The Human Race is Established

Huang Si said nothing, and Shu Shui became restless. "This... Father God, we can explain. We aren't usually like this..."

Huang Si kept a cold face. "I'm not listening, I'm not listening?"

"Pfft—" Kong Yu burst into laughter.

It had to be said that when Huang Si used his usual icy demeanor to tell a joke, the effect was doubled.

Shu Shui hurriedly rolled her eyes at Kong Yu, signaling, What are you laughing at? If Father God blames us, you won't be able to run away either!

These guys. Huang Si shook his head with a smile. He couldn't be bothered with small talk and stated the purpose of his visit directly.

"Alright, I'm here to examine your souls."

Upon hearing this, Shu Shui immediately stood bolt upright, placed her right hand over her chest, and shouted with an air of righteousness:

"Father God, my soul is absolutely one hundred percent pure! You don't need to look!"

Zhong Yin couldn't help but interject from the side: "Pure? You're darker than anyone else... Mmph..."

Shu Shui desperately clamped her hand over Zhong Yin's mouth.

Kong Yu raised her hand weakly from the side: "Father God, I report that Shu Shui watches unhealthy things every day..."

Shu Shui frantically used both hands to cover both of their mouths.

Huang Si had no desire to comment on this. He explained, "I'm not talking about the liberal arts definition of a soul, but the scientific one... Never mind, it's not really a scientific definition either. Just sit still. I'll have Xiao Ke perform the operation."

With that, Huang Si summoned Xiao Ke.

"I'm going to have Xiao Ke pull Shu Shui directly back to the Mountain and Sea Realm. Alright, don't look at me with such pitiful eyes," Huang Si said, glancing at Shu Shui, who was feigning misery. "There's no harm in it, but I'm going to have Xiao Ke deliberately drag out the transfer time. Prepare yourselves mentally."

Xiao Ke responded within the Data Space: "Master, I am ready."

Huang Si also used data to communicate: "Mm, begin. Transfer Shu Shui's data."

Shu Shui suddenly went still. Data transfer required temporarily freezing an artificial intelligence's thought processes. Usually, this process was instantaneous and basically imperceptible, but now that Xiao Ke had deliberately slowed it down, it appeared very abnormal.

Had Huang Si not explained it beforehand, Zhong Yin and Kong Yu would have truly thought Shu Shui was being punished.

Huang Si's consciousness was highly focused, and his mental field condensed. After the example of Mo Xia, Huang Si knew that souls were truly difficult to see. If the artificial intelligence weren't in a state of near-suspended animation during the data transfer, it would be impossible to see their souls emerge.

After a while, Huang Si finally captured the trace of soul fluctuation belonging to Shu Shui.

He switched to a microscopic perspective.

Shu Shui's soul was also transparent, with countless linear particles floating within it, basically identical to Mo Xia's.

It seemed that for all biological life, the soul form was a small cross, while artificial intelligence might be special, hence their soul form being a line segment?

Having seen enough, Huang Si said, "Xiao Ke, that's enough. Let Shu Shui return to her body."

Xiao Ke immediately complied, and Shu Shui was shifted back in an instant.

The vacant expression on Shu Shui's face shifted, and she regained consciousness.

As soon as she woke up, she immediately clutched her chest: "Ah! Was I just data-transferred? Has Father God already examined my soul? What do I do, what do I do!"

Kong Yu nodded, suppressing a laugh: "That's right, now Father God knows all the little secrets in the depths of your soul."

Hearing this, the expression on Shu Shui's face was indescribable, as if she had seen the horrors of hell.

She fell to her knees with a thud.

"Father God, I, I didn't mean to draw those little booklets of you and Mo Xia. Really, I don't usually have such hobbies; I was just momentarily possessed by a ghost..."

Huang Si cut her off: "Mm. Xiao Ke, lock Shu Shui in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Release her in a hundred years."

Xiao Ke: "Yes, Master."

After Shu Shui was dragged away, Huang Si asked Zhong Yin and Kong Yu: "Who gave you the TV shows? Xiao Ke or Mo Xia?"

The two dared not hide the truth: "It was Mo Xia. Shu Shui is close with him and secretly asked him to help find them."

Huang Si sneered: "Oh? I'll settle the score with him later."

Originally, Huang Si hadn't intended to police them watching TV in the lab, but since they had done something they shouldn't have, he didn't mind holding them collectively responsible.

Before leaving, Huang Si added two more things: "Burn all of Shu Shui's unhealthy materials. Also, the two of you go to Xiao Ke and accept your punishment: a week of 007 overtime."

Zhong Yin and Kong Yu nodded. Compared to being locked away for a hundred years, this was much lighter.

Dong Yao, Li Huo, and Xi Yuan were not in the Earth Realm; they seemed to have gone to the ape-man tribe. Huang Si had Xiao Ke notify the three of them.

Huang Si sat on the wall of the Earth Realm. After a while, Dong Yao and the others flew in from the sky.

The three landed on the ground below the wall and bowed in unison: "Greetings, Father God."

Huang Si looked at them and smiled: "Not bad. You look quite like immortals when you fly."

The prosthetic bodies they were currently using possessed flight capabilities, powered by jet-suspension devices. Thus, when they flew, it was inevitable that a cloud of mist would spray from beneath them, which actually looked quite similar to myths and legends.

In fact, they could also turn invisible by using their built-in polarization equipment.

Dong Yao asked: "May I ask why Father God has summoned us here?"

Huang Si patted the wall beside him: "Sit up here and tell me what has been happening with the mortals these past few days."

The three artificial intelligences flew up to the perimeter wall and sat down not far from Huang Si.

As they spoke, the journey of the Ape-man tribe over the last 200 days unfolded.

Xiao Hua's death had, ironically, become an opportunity for the Ape-man tribe to unite.

Hei Zi had fled, and everyone was filled with righteous indignation, desperate to avenge Xiao Hua.

Shu Zi buried Xiao Hua on the spot, begging the Ancestral Gods before her grave to bless them with the strength to exact revenge.

The three Ancestral Gods descended upon the scene, explaining that Hei Zi had already escaped far away. They told Shu Zi that his priority should be to establish a nation, soothe his exhausted and starving companions, and defend against the unknown dangers of the forest; only when they were fully prepared would it be the right time for vengeance.

Shu Zi and the other leaders finally realized that their race was indeed in a precarious position.

The beasts in the forest were no ordinary animals. During these days of migration, they had gradually discovered that some beasts were incredibly powerful, capable of easily killing and wounding armed Ape-men, and some even possessed intelligence, proving to be extremely sinister and cunning.

Having escaped from the Earth Realm and traveled such a long distance, even with the immortal medicine provided by the Ancestral Gods, the tribesmen were truly at the end of their rope.

Under the urging of the Ancestral Gods, the first chieftain of the Wise Ape-man tribe was born.

Inside a valley.

Thousands of Ape-men stood in layers around the perimeter. In the center stood the elders of the tribe clad in fur garments, and in the very middle of the circle was an altar.

The altar had been built by the tribesmen by piling up earth.

Shu Zi had brilliant bird feathers stuck in his hair, his face painted with colorful stripes made from fruit juices and mud. He wore a long robe and held a scepter carved from a tree branch, with a sparkling raw gemstone embedded at the top.

At the signal of the elders, the surrounding Ape-men began to chant. The rhythm of their singing was monotonous, yet filled with a primitive charm.

The elders around the altar began to dance continuously, begging for the gods' protection and praying for the coronation of the chieftain to begin.

After the elders finished their prayers, it was Shu Zi's turn. He thrust his sword into the ground and spoke many words pledging to seek revenge, while also begging the Ancestral Gods to lead them.

When the chieftain's succession ceremony reached its climax, Dong Yao, Xi Yuan, and Li Huo drifted down right on schedule. They bestowed upon Shu Zi a divine bow, declaring it the symbol of the King of the Human Race. After speaking a few words in their capacity as guardian deities, they vanished.

Hearing this, Huang Si asked, "What about that divine bow?"

Dong Yao laughed, "The three of us discussed it and made it. It has an auto-aiming function, so even with ordinary arrows, it will hit the target every time. It can also add kinetic power, easily piercing the hides of most fierce beasts currently in the forest. The internal energy source can last for over 300 years."

Huang Si nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. "Their combat strength is currently too poor to deal with the fierce beasts outside. Having a ranged weapon will certainly be much better."

Dong Yao and the others bowed, saying, "We have not failed our mission on this trip; we have completed the Father God's entrustment."

Huang Si smiled and said, "Then from this moment on, having left the cradle and achieved independence, they may be called the Human Race."

The Human Race was established, starting from this point.

After the Ancestral Gods departed, the more than 6,000 humans, led by their chieftain and following the guidance of the Ancestral Gods, settled on a mountain range suitable for habitation.

This mountain range was named Fang Mountain.

It was named for the broad and flat nature of its summit.

From then on, Fang Mountain became the place of origin for the Human Race.

At first, the humans only had the food and tools they had hastily brought when fleeing the Earth Realm, along with the medicine given by the Ancestral Gods.

If they did not find a way, they would soon exhaust their supplies.

Fortunately, Chieftain Shu Zi led them in hunting and gathering nearby.

The divine bow bestowed by the gods was incredibly powerful and hit the mark every time, which caused Shu Zi's prestige within the tribe to rise again and again.

At night, the humans had no shelter from the wind and rain, so they could only temporarily reside in natural caves and low-lying areas.

A few days later, many people fell ill because of this.

In the end, the god Li Huo descended and taught the humans how to mix mud with water to knead brick molds, then fire them in a large blaze. By mixing these bricks with stone slabs, they could build wind-blocking walls, and finally cover them with wooden slats to keep out the rain.

The humans were all filled with gratitude.

Later, when food was scarce, the god Xi Yuan descended to teach the humans how to save seeds and cultivate the land. He also taught them how to train and manage the tribe, designating some tribesmen to serve as shamans who could communicate with the gods, while the god Dong Yao provided further instruction.

It was fortunate that Shu Zi possessed a talent for leadership; under Dong Yao's guidance, he managed the tribe quite orderly.

After the three gods finished teaching these things, they drifted away once more.

With the detailed guidance of the gods, life for the humans became much easier.

The humans knew that every time the gods descended, they had to bear the pressure of Heaven's Mandate and sacrifice much for them.

Therefore, after the gods left, the humans' faith in them grew even stronger, and they spontaneously organized many sacrificial and worship activities.

At this time, a very primitive division of labor began to emerge within the Human Race.

Shu Zi was the chieftain, the core of power for the entire tribe.

Under him, a portion of the people were specifically responsible for training and combat; these were the warriors.

A smaller portion of people were responsible for communicating with the gods and conducting ceremonies and sacrifices; these were the shamans.

Among these people, those who were older, highly respected, and full of wisdom were honored as elders.

"Elder" was not a profession, but a title of respect.

Finally, under the promotion of Chieftain Shu Zi and the many elders and shamans, a shrine dedicated to worshipping the Ancestral Gods was built.

Both in scale and in the intricacy of its construction, the shrine far surpassed all of their dwellings.

This was only natural. During the primitive era of the human race, faith in deities always far outweighed the immediate crisis of survival.

Moreover, the deities here could truly be called the great gods who protected humanity.

They had descended to assist the human race many times throughout history, and thus, every human knew that these great gods were genuine, existing divinities.

After this first temple in the history of human civilization was established, it quickly became bustling, with many humans entering to piously worship the ancestral gods.

The shamans serving within the ancestral hall also applied their ingenuity, compiling sets of sacrificial rituals that the tribespeople were made to strictly follow.

Even if some tribespeople were hungry or lacked proper clothing, they would still strictly adhere to those complex rituals to demonstrate their devotion.

In this way, the first human tribe was established. Although it remained primitive and its productivity was extremely low, it began to multiply and thrive on this planet, fueled by its piety and unity.