Terra's Heart, Run a Simulation for Me!

Precognition Interface.

The instant those words were spoken, a massive rift appeared above the black ocean formed by the Thousand-Stars Beast.

The rock strata that had once suppressed the ancient deity split apart, white radiance spilling from within before condensing into tendrils of light-forged mycelium.

They twisted and intertwined like a tangible tornado, spinning as they descended toward the Thousand-Stars Beast. Opposite them, beneath the astonished gazes of Ian and the others, the black ocean formed by the Thousand-Stars Beast also began to rotate, swelling as if in response and weaving toward the tendrils spawned by Light's Embrace.

This was why they could be certain that, if the Thousand-Stars Beast had not gone mad, it could serve as the "foundation" of everything.

The Light's Embrace Collective said: Because so long as our "desires" seek to "forge," Thousand-Stars will respond.

Perhaps that was why, during the Calamity of Falling Skies, when all living beings wished to survive, it sensed that wish and became the earth, supporting the Terra Continent upon which they now stood.

The tendrils of light descended, intersecting with the winding black ocean rising upward.

In that instant, a colossal vortex slowly formed amid surging aetheric waves. An ultra-high-energy environment, almost impossible to encounter in the material world, appeared in an instant—then vanished just as instantly.

Both the white tendrils and the black ocean withdrew.

Only a "chip" gleaming with white patterns of light remained, floating in midair.

Precognition Interface

Fourth Energy Level · Aetheric Body · Authority · Edible

A transcendent spacetime sensory organ extended from aetheric perception. Its operating principle is similar to that of a Seer, though its effectiveness is somewhat inferior. Through aetheric perception, it can sense temporal changes with oneself as the point of origin, allowing one to perceive attacks, conspiracies, and various influences directed at oneself in advance. Even if one is plotted against without knowing any information, so long as it may produce "consequences," it can be sensed beforehand.

Actively activate it with one's aetheric true body to gain the temporary ability of "instantaneous precognition," foreseeing an enemy's moves and their outcomes. However, if the enemy possesses this ability as well, this function will fail. Reminder: This function is not recommended for combat. It is a "testing device" used to foresee whether engineering construction meets standards.

Warning: What Precognitive Vision foresees is the real world. If one immerses oneself in observations of the future, one will completely sink into madness.

Origin Matter contained: 200000.0000 core units

Silver-blue light flickered in Ian's eyes. The Precognition Interface's ability gave him a strange sense of déjà vu. Rather than a Precognition Interface... wasn't this simply his Precognitive Vision?

It was only that Precognitive Vision was even more powerful. Instantaneous precognition had been directly extended into a vision that, once activated, could continue indefinitely. Within that vision, the favorable and unfavorable courses of all things would manifest clearly.

The price was that Precognitive Vision had become a "psychic ability," whereas the Precognition Interface was merely an ordinary passive piece of equipment. Once equipped, it took effect.

(It seems Light's Embrace developed a psychic construct based on its own Seer abilities, and then I used that psychic construct to create my own Seer psychic ability and load it onto my Guiding Star.)

Ian fell into thought. Even when facing a Fourth Energy Level chip that could complete his Steel Pioneer, he did not pay it much attention. Instead, he focused intently on the black ocean beneath his feet.

Even though Ian could now be said to have no rival beneath the Fifth Energy Level, he still did not dare rashly observe Thousand-Stars, this "Star God mega-engineering construction foundation" that was likely no inferior to the Star God's Gift—perhaps even greater.

After all, something like the Precognition Interface was, to a Star God, merely an "engineering construction testing device."

Yet something was strange. What returned to him was not rainbow light.

It was gold mixed with traces of rainbow.

At the Fifth Energy Level, the Thousand-Stars Beast was already considered top-tier. It had even touched upon the Sixth Energy Level that rainbow light might represent, a level capable of changing Terra's entire future.

This was not strange. Rather, the Thousand-Stars Beast had always possessed the ability to destroy Terra's ecosystem. That was its baseline.

But for that truly to be only its baseline left Ian somewhat puzzled. "Does the Thousand-Stars Beast really have only this much capability?"

Though in a sense, the Thousand-Stars Beast might be nothing more than cement construction material Star Gods used for rough work, it was still a Spark—a Spark from an extraordinarily advanced super-insect swarm, one capable of fighting alongside Star Gods.

It definitely possessed information capable of reaching the Sixth Energy Level. Even if it was unsuitable for humans and Terra, it should not have been like this.

Silver radiance flared brilliantly as Ian carefully observed with the Star God's Gift.

Thousand-Stars Foundation

Fifth Energy Level · Universal Entity · Authority · Edible

A universal material created by modifying the original Thousand-Stars Spark. Through aetheric selection, it can shape the vast majority of materials in the material world. Due to possessing a certain degree of danger, it will not be activated without the relevant authorization and will remain dormant.

At present, the Thousand-Stars Spark and Thousand-Stars Foundation are in a separated state. This is to protect the safety of the Thousand-Stars Spark and ensure the safety of Terra's ecology.

Warning: The Thousand-Stars Spark has been stripped away!

Warning: The Thousand-Stars Foundation is in an uncontrolled state and cannot be utilized normally!

Warning: Stay away from dangerous construction materials!

The moment he began, a whole string of warnings lit up, nearly flooding his vision.

Ian calmly dismissed every warning. Without betraying anything, he floated slightly upward, putting a little distance between himself and the Thousand-Stars Sea. Then he looked toward the Light's Embrace Collective, weighed his words, and said, "Uh, while it is only a possibility, Your Holiness..."

"Could using the Thousand-Stars Beast like this be somewhat dangerous?"

So long as enough computational power is used to control it, there will be no problem.

The Twin Popes were unsurprised by this. Your actions are almost identical to Inyaga's, and your question is much the same. We do indeed know that Thousand-Stars' Spark has been stripped away. It was likely that an "emergency separation" procedure was triggered while responding to the Calamity of Falling Skies.

But it is precisely because the core Thousand-Stars Spark separated that we can suppress the Thousand-Stars Beast with our own power. Otherwise, if the Thousand-Stars Beast's operational program activated, we would no longer have any way to stop it.

And now, we can even respond to the Thousand-Stars Beast with desire and computational power, and it will respond in turn, helping us shape powerful creations that normal methods could never forge.

Just like the "Precognition Interface" before you. In the outside world, creating such a psychic chip would be difficult even with the power of an entire nation. It is not a matter of technology, but because there is almost no "material" capable of carrying such powerful psychic force. Unless one cultivates it oneself or plunders it from magic beasts, this is why Fourth Energy Level entities are so scarce.

Ian lowered his head and looked at the Thousand-Stars Beast beneath his feet.

He understood now.

Though the Thousand-Stars Beast had blocked most of the destruction from the Calamity of Falling Skies, the catastrophe had been too terrifying, triggering its emergency escape procedure. The Spark that served as its "soul" was now nowhere to be found.

The current Thousand-Stars Beast was a "material" and "shell" that possessed only basic biological instincts. Without a brain, anyone could make some use of it so long as their computational power and conditions met the requirements.

Light's Embrace could use it as a raw material repository for forging precious materials, while the Empire... had created an "Obsidian Key" like Isengard, allowing the Sun God Bird's will to enter the Thousand-Stars Beast and thereby control it.

Not only that, the City of Knowledge thought the same way. That was why there had been the "fusion" at Clear Moon Spire, merging a portion of the Thousand-Stars Beast's offspring with humans. That was also an attempt to control the Thousand-Stars Beast.

Even... looking at Shadow Replica...

"Have you already found traces of the Thousand-Stars Spark in the Void Realm, which is why you are doing this?"

Ian asked Korizen's divided soul in his heart. "Or are you also planning, like Inyaga, to artificially create a core for the Thousand-Stars Beast?"

"We are more interested in obtaining the knowledge contained within the Thousand-Stars Beast."

The divided soul answered every question. It looked toward Isengard, thoughtful. "It is only that none of us expected Inyaga's purpose back then to be this... complete control over the Thousand-Stars Beast?"

This was Light's Embrace's ultimate goal.

They wanted to control the Thousand-Stars Beast, find a perpetual motion machine, and then build the Cradle.

So long as the Cradle's infinite resources could be realized, every problem in the human world would be solved, and the noble people of Terra could gradually grow in a stable environment.

Even the Ascenders, because vast quantities of ultra-high-density Origin Matter would be put to use constructing megastructures, would no longer need to remain in this state of constantly burning themselves away.

Though their power might decline somewhat, they could live much longer. Perhaps they could even use the Arcane Path to regulate their bodies and restore the lifespan normally possessed by a Fifth Energy Level entity.

The City of Knowledge, meanwhile, sought to acquire as much knowledge as possible from every direction. As for its purpose, every Spire Master had different goals, and the Chief Academician was a madman like Korizen. It was difficult to speak of any "collective purpose."

Thousand-Stars had been on Terra from the very beginning. This was the local adaptation of "construction materials."

As for the many True Dragons, including the Progenitor Dragon, arriving on Terra, that could be called the "construction crew arriving on site."

According to the Dragon Kings' descriptions and the many memories Ian had witnessed himself, each of the Progenitor True Dragons resembled a super battleship. They were fundamentally the Star Gods' construction platforms!

With materials, construction crews, and construction platforms, work should have begun—but in truth, one crucial source of engineering energy was still missing.

A perpetual motion machine.

Only a perpetual motion machine could bear the expenditure of Star God megastructure construction and sustain those megastructures through the long passage of time.

The Star God Vessel bringing the Sparks over was, in essence, the arrival of the residents. Once the perpetual motion machine connected with the Progenitor True Dragons and the others, construction of the Cradle could begin.

The End Fragment contained within it might be for research, or perhaps even...

Perhaps it was a tool to deceive and mislead the End.

This was the doubt Ian had held ever since he learned that the Star God Vessel actually contained an End Fragment—if the Star Gods truly wanted to study an End Fragment, why bring it into the Star-Prison? If it produced a resonance, would that not mean exposing themselves of their own accord?

After learning of the Cradle, Ian had become even more perplexed. The Cradle was clearly a sanctuary meant to protect many civilizations, yet it had brought a portion of its greatest enemy inside. No matter how one thought of it, that was asking for trouble.

Unless...

The establishment of the Cradle required a "fragment" as cover.

Whether it offset the End's perception or gave the End a false signal that "this star domain has already been dealt with," both could explain why the Star God Vessel carried an End Fragment.

But in the end, an accident still occurred. There was nothing to be done about that. Perhaps this Cradle called Terra had simply been unlucky... At least now, the End Fragment was well sealed.

Wait.

Thinking of how the Progenitor True Dragons, as "construction platforms," had to connect with a perpetual motion machine, Ian suddenly recalled that in one of the past lives he had seen, there had been efforts to travel to stellar-core fragments at the edge of the Terra Star Domain in search of "inheritance."

That might also have been an attempt to find the conditions needed for a perpetual motion machine to emerge.

Only, that opportunity was now in the hands of "Second Prince Mikael."

"Good thing I made a trip to the City of Knowledge."

Ian could not help sighing. "Otherwise, I would have had to take another huge detour."

Whether he traveled beyond the stars through Dragon Island's channels only to find nothing, or spent ages searching only to discover it was in Mikael's hands, both would have been a pure waste of time.

For plots where the result was already known, he ought to skip straight past them!

There were simply too many things Ian wanted to skip, aside from actions that could bring tangible gains.

Such as right now.

Ian stepped forward and accepted the pure-white chip of light from the white mycelial tendrils.

He pressed the chip against his forehead.

At once, surging aether and psychic force came flooding in, pouring toward Ian's brain and spinal cord, condensing into an entirely new organ of light.

There was no stagnation or rejection whatsoever. As though it had fused into a brand-new organ of his own body, Ian obtained his own "Precognition Interface," his own "aetheric sensory organ."

At that moment, an extremely familiar sensation surfaced within Ian.

When he opened his eyes, endless data flowed like a waterfall. The Seer sensed it; past and future alike seemed to reside within his heart. The boundless past condensed into the firmest foundation, allowing him to climb high and look far, witnessing more "possibilities."

Using his existing information to conduct simulations...

Simulations...

"Isn't this just simulation?!"

Opening his eyes, Ian realized a fact that greatly surprised him: under the impetus of his psychic power, the Precognition Interface upon him did not merely possess simple special senses such as a "passive Precognitive Vision" and "sudden intuition." It also possessed something akin to the "simulation" the Tree Sea Spirit had once performed for Ian!

So long as there was enough computational power, it could roughly simulate the detailed trajectory of parts of the future, nearly approaching the Path's "power of simulation"!

"It requires an enormous amount of computational power!"

With a slight sense, Ian realized just how immense the computational power required for this power of simulation was. Even Terra's Heart would need to make preparations before it could perform one. No wonder the Tree Sea Spirit had exhausted resources accumulated over a century merely by conducting a test back then. It truly could not be blamed.

But now...

Ha ha, you old Tree Sea fossil, your simulation is the most useless now! I have one myself!

Ian smiled. Not only was Steel Pioneer one step closer to its complete form, but after obtaining the power of simulation himself, he could record it within Terra's Heart.

That way, Terra's Heart would also possess a certain degree of prophecy and simulation ability. Whether concerning people or events, Terra's Heart, equipped with this detailed chaotic algorithm, could decide the vast majority of matters on its own!

Even...

Ian could imagine it.

An Ascender wished to choose a true bloodline form, or perhaps a meditation method to lay their foundation, but did not know which path suited them best or how they ought to cultivate.

In that case, they could apply to Terra's Heart for a simulation!

It would not be a full-power simulation like Ian's, but merely one focused on cultivating that meditation method. Terra's Heart could calculate a theoretically optimal compatible cultivation method, allowing humans to choose their own path.

Simulation was merely an auxiliary suggestion. The one who truly made the decision would still be the human themselves!

Beyond that, for certain technological experiments, Terra's Heart could also assist researchers in studying technology, just as Ian himself used Seer prophecy for testing.

At the very least, some simple errors in reasoning could be avoided.

Who knew how much such research efficiency would improve!

In a sense, this was small-scale "Path precognition."

Ian had gained quite a few benefits from the Path himself, so he understood the importance of the power of simulation very well. The fact that Precognitive Vision and the Precognition Interface had such a powerful resonance delighted him immensely.

Moreover, this could establish Silverpeak Domain's advantage.

They might all follow the Arcane Path, but while others on the Arcane Path could only cultivate bitterly on their own and wait for new meditation methods to be developed, even if computational machines assisted them, those machines certainly would not serve everyone and inequality would be inevitable.

But Silverpeak Domain's Arcane Path not only possessed "computational power" released as magic power; everyone could receive simulations and calculations tailored exclusively to them. Lord Ian was even the holder of the source code, with a complete inheritance in his hands. He was far ahead of everyone else!

Then, even the most ordinary person of Silverpeak could shout, "Terra's Heart, run a simulation for me!" and receive advice for their subsequent cultivation—this ability to assist humanity was AI's greatest utility!

At its root, AI was a tool. Even if it could replace people in many tasks, to use it most effectively, it still had to assist humans in their work.

Of course, Ian would not open this function so easily... Only those who had contributed to Silverpeak Domain, or those willing to pay a great price, could obtain the right to use Terra's Heart's simulations.

This was a process of reclaiming wealth from those rich people and Ascenders, then transferring it back into the entire territory. Ian would not be generous in this regard. Anyone who wished to advance further had to pay a price.

The law could not be lightly imparted, and power was even more so.

Just wait.

Ian thought.

On the track of the Ascension Path, Ian had indeed fallen far too far behind. Even with so many advantages, it was difficult for him to catch up with those great powers that possessed multiple Fifth Energy Level experts... But the Arcane Path was different.

If all Terrans switched to the Arcane Path, everything would reverse. All Terrans would have to chase after him and provide him with nourishment!