"M-me? You want me to be your new leader? I-I can't do it. Elder Ge, you're clearly the best choice."
Seeing so many people bow to him together, Amo felt immense pressure.
He didn't think he could compare to an old veteran like Elder Ge, who had fought and won battles for so many years. Even if a new head of the Garden had to be chosen, it should have been Elder Ge, not a newcomer whose combat experience amounted to less than a quarter of the time Elder Ge had spent at war.
"No! You're the most suitable person!"
Elder Ge's solemn words left Amo stunned, and the question in his heart only grew. Why choose him?
"Why choose me?"
Amo voiced the question on his mind. He needed to know the reason, or he wouldn't agree no matter how good the terms were. He didn't believe Elder Ge would use force in front of Xiahou Chan and the others.
"Because the newborn Garden needs a new leader and new rules."
"New rules?"
Amo was even more confused. What new rules?
"Yes, new rules. The Garden of old believed in the goddess's absolute leadership and considered itself the orthodox faction of Existence. The head of the Garden acted as the representative of the goddess's will. In its glory days, the Garden was even larger than the Company for a time. But too much power meant enormous desire. Ever since then, the miracles of Existence in the universe have grown fewer and fewer, and sightings of the goddess in the world have also become rarer.
"The Garden heads, once steeped in profit, began to change. Each successive head began to covet power, and the nature of the Garden changed as well. Over time, it became what it is today. So... the new Garden must change. We absolutely cannot continue down the same old path!
"The people of the Xianzhou Daiyu came to support us not just because we belong to the same Existence faction, but also because the goddess hasn't completely abandoned us. We must never disappoint her again!"
Xiahou Chan, who had been listening nearby, nodded at those words. There was no denying that the Arbiter of Life's wishes were the most important factor in their coming to help. If the Arbiter of Life truly disliked the Garden, she could have easily kept them from intervening in the Garden's turmoil.
But the Arbiter of Life had neither stopped them nor issued any divine decree. That proved Ayinai had tacitly consented to the matter.
"But you could do it too, Elder."
Elder Ge's expression changed. He stood up and said solemnly, "I don't have much time left. Although Pathstriders of Existence generally live longer, their lives aren't endless.
"I've lived nearly five hundred years now. I've witnessed the deaths of five Garden heads and seen one lose sight of his true self. I've served as commander of the Guard Corps for over three hundred years and assisted four Garden heads. I witnessed the Garden in its glory days, and today I destroyed it with my own hands.
"I don't know how much longer I have to live. So, before my soul returns to the Corridor of Existence, I want to find a suitable successor and follower for the Garden and for the faith I've followed all my life."
Every word Elder Ge spoke was sincere, straight from the heart.
Amo looked at him and couldn't help feeling awe for the old man who had devoted his life to the Garden of Existence and the goddess. Amo closed his eyes, seemingly wrestling with the decision.
Elder Ge watched him, feeling somewhat apprehensive. At this moment, the old man who had devoted his whole life to the cause was like a student waiting for exam results.
A moment later, Amo opened his eyes. With a serious gaze, he said solemnly, "I agree. I'm willing to become the new Garden head you support!"
Xiaohe smiled beside Amo. With Elder Ge and the Guard Corps supporting Amo, what she had in mind would be halfway accomplished if things continued this way.
As soon as Elder Ge heard Amo's answer, a smile appeared on his face. The Guard Corps soldiers outside the tent also broke into smiles.
Elder Ge had spent his life on the battlefield. He was an elder whose name would go down in the history of the Garden of Existence, a warrior with a distinguished record of service. Thirty percent of the territory now under the Garden of Existence's control had been conquered by forces he led. Before he arrived with his army, those planets had suffered terribly at the hands of the Swarm Disaster and the Company's Market Development Department.
Those were places he had fought hard to conquer, and that was also when he had stepped onto the Path of Existence. These were his most precious memories, so he was unwilling to watch the Garden fall into ruin like this.
Dong Tian was a genius, the greatest of all the geniuses the Garden had produced in the past century. He was intelligent, diligent, and proud, with his own unique insights into everything.
That was precisely why he had become what he was today, a presence that brought chaos to the Garden.
At that thought, Elder Ge recalled the first time he had met Dong Tian.
Dong Tian had already begun to distinguish himself then. It had been at the Garden's technology research and development conference, where Elder Ge, temporarily serving as a judge, encountered the proud and impetuous young man.
Dong Tian had created something that shocked the entire Ayinai System. It was called the "Antenna."
Its purpose was defense, but because optical materials had been incorporated into it, the Antenna remained invisible every day, only firing when the Garden came under attack and retaliated, or when Dong Tian personally activated it.
Its power was enough to pierce a planet, which would then be contaminated by the energy contained in the Antenna for nearly a hundred years, rendering it unable to produce new life.
Although it required a massive replenishment of energy after every use, the Garden was located in the Ayinai System, where the Aeon of Existence had ascended. Apart from Higgs, the power around the Garden was the most concentrated.
That day, Dong Tian stood on the awards platform, full of force, and announced loudly into the microphone, "I took part to demonstrate my talent. I'll prove to you that I'm the most suitable candidate for Garden head! No one else comes close!
"I'm standing here because this is the place closest to the goddess's statue! I want to become Garden head for no other reason than to lead the Garden to the goddess's side and become her most capable aide!"
At that moment, Elder Ge took notice of him. He admired the boy's courage and determination. Someone who could create such a weapon at that age was bound to have a limitless future.
Of course, some had objected, because the weapon Dong Tian had created was a calamity-class weapon designed entirely to erase the other party's existence.
It was something that seriously deviated from the way of Existence.
Yet Dong Tian's rebuttal at the time convinced Elder Ge that he was the right candidate for Garden head.
"The way of Existence? Did you define it? Existence is intangible and elusive to begin with. Every person and thing has its own reason for existing. This weapon is indeed a calamity-class weapon, but whether it brings fortune or disaster depends entirely on the individual. In my hands, it would only be a weapon that guards the Garden and deters evildoers. But in the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would be an evil thing that brings calamity to all!
"So, in my view, the meaning of a weapon's existence depends entirely on the person who wields it! If that person is wicked, even a fork can become a deadly weapon!"
When Dong Tian finished speaking, silence fell. The entire venue was silent. Elder Ge also shot to his feet because of his speech. He strongly agreed with Dong Tian: whether a weapon was good or bad depended on the person who wielded it. His Guard Corps, for example.
Its combat strength made the other elders feel threatened, especially while they were fighting for power and profit. Their situation seemed even more dangerous with the stern and impartial Elder Ge there, because Elder Ge himself was a veteran among the elders, while they no longer knew how many generations of elders had come and gone.
But because Elder Ge had never taken a position, this force had remained a blade hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.