The Concept of Civilization

Earth, Super Seminary.

After several days of initial contact and probing through Qiangwei and Lianfeng's personal channels, Lianfeng finally began to get a feel for how to deal with Si Yao.

As long as the conversation didn't involve any official stance or lofty ideals like civilization cooperation, and they spoke only as individuals, this ancient old god remained aloof but was at least willing to communicate.

So one afternoon, Lianfeng invited Si Yao to visit Super Seminary in her personal capacity.

Officially, it was for some informal technical discussions and to satisfy her own curiosity about Pangu Civilization.

Si Yao neither accepted nor declined, but he still came. He was genuinely interested in some of the technologies Super Seminary possessed, especially its knowledge of Super Genes and divine bodies. It could help him refine his own Power System and provide more real-world basis for "weaving lies" later on.

As they walked around Super Seminary, Lianfeng didn't hurry to take him into the Core Laboratory. Instead, she led him through some of the more accessible training areas and the Living Area.

Her goal was clear: she hoped Si Yao would see the state of Super Seminary for himself, and the people living on this planet—especially the young Super Soldiers in whom so much hope had been placed.

"Mr. Si Yao," Lianfeng said calmly as she walked beside him, as if they were merely making conversation. "I know that, in your eyes, the civilization of this Pre-Nuclear Era, and most of the people living here, are constrained by enormous limitations in their thinking."

She looked toward Ge Xiaolun, Zhao Xin, and the others training in the distance. Her gaze remained composed. "They can't understand things beyond the bounds of their Social Moral Framework or Cognitive Scope. Take the cooperation between Super Seminary and Earth. We began trying to make contact and guide them a thousand years ago, yet even now, there are still many conflicts and misunderstandings that are difficult to reconcile."

"The most common one is, 'Those who are not of our kind must have different intentions.'" A hint of helplessness crept into Lianfeng's voice. "Many people on Earth can't understand our thoughts or actions. They assume that our investment in training Super Soldiers for Earth must be for some ulterior motive, that we're plotting something—or even that we plan to 'take over the place.'"

She shook her head slightly. "But in our eyes, that idea is... rather childish and laughable."

Si Yao walked on in silence, his icy blue eyes sweeping over the surroundings and the young faces brimming with energy yet clouded by uncertainty. He didn't interrupt her.

Lianfeng continued, "When a civilization begins to approach the threshold of god-making, its values undergo a fundamental transformation. Especially once individuals with the power of a 'god' begin to emerge—the very concept of civilization is completely reshaped."

"What is civilization? Blood ties? Race? A particular region or faith? No. None of those."

"Civilization is knowledge, information, and science. It is the sum of the highest achievements a group of intelligent beings can reach, and the legacy they pass down."

"The Deno Star System has been destroyed, and the Denuo People no longer exist as a racial entity." A trace of sadness entered Lianfeng's voice.

"But Deno 'civilization' won't disappear. The Galaxy Power, the Nuoxing War God... These Super Gene Engineering projects, which embody the last of Deno Civilization's efforts—especially the Galaxy Power—carry the hopes Deno Civilization had for the future, as well as its highest technological achievements."

"If we, the surviving Deno, still have any Unfinished Dreams,"

Her gaze returned to Ge Xiaolun, clumsy but brimming with potential, on the training field.

"Then it's to see the Galaxy Power grow, and to see him and the Nuoxing War God—these 'gods' created by Deno Civilization—usher in a new era and carry the flame of civilization into the future."

"Just as the Shenhe Civilization, long since lost to the river of history, did."

Lianfeng stopped. "The Shenhe Civilization ceased to exist as an entity long ago, but its 'civilization' lives on forever. It has become part of the Angels, the Demons, Lieyang, and even the genes of people on Earth today. That is how civilization achieves eternal life. This is the essence of Civilization Inheritance—not clinging to narrow notions like blood ties or surnames."

At last, she looked at Si Yao, her voice calm once more. "Of course, we don't expect people on Earth in the Pre-Nuclear Era to understand all this at once. There's a gulf between eras, and their thinking has its limits. We can't force it. All we can do is guide them and wait."

"I brought you here not because I expect you to change your mind. I only hope you'll see that even on this planet you consider 'primitive,' there are people striving to preserve and elevate civilization, even if their methods may be immature and the road ahead is shrouded in uncertainty."

"..."

On the other side of the training field, Ge Xiaolun, Zhao Xin, Liu Chuang, and the others were doing basic combat training when they spotted Lianfeng and Si Yao walking together in the distance.

"Hey, hey, look over there!" Zhao Xin was the first to notice them. He nudged Ge Xiaolun with his elbow and winked. "Isn't that Commander Lianfeng? Who's the guy beside her? Silver hair, pretty cool! Could he be... her boyfriend?"

Liu Chuang narrowed his eyes and took a good look, then shook his head. In his streetwise manner, he said, "Your eyes need checking. Look at how those two are walking. You can feel the chill from way over here. There's none of that warm, lovey-dovey vibe you get from a couple. Doesn't look like it to me."

Ge Xiaolun didn't join in. His eyes were fixed on Si Yao, his brow faintly furrowed.

Ever since he activated the Galaxy Power gene, his senses for energy and danger had become exceptionally sharp.

From that silver-haired man, he sensed an indescribable, unfathomably deep pressure.

"That man... is dangerous."

"What are you all mumbling about?!"

A woman's voice, edged with displeasure, rang out. Lena strode over with her hands on her hips, cutting off their discussion.

"Finished your training? And you still have time to stand around gawking? Get back to training, all of you! If you haven't run fifty laps by dinner, you can forget about eating!"

Zhao Xin and the others immediately fell silent. They hurriedly looked away and got back to training, not daring to say another word.

Lena watched them resume their training, then turned and headed toward Qiangwei, who was training alone nearby with high intensity.

"Qiangwei," Lena said as she reached her, lowering her voice and gesturing toward where Lianfeng and Si Yao had gone. "What's going on? Why did Lianfeng invite this big shot to Super Seminary? This place can't handle him if he starts causing trouble."

She knew about what Si Yao had done in Huang Village: he'd wiped out the Demon Legion, which had very likely been on the verge of revival, and forced Demon King Morgana to retreat. She had no confidence she could handle someone like him.

Especially his control over power. He'd wiped out the demons without damaging the surroundings—she'd only ever seen Pan Zhen do something like that.

If she'd been there, she could probably have wiped out the demons, but Huang Village would have been reduced to ashes along with them!

Qiangwei stopped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She glanced toward where Si Yao and Lianfeng had disappeared. "Don't worry. He's not that bored. As long as no one goes out of their way to provoke him, he usually can't be bothered with anyone."

Lena raised an eyebrow, clearly unsatisfied with that answer. She leaned closer, her tone a little accusatory. "Not that bored? Then why did Dukao and the others insist on secretly monitoring him the last time I went to meet him? They even ruined the meeting. If they hadn't interfered, maybe I could've talked to him a little longer!"

Lena still held a grudge over how badly that last meeting had ended.

Du Qiangwei was silent for a moment. She had asked Lianfeng about it too. She sighed softly and replied, "I don't know the exact details. Aunt Lianfeng explained later that it might have been a... poorly handled attempt at risk assessment and contact. They wanted to learn more about him, but they clearly used the wrong approach. You saw how badly it went."

She paused, then added, "But after that, the higher-ups changed their strategy. Now they're making contact in this gentler, more personal way. It seems to be working better than before. At least he hasn't shown any obvious hostility."

"If you want to meet him, just go."

Lena pursed her lips. "I can't just walk up and hit on him. What if he ignores me? How embarrassing would that be?"

"No way! You're coming with me!"

As she spoke, Lena grabbed Qiangwei and started dragging her after Lianfeng and Si Yao.

"Hey! I still have to train!"

"I, the Captain, hereby declare your training over for today!"