Suddenly, a golden light descended from the sky thousands of miles away to the palace gate. The golden light disappeared, and a radiant being appeared at the gate.
This sight left everyone bewildered, even the most loyal guards remained unmoved. The first to react was the Celestial Divination Bureau, who immediately prostrated himself and shouted, "The gods have descended to earth! Heaven blesses the vast land!"
Everyone else followed the Celestial Divination Bureau Bu Yi in kneeling and bowing, while only Yuan Heyang and His Majesty, who had been stopped from kneeling by the two, remained standing in the main hall.
"Lord Yuan, a deity has descended to earth. Why don't you worship him? If the deity brings disaster, can you bear the consequences?"
"Lord Bu, what right do you have to criticize my teacher!"
"Friends from the heavens, welcome to my Great Cang Empire." Yuan stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said in a manner that was neither humble nor arrogant.
"I am God!"
"No, you are not a god; you simply possess more advanced technology than us."
Yuan's answer left everyone in the hall speechless, especially Bu. If it weren't for his god being right in front of him, Bu would have jumped up and killed Yuan, the god he revered.
But Bu also envied Yuan, because from the moment the god descended until now, he had never even glanced at him, and all of the god's attention was focused on Yuan.
"Yuan, you are excellent."
"I'm just not stupid."
"Yuan, Yang, and your Emperor, I grant you three ten thousand years of life." After the god finished speaking, several golden rays enveloped the three of them. A few seconds later, the golden light disappeared, and the god also vanished, leaving the three of them dumbfounded.
News of the divine intervention of the Great Cang Empire quickly spread throughout the continent, causing panic among the soldiers of the Great Cheng Empire. They had confirmed the accuracy of the news through various channels and determined that it was definitely not a hoax by the Great Cang Empire. After all, the golden light reached tens of thousands of miles into the sky and could be faintly seen even across the battlefield thousands of miles away.
In contrast to the soldiers of the Great Cheng Empire, the soldiers of the Great Cang Empire seemed to have been infused with boundless power by the gods. The war that had lasted for decades finally came to an end. The Great Cang Empire pressed on with its momentum, pursued the enemy across thousands of miles, and destroyed the Great Cheng Empire and voluntarily became its subjects.
After defeating the Great Cheng Empire, His Majesty expanded the territory while recruiting talents from all over the continent. His Majesty's recruitment notice was sent to every corner of the continent by special envoys. All talents who are proficient in divination, geomancy, astrology and other related fields, regardless of their background, merits or demerits, or region, can enter the palace to receive high salaries and serve His Majesty.
At the same time, His Majesty disbanded the Celestial Divination Bureau, revealed the truth that celestial beings were not gods, and swiftly eradicated all theological organizations among the people. His Majesty's actions caused a great uproar in a short period of time, but no one dared to resist, because His Majesty's soldiers were all brave and skilled in battle and loyal to His Majesty.
Since then, Yuan left the palace and came alone to a high mountain, where the starry sky was clearer and Yuan's thoughts could fly farther.
"Teacher."
Yang, you've arrived.
"Teacher, His Majesty misses you and specially ordered me to come and see you. Besides, it has been many years since I last visited you, and I have been very concerned. However, I have been quite busy, so please forgive me."
"How could your teacher blame you? You are now overseeing all academic matters for His Majesty, while your teacher has been slacking off. You've worked so hard."
"Teacher, is there any conclusion regarding the distance to the companion star?"
"The teacher calculated a result based on the shadow and curvature of the companion star, but the teacher still needs to verify it. Yang, what do you think this is?"
"This? I don't understand." Yang looked at the pile of gears, crank handles, and several iron blocks with very smooth surfaces, and shook his head in confusion.
"Yang, have you ever considered that the light from the Imperial Star also has a speed? It can't reach us instantly."
"Teacher, I've also thought about this question, but no matter how I test it, it's almost instantaneous. Teacher, is your device used to test the speed of light?"
"Good."
"Any results yet?"
"The teacher has measured it many times, and the speed of the light fluctuates between 200,000 and 1 million miles per breath. The teacher feels that the error is caused by the inaccuracy of my devices, and the teacher has been improving these devices recently."
"Teacher truly deserves to be called the greatest scholar of the Great Cang Empire."
"Yang, you must also work hard. The heavens have granted us a lifespan of ten thousand years; we must make good use of it and not waste our time."
"Teacher's teachings are correct, Yang will certainly remember them. By the way, teacher, Lord Bu is dead."
"Lord Bu, what a pity. His entire life he only saw me, always trying to compete with me for favor. He never understood until his death that I never actually competed with him. I only pursued the essence and truth of the world."
"Teacher, in the years you were away, the Empire has been farming according to the latest calendar you revised, and grain production has increased by 50%. Scholars at the Academy have made sweeping improvements to medicine, farming tools, weapons, and other areas. Now the Empire is prosperous and thriving, and everyone praises Your Majesty and you as gods of the Empire."
"It's just empty fame, Yang. We still have a long way to go, but we need to hurry. Can you sense the crisis?"
"Crisis? Teacher, our Great Cang Empire is rich and powerful, how could there be a crisis?"
"Yang, your teacher has repeatedly taught you to broaden your horizons. This time, the celestial beings descended and brought us benefits. Do you think there is only one celestial being? No, your teacher believes that there may be celestial beings on every star. What if the next celestial being comes and tries to kill us? What should we do then?"
"Teacher, I understand."
"Go."
Yang left, leaving Yuan alone. He never imagined that his life would be changed so drastically. Even the towering mountains couldn't compare to the imposing presence of his frail figure. As night deepened, Yuan gazed at the starry sky. The starry sky was still as beautiful as ever, but Yuan knew that beneath this beautiful surface lay endless killing intent.
Yuan's gaze fell upon a star 500 light-years away, where a catastrophe was unfolding: the Black Demon God was indiscriminately capturing opponents and technologists of the Black Demon God Cult.
This is a Planet-Level civilization. No obvious regional powers, such as nations, have formed on the planet because there are only two continents connected by a narrow land passage. The tribal chiefs and various small tribes on the eastern continent do not have a distinct faith. They develop technology, are self-reliant, and live a worry-free life.
The Western Continent is different. They worship the Black Demon God and suppress all technological dissemination. The Black Demon God Cult believes that technology is a desecration of the Black Demon God's magic, so no technological products can be seen on the Western Continent.
Logically, the Eastern Continent, armed with advanced technology, should have been even more powerful. However, the reality was quite the opposite. The Western Continent was far richer in natural resources than the Eastern Continent, resulting in a large population that was not only numerous but also strong and agile.