"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"
With an excited shout, Sui Ren Shi forgot all about Huang Tian and the others and hurried off to one side.
He hefted a huge log, dug a small hollow into it, then took a thinner branch and began spinning it back and forth.
"How could it fail?"
After his first attempt failed, Sui Ren Shi fell into deep puzzlement.
Huang Tian only watched; he didn't intervene.
"Crackle, crackle, crackle!"
Nearby, the lightning-struck wood was still burning, slowly turning to charcoal.
"So that's how!"
Sui Ren Shi's eyes lit up, and he fetched some dry grass to help kindle the fire.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"
Sui Ren Shi focused on rubbing the branch between his palms. Under the sunlight, he seemed utterly divine.
"Big Brother, Second Brother, what is he—?"
Zi Yi Shi and You Chao Shi couldn't help staring in confusion. They had no idea what Sui Ren Shi was doing.
"Pop!"
Before Huang Tian could say a word, a tiny flame appeared beneath Sui Ren Shi's hands, burning in the hollow he had carved into the massive log.
"Gasp!"
Zi Yi Shi and You Chao Shi were both stunned.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Huang Tian burst into laughter, unable to stop praising Sui Ren Shi.
He had witnessed with his own eyes the Human Race breaking free from darkness and stepping into the light, beginning the civilization of cooked food—and he had personally guided the founder, Sui Ren.
The excitement surging within Huang Tian was impossible to put into words.
"I did it! I did it!"
"Fire!"
"From this day on, I shall be known as Sui Ren Shi!"
Clutching the flame that represented the civilization of the Human Race with reverence, Sui Ren Shi threw his head back and cried out in excitement.
"Congratulations, Ancestor Sui Ren!"
As if sensing something, the entire Human Race shouted toward Sui Ren Shi.
They saw the flame of hope in his hands and were overcome with excitement.
The fire in Sui Ren Shi's hands was an ordinary flame, yet it was the first flame of civilization between Heaven and Earth. Its power was no less than that of the Ten Great Divine Fires that had existed since the creation of the world.
As Human Race Destiny continued to gather and flow into the flame, it burned ever more fiercely.
"Heaven and Earth above!"
"Today, I, Sui Ren Shi, have obtained fire by drilling wood. I shall free the Human Race from the suffering of eating raw flesh and drinking blood, drive away the cold and ward off danger, and begin the dawn of civilization!"
"I swear upon this fire. Let Heaven and Earth bear witness: may its flame be passed down forever and bring blessings to all generations!"
Holding the flame high, Sui Ren Shi cried out to the heavens.
As his voice fell, thunder boomed, nine times in succession.
In an instant, boundless Xuanhuang Merit gathered, forming a Merit Golden Cloud above Sui Ren Shi's head.
Golden flames rose from the fire. Sweet springs welled up from the earth, and plants and trees flourished. The tribes in every direction saw the radiant clouds and knelt in unison,
"How is this possible?"
"What is going on with the Human Race? It's only been a few hundred years, and they've been blessed with Merit again and again!"
"Since when has Heavenly Dao Merit become so easy to obtain?"
Countless Great Divine Powers across the Prehistoric World watched the Human Race, their eyes red with envy.
Boom!
The Merit descended upon the Shore of the East Sea and split into ten portions.
Two portions flowed into the deadwood, which shone with five-colored light before transforming into a stone lamp exuding an ancient aura. It descended into Sui Ren Shi's hands.
"The Primordial Fire Lamp!"
Sui Ren Shi understood instinctively.
The Primordial Fire Lamp before him was a Postnatal Merit Spiritual Treasure of the highest grade. In terms of power alone, it was no weaker than an Innate Spiritual Treasure of the same rank.
The remaining Merit flowed into Sui Ren Shi, causing his cultivation to soar.
Within a few breaths, Sui Ren Shi broke through on the spot, rising from the Primordial Fetus (Profound Immortal) realm to the early stage of the Martial Emperor (Daluo) realm.
This was only because Sui Ren Shi had voluntarily separated half of his Destiny to forge a golden halo behind his head. His Merit was boundless, making him impervious to all techniques and able to suppress Destiny.
He was already a Martial Dao cultivator who tempered both his inner and outer self.
With a top-grade Postnatal Merit Supreme Treasure in hand, Sui Ren Shi could now contend with a late-stage Daluo while only at the early stage of the Martial Emperor realm.
In particular, the golden halo of Merit behind Sui Ren Shi's head made him nearly impossible to kill. Anyone who dared would incur a tremendous karmic debt. He was practically a prickly hedgehog.
"Thank you, Chief!"
Coming back to himself, Sui Ren Shi hurriedly thanked Huang Tian.
"I'm the chief of the Human Race. Protecting my own kin is only right."
Huang Tian gave a slight nod and replied with a smile.
In the past and in the present, Huang Tian was human.
Leading the Human Race to grow stronger and guiding it step by step toward civilization filled him with a deep sense of accomplishment.
In only two hundred years, Sui Ren Shi had reached the early stage of the Martial Emperor realm.
A million years from now, when the Sage's Barrier vanished, perhaps he could even attain Martial Saint (Quasi-saint) status.
The Human Race finally had the strength to resist the Ten Thousand Races.
At the thought, Huang Tian's smile grew even brighter.
"Go. Call your third sister over."
Waving Sui Ren Shi away, Huang Tian summoned Zi Yi Shi, ready to strike while the iron was hot.
"Chief."
Zi Yi Shi respectfully greeted Huang Tian. Her eyes were full of wisdom; she clearly understood that she, too, had a task to fulfill.
"Over the past two hundred years, how many of our people have died because of the bitter cold?"
"Why can demons of the same rank come and go freely through the snow and ice?"
Huang Tian looked at Zi Yi Shi with a keen gaze and smiled.
"This..."
Uncertain, Zi Yi Shi killed a weak demon, skinned it, and cleaned its pelt before wrapping herself in it.
Warmth swept over her, and her eyes widened in surprise.
Without hesitation, Zi Yi Shi killed another weak demon and removed its pelt. Then she ground a beast bone into a needle, used vines for thread, and bent over to sew.
A short while later, she had stitched a simple but sturdy fur garment.
"I did it! I did it!"
"Clothing!"
"From this day on, I shall be known as Zi Yi Shi!"
Holding up the fur garment she had sewn, Zi Yi Shi cried out excitedly.
"Congratulations, Ancestor Zi Yi!"
Seeing that the fur garments could ward off the cold, the tribespeople cheered and knelt in worship.
"Heaven and Earth above!"
"Today, I, Zi Yi Shi, teach the people to grind bone into needles, twist vines into thread, and sew animal hides into garments. I shall free the Human Race from the suffering of the cold, cover and protect their bodies, and carry civilization forward!"
"I swear upon this garment. Let Heaven and Earth bear witness: may this craft be passed down forever and keep our Human Race safe and well for generations to come!"
Holding the fur garment high, Zi Yi Shi cried out to the heavens.
As her voice fell, radiant light filled the sky, and warmth swept in every direction.
In an instant, Xuanhuang Merit gathered, forming a Merit Golden Cloud above Zi Yi Shi's head.
She used two tenths of the Merit and Destiny to transform the garment into a Top-grade Postnatal Merit Supreme Treasure, three tenths to break through, and the remaining five tenths to forge a golden halo behind her head.
Zi Yi Shi became another Human Race powerhouse capable of matching a late-stage Daluo.
"Merit again! Human Race Destiny truly cannot be stopped!"
The Great Divine Powers of the Prehistoric World turned their attention to the Human Race once more, their eyes filled with astonishment and envy.
"This... Is the Human Race favored by the Heavenly Mandate?"
Minghe in the Sea of Blood, Zhenyuanzi at Wuzhuang Temple, and countless others gazed toward the Human Race, shaken to the core.
The Human Race might not be powerful yet, with only two Daluo among them, but their potential was immense.
With so much Merit bestowed in such a short time, even the Great Divine Powers of the Prehistoric World wondered whether the Human Race was the child of the Heavenly Dao.
"We should befriend the Human Race!"
At Wuzhuang Temple, Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.
The Human Race's own Destiny was astonishing, and its Holy Mother Nuwa was the second Heavenly Dao Saint in all of Heaven and Earth.
The journey from Wuzhuang Temple to the Shore of the East Sea wasn't very far.
More friends meant more paths forward.
For kind souls like Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun, befriending a race with such astonishing Destiny could only be a good thing.
The Witch and Demon Clans, along with the Ten Thousand Races of the Prehistoric World, turned even more eyes toward the Human Race.
But with the Sage's Barrier in place, they still didn't dare act rashly.
Even so, some Da Luo Demon Gods began moving in secret, gathering at the Shore of the East Sea and waiting for the Sage's Barrier to vanish a million years later.
Having guided the birth of Zi Yi Shi and Sui Ren Shi, Huang Tian naturally couldn't leave You Chao Shi out.
The birth of the Three Ancestors of the Human Race laid the foundation for the Human Race to enter the Bronze Age of civilization.
The Human Race also gained three Martial Emperor powerhouses, each comparable to a Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
With Huang Tian, another Martial Emperor, the Human Race's overall strength could no longer be dismissed!
Before you continue