Amid the dense primeval forest, poisonous mists hung everywhere. Even wild animals couldn't survive there.
But the harsh environment couldn't stop the Wizards. The power of magic had created an underground military fortress deep in the primeval forest, where neither humans nor beasts could live. Tens of thousands of Resistance Force members from various countries were secretly busy manufacturing nuclear weapons inside it. The work was difficult, but success was close.
"This is far more than the intelligence reports suggested."
Li Mu frowned as he walked through the military fortress.
From what he could see, there were at least hundreds of Wizards, thousands of scientists, and tens of thousands of Resistance Force members.
And they were all elite—not the ragtag Resistance Force described in the intelligence reports.
No wonder Gaia had determined that he still hadn't conquered the Human Civilization of this world.
It was no surprise that a considerable number of the Wizards and ordinary people from various countries who had apparently submitted to him were only pretending to do so, while secretly supporting the manufacture of nuclear weapons here. As expected, the human heart was the hardest thing to conquer.
Without several decades, even the Imperius Curse would have a hard time eradicating every Resistance Force.
On the surface, it seemed that this was the last remaining Resistance Force. In reality, many more were only pretending to submit.
Uniting all the countries, merging the Wizarding World with the ordinary world, and fostering the birth of a magical technological civilization—none of these things could be accomplished in a few months or years. That was why he needed the Phoenix Apostles to maintain his rule after he left this world.
Otherwise, if he returned a few years later, the civilization he had once conquered would already have changed beyond recognition.
That was why destroying a civilization was as easy as conquering one was difficult.
But by the same token, the harder it was to conquer a civilization, the greater the benefits.
Li Mu took out an apple and casually tossed it into an unused toilet.
The Polymorph Spell on the apple wore off. A moment later, a mushroom cloud destroyed the last remaining Resistance Force in plain sight.
Li Mu watched the mushroom cloud from a distance. His consciousness sank into the Phoenix, and he immediately sensed the HuoZhong Source Power that Gaia was continuously transmitting through the Shipboard Spark. In no time, the HuoZhong Source Power, which had been at rock bottom just days ago, had surged to 19,600 calories.
That wasn't all. The Sacrifice Seed in the Sacrifice Chamber had also produced a projection of the Sacrifice Seed.
But the biggest change was the Civilization Spark that had appeared out of nowhere inside the Phoenix.
[Civilization Spark: Low-Level Magical Civilization] [Quality: Blue] [Attributes: When integrated into a planet, it can give rise to extremely faint Spark Energy across the entire planet. There is an extremely low chance that planetary life forms will merge with Spark Energy, and an extremely low chance that Spark Creations will emerge on the planet. The amount of HuoZhong Source Power generated varies according to the development of the planet's Human Civilization.] [Warning: If the civilization loses control, the Civilization Spark will also go out.]
"Civilization Spark?"
Li Mu pondered.
This was the first time he'd heard of it. That was what came of never having received a proper education as a Spark Captain.
Judging by its attributes, this thing could transform Blue Star in this world into a weakened version of a Spark World. It felt as if Gaia had planted a flag in another world to declare ownership.
Li Mu left the Phoenix and opened his hand, releasing the Civilization Spark.
From the moment it came into existence, this thing had already become bound to the Phoenix's Shipboard Spark.
The Shipboard Spark was his Second Origin HuoZhong, so he could clearly sense the Civilization Spark sinking into the ground and burrowing deeper underground. It soon reached the planet's core, where it continuously absorbed the core's power and transformed into a small sun, steadily converting the planet's core power into Spark Energy.
Nine-tenths of the Spark Energy produced this way spread across the entire planet.
The remaining tenth was sent directly to the Shipboard Spark as reserve energy for the Phoenix?
Every second, the Phoenix gained one calorie of Spark Energy.
And as time passed, the amount of Spark Energy transmitted to the Phoenix continued to increase slightly.
It made sense. This was one-tenth of the Spark Energy converted from the entire planet. Even if it was extremely faint, it was still an astonishing amount. A conservative estimate suggested that, at this stage, it could provide the Phoenix with 100,000 calories of Spark Energy a day. Later on, an increase of a million calories a day shouldn't be a problem.
With this much Spark Energy, it would be great if the transmission didn't stop when he left this world.
But he had a feeling that once he left, the energy transmission would probably stop.
After all, his Shipboard Spark wasn't yet capable of transmitting energy across worlds.
But as the Seedship continued to upgrade and the Shipboard Spark's level continued to rise, it might eventually become possible to transmit Spark Energy across worlds. Then, even without outside Spark Energy blocks to power the Seedship, it could have an inexhaustible supply of Spark Energy.
At 100,000 calories of Spark Energy a day, Li Mu almost didn't want to leave this world.
But he had no choice. He couldn't stay here forever.
A Seedship took a year to recharge after traveling to another world, and it could stay in that world for no more than a year. Reducing the cooldown or extending the stay was beyond the capabilities of a blank Seedship.
So in a little over eight months at most, he would have to leave this world.
With Apparition, Li Mu returned to the Ministry of Magic in London.
Now that the globe had been unified, the global integration ahead was the real headache. Language, writing, laws, systems of government—all of them needed to be standardized across the globe. Completely sorting them out within eight months would be no easy task.
The next eight months would be the busiest period of his life.
In the blink of an eye, eight months passed. Phoenix Square, London, Britain.
The new year had arrived, and it was once again the season when young Wizards from every country started school.
Hermione Granger pushed a large suitcase out of the car. From a distance, she saw the statue of the Phoenix Emperor in Phoenix Square. Beneath it, adult Wizards walked back and forth, directing the young Wizards to touch the statue's base.
Every young Wizard who touched the statue disappeared on the spot.
Hermione said goodbye to her parents and, full of anticipation, approached the base of the Phoenix statue and reached out her hand.
Before she could even react, she was already standing in another Phoenix Square, countless times larger than the one in London.
She was still at the base of the statue, but when Hermione looked up, she couldn't even see its knees.
"That's incredible..."
Hermione was so excited she could hardly close her mouth.
She had already seen the distant view of the statue, which stood more than ten kilometers tall, on television. But only now that she was standing beneath it did she realize how awe-inspiring it was. According to the enrollment letter, the Phoenix Academy—the only magical school in the world—was now located in the statue's left hand.
Hermione reluctantly tore her gaze away. The Phoenix Emperor was the person she admired most.
In less than a year, the Phoenix Emperor had unified the globe, ending war and hunger for good.
He had even founded the Phoenix Academy deep beneath the planet's core, bringing together the finest teachers from the global Wizarding World. Young Wizards from every corner of the globe could enroll there and receive the best magical education, free of charge.
According to the enrollment letter, the Phoenix Emperor was the Phoenix Academy's permanent headmaster.
She had to become the best new student. Then perhaps she'd get to meet the Phoenix Emperor, the person she admired most.
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