Time flew; a thousand years amounted to no more than a page in a history book.
Under Tu Hu's watch, the Velvet Spirit Tribe had passed through seventeen generations since entering the Twin Cities Era.
The torrent of history surged onward, leaving countless stories worth remembering in its wake.
During this period, the Rongling civilization had explored the boundaries of the world and become its undisputed ruler.
Other peoples called it the Rongling Empire.
Feiyue City, at the center of New Star Valley, had long since changed beyond recognition.
The city's energy tracks resembled a neural network woven from light, reaching into the clouds and connecting districts suspended in the air.
Antigravity vehicles glided silently through transparent tubes like swimming fish.
The Guardian Series armor, whose construction had once required Tiexin's personal supervision, had become museum exhibits, replaced by psionics constructs that integrated perfectly with life energy, interfaced with warriors' nerves, and were driven by thought.
Remembrance City, at the other end, had become the Rongling civilization's sacred ground.
Every day, clanspeople from all directions came to pay their respects in the square before the Heroic Spirit Hall.
The First-Generation Leader's statue was polished until it gleamed, while the names of those who came afterward were solemnly added to the luminous steles inside the hall as the civilization expanded.
Every brick and tile here told of history, reminding every visitor where the Rongling civilization had come from.
Jing Si, Tiexin, Xun Ying-the names of those who had once stood beside Tu Hu to usher in an era had long since become shining stars in history textbooks.
Their spirit had become the foundation of the civilization's progress, inherited and carried forward by generation after generation of new leaders.
Through each era transition, the flame of civilization burned ever brighter, illuminating paths