial Path Leader.
Pan Hong was not truly old by age. He was still a very young genius Star Lord, but he was separated from the current Earthlings by several generations and had a generational gap with them. He was only suited to serve as an elder.
Qin Heng told him that after he left, Pan Hong was to return to Earth for several days every Void Ember Year, listen to reports on the Earth Lineage's development, and offer some advice. If Qin Heng did not return after a hundred years, then after 12,800 Earth years, Pan Hong would initiate the selection of a Pure-Blooded Native Star Lord of both virtue and ability to serve as the backbone and continue leading the Earth Lineage's development.
To the universe, 12,800 Earth years was a very brief span. It barely counted as anything.
But it was different for Earth.
Earth civilization's recorded history only spanned a few thousand years. The starry journey of the past several centuries had opened the New Era, but their foundations were ultimately shallow. A timespan of ten thousand years was still rather long by comparison.
Perhaps Qin Heng would not be dead after 12,800 years. Perhaps he would merely have been delayed in the Old Universe.
But no matter what, the Earth Lineage needed a backbone, lest they become a flock of dragons without a leader and descend into internal strife.
After all...