An unprecedented radiance

A city in southwestern Huaxia.

The summer sun blazed, and heat rose in shimmering waves.

Leaves drooped listlessly along the roadside, and even the noisy cicadas had fallen silent.

Just then, a series of piercing sirens broke the oppressive stillness of the streets.

Fire engines roared past one after another, racing toward the outskirts.

Days of extreme heat, combined with drought and scant rainfall, had sparked a wildfire.

The flames spread rapidly, threatening the safety of more than thirty million residents.

Thousands of firefighters had thrown themselves into the battle at the first opportunity.

"Hold it back! We can't let the fire spread any farther!"

The fire captain's face was smeared with ash. Every hoarse shout drew scorching air into his throat, leaving it burning with pain.

But he had no time to worry about that. He shouted urgent orders while swinging a branch at the flames licking around his feet.

Despite the thousands of firefighters giving their all, the steep mountain roads were impassable to vehicles, leaving them short of firefighting supplies.

The wildfire continued to spread faster and faster.

The situation was critical. Not a moment could be wasted.

Just as the captain was desperately calling for reinforcements, his heart burning with anxiety,

a chorus of rumbling engines suddenly rose from the foot of the mountain.

Several firefighters rubbed their smoke-reddened eyes and turned to look, stunned by what they saw.

Motorcycles laden with supplies were struggling up the rugged, steep mountain paths, drawing steadily closer to the fire!

After seeing the news, countless residents had braved the sweltering heat and rushed over of their own accord, without anyone needing to organize them!

Nearly ninety percent of the city's motorcycles had gathered at the foot of the mountain in a short span of time.

The vast army of motorcycles formed a long line that wound up from the mountain's base!

Basket after basket of firefighting supplies was carried up the mountain and delivered into the firefighters' hands.

Even young women who had only recently become mothers came to help with their babies on their backs.

These people dropped off their supplies and left, ignoring requests to leave their names.

But when they heard that volunteers were needed, everyone present immediately turned around and raised their hands high.

This was a city's unity!

Whatever these people were like in everyday life, none of them hesitated when trouble struck.

This was also a city's spirit!

Countless examples of that same spirit had come together to form the Huaxia of today!

"Make way! Make way! I'm an Awakened! Let me do it!"

"Me too! I'm a descendant of Dayu! Let me go first!"

"Me, me, me! Me too!"

Figure after figure pushed through the crowd, shouldered the firefighting equipment on the ground, and charged into the blaze.

"You've always protected us. Today, it's our turn to protect you!"

They positioned themselves directly in front of the firefighters, blocking the towering flames.

One...

Two...

Ten...

A hundred...

A thousand...

As the city's Awakened arrived one after another, the raging wildfire was finally beaten back and gradually extinguished.

A massive disaster had been averted.

Similar scenes were unfolding across Huaxia.

As more descendants of Dayu awakened their bloodlines, the Nine Provinces carried ever greater weight on the world stage.

But what surprised every nation was this.

Despite its staggering number of Awakened, Huaxia had experienced no unrest or chaos whatsoever.

Not only had order been maintained, but even more astonishingly, the crime rate had actually dropped considerably.

To everyone else, this was simply unimaginable.

Still, their surprise was understandable.

Huaxia was different from their countries.

The authority to awaken bloodlines rested entirely in Su Chen's hands.

Every descendant of Dayu whose bloodline was awakened had first undergone rigorous screening.

Anyone with a criminal record, or a habit of bullying the weak and picking fights,

was ruled out without exception.

This was not because Su Chen judged people through a prejudiced lens or divided Dayu's descendants into different classes.

Rather, the bloodline power left by their ancestor was itself a double-edged sword.

Used well, it could make every person in Huaxia as mighty as a dragon!

But if the wrong people were chosen, this gift from their ancestor could instead become a source of evil that sowed chaos across the Nine Provinces and oppressed their compatriots.

Neither Dayu nor Su Chen would ever want to see that happen.

Having received absolute inheritance, Su Chen could awaken the bloodlines of Dayu's descendants, but he could also reclaim their awakening power at any time.

It was like an alarm bell hanging over every Awakened in Huaxia, constantly reminding them not to act with impunity.

Moreover, after everything they had experienced, the Descendants of Dayu who had awakened their bloodlines treasured their ancestor's gift more than the Awakened of other countries did, and would not casually disgrace him.

Still, nothing was absolute. As more people awakened their bloodlines, Su Chen could not possibly keep track of everything alone.

At times like this, Huaxia's unique social structure came into play.

Through Zhu Yuanzheng's successive rounds of screening, a large group of upright, loyal, patriotic Awakened was soon selected from the military.

Starting with neighborhood committees and local police stations, every grassroots institution had these people stationed there, specifically responsible for managing ordinary residents within its jurisdiction who had awakened their bloodlines.

Awakened varied in strength, and could not all be treated alike.

These soldiers had already been stronger than ordinary people, so naturally, they became stronger still after awakening.

With them around, trouble was unlikely to arise under normal circumstances.

And it was not just at the grassroots level. Reliable Awakened stood guard at every successive level above it as well.

Like a pyramid, each level bore its own responsibilities, with clearly defined jurisdictions.

With this arrangement,

Su Chen barely needed to exert himself. He only had to manage the few Awakened at the very top to maintain control over the vast numbers of Descendants of Dayu.

But this was only possible because of Huaxia's unique national circumstances.

An extensive grassroots system.

A population willing to consider the greater good and accept oversight.

Large numbers of trustworthy Awakened.

And Su Chen's unparalleled power to deter them.

Without even one of these conditions, it would have been impossible.

So however envious or resentful other countries might be, they had no way to imitate it.

When the Awakened ceased to be a destabilizing force in society and instead united in purpose and effort,

every city in Huaxia shone with an unprecedented radiance.

Social order improved along with it.

After all, the man cooling off by the roadside, the old fellow taking his caged bird for a stroll by the river, or even the student cycling to school could now be an Awakened.

Under those circumstances, who would be crazy enough to commit a crime?

Everything was going well at home, and dozens of countries now followed Huaxia's lead.

The global order that had taken shape over the past year shifted once again.

Though many powers did not want to see this happen, they had no way to stop Huaxia's advance.

However...

Despite the favorable situation both at home and abroad,

one matter still weighed on Su Chen's mind.

He still remembered something Dayu had said back then.

"A great calamity approaches, and living beings will suffer terribly. But with you standing guard, the Nine Provinces should be able to turn disaster into good fortune."

Those words had settled on Su Chen's heart like a stone.

At first, he had thought the great calamity Dayu spoke of was Haidong's invasion.

But thinking back afterward, with Dayu's breadth of vision, how could a mere Haidong Country possibly count as a great calamity?

To get to the bottom of it, he had asked Zhu Yuanzheng to dispatch people to investigate all around the world.

Yet several months had passed without a single clue.

Dayu would certainly not have spoken nonsense.

Then what exactly did this great calamity refer to?

Surely it couldn't be an alien invasion?

The more Su Chen thought about it, the more confused and irritated he became.

He was an ancestor from four thousand years ago, for goodness' sake. Why say half of it and leave the rest unsaid? Wasn't that just deliberately making people anxious?

But there was no use letting his imagination run wild now.

He could only wait for the next symbol to appear, summon another ancestor, and ask then.

Yet more than a year had already passed since the first symbol appeared.

No one knew when the second would come.

They might have to wait another year, or it might happen today.

That feeling of being unable to predict or work anything out was truly uncomfortable.