Dean Bai added, "It seems my restlessness is likely due to this reason..."
Xie Ming nodded as well.
Before Wen Jing could ask anything, Dean Bai looked at her first. "You know that the Federation has S-rank Awakened, right?"
Wen Jing was startled and nodded.
S-class Awakened are transcendent and mysterious, and can be considered strategic humanoid weapons of civilization.
The war Federation and the Empire was only a localized conflict, partly because both sides had S-class Awakened suppressing the conflict, thus deterring each other.
For ordinary people, all they know is that six S-class individuals have emerged in the history of the Federation. However, the exact number of those still existing and their abilities are top secrets known only to the Federation's high command.
If Wen Jing hadn't previously come into contact with the Secret Treasure Gate through Dean Bai, as an ordinary student, he wouldn't have known that the power of an S-level Awakened had reached the point of changing the rules of the universe.
Dean Bai quickly replied, " The Federation currently only has one S-rank official they can contact. He usually lives in seclusion, but he is about to visit Congress."
"Did he discover something?" Wen Jing's expression turned serious as he realized what was going on.
Perhaps she was wrong; the Genetic Collapse she experienced might have stemmed from some external threat. The teacher's intuition might also be based on this unknown threat...
"I don't know yet," Dean Bai replied, "But something that seriously threatens the survival of the entire Federation is bound to happen."
Seeing Wen Jing's puzzled look, she explained, "His title is ' The Prophet '."
"Yes, that's exactly what you think. His ability is to foresee the future."
Chapter 167
Predict the future!
Upon hearing Dean Bai's words, Wen Jing's mind immediately began to wander.
Prophecy, regardless of its context, is an extremely powerful and unique ability.
She was very curious about the specific type of precognition this S-class Awakened.
Because it involves predicting the future, a new question inevitably arises: can the future predicted by Prophet be changed?
If fate is fixed, and the future is like a pre-recorded movie, the Prophet has only seen a certain segment. The future cannot be changed, and all efforts, even issuing prophecies in advance, are part of the path to the predetermined ending.
Another possibility is that the future can be changed. In the river of countless possibilities, the Prophet only sees the tributary with the highest probability. As long as action is taken, development can be steered in another direction.
And on a more philosophical level... has the act of prophecy itself already altered the future?
Just as throwing a stone into water creates ripples, the act of "testing the water's path" itself changes the surface of the water.
However, regardless of the type, the content of the prophecy is extremely important to people today.
Although Wen Jing had many thoughts in his mind, he knew that Dean Bai and Xie Ming were in a hurry to go to the National Assembly, so he didn't rush to ask. He just wanted to wait until they finished listening to the prophecy before asking any questions.
Unexpectedly, Dean Bai immediately said to her, "Come, come with us to the Congress."
"Me?" Wen Jing was taken aback. "Can I go?"
She wasn't invited.
"Wait for us in the lounge outside Congress," Dean Bai explained. "After the prophecy ends, I'll try to get you to see him and ask about your Genetic Collapse."
"If we can't find the reason for this in the past, let's look to the future."
Wen Jing widened; her teacher's connections were simply unfathomable.
But would the Prophet agree?
The three walked out of the base while talking, and the aircraft was already waiting at the door.
"I don't know. He's been living in seclusion for sixty years. There's no harm in giving it a try," Dean Bai said, stroking his chin. "He seems to like me quite a bit."
Upon hearing this, Xie Ming, who was boarding the aircraft, almost stumbled. "Huh?"
Dean Bai gave him a strange look. "Why are you so surprised? My mother had dealings with him. I met him before I awakened, and he said back then that I would awaken in the future."
"Oh, I see!" Xie Ming chuckled dryly.
Wen Jing, standing to the side, shook his head in disbelief.
*
In less than five minutes, the Federation Congress came into Wen Jing through the awning window.
Its structure resembles a Giant obelisk, standing in the center of an ice rift valley. The entire structure is cast from special materials, seemingly possessing an energy-absorbing effect, presenting an absolute darkness, similar in principle to Wen Jing's current exoskeleton.
Meanwhile, on the surface of the monument, which is over two thousand meters high, there are energy conduits pulsating with golden light, leading directly to the geothermal energy deep within the rift valley.
"Beep! Capacity of three people... Verification passed. Two people granted advanced permits, one person granted basic permits."
After verifying its identity and obtaining permission, the aircraft passed through the bridge made of condensed light particles and entered the entrance of the base.
At this moment, it wasn't just the three of them who arrived; there were also various top-of-the-line aircraft carrying the Federation's most powerful group of Awakened.
People who couldn't be gathered even if a parliament was convened arrived here at top speed, without missing a single one.
Upon arriving inside the Capitol, Wen Jing was stopped at the outermost level, as he lacked the authority to enter any deeper areas.
However, this was something I had anticipated before coming here.
"Wait for us here."
"I see."
Dean Bai gave Xie Ming some instructions and then hurried deeper inside. The surrounding area was also filled with high-ranking Federation officials rushing in. Some of them noticed Wen Jing waiting outside, and their gazes, filled with various ambiguous meanings, swept over her.
After the Imperial assassination attempt, even though she was still a student, these previously arrogant Federation officials had to take notice of her.
Within two minutes, everyone who had entered the passage had completely disappeared; it seemed that everyone had arrived.
Wen Jing checked the time; it was 5:58 PM.
Based on this, the prophecy should be released at 6 o'clock sharp.
*
At the same time, in the main hall of the National Assembly, which can accommodate 10,000 people, those with the power to decide matters large and small in the Federation government gathered together.
No one participated in such an important event as the Prophet issuing a prophecy via holographic communication; all of them came in person to show their respect for the Prophet.
The lobby was solemnly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
However, the spiritual realm was quite lively, with political figures from various factions and forces engaging in silent 'encrypted calls' through Mental Link.
Have you received any news recently?
"The last time the Prophet appeared before the public was 120 years ago when Lord Bai awakened, and almost 300 years have passed since his last prophecy..."
"Could this disaster be no less devastating than the gamma-ray burst of that year? Our technology is now advanced enough to handle those kinds of natural disasters."
"If there were disasters we could handle, why would the Prophet appear?"
Dean Bai listened quietly to his colleagues' conversation, without participating, but his brows furrowed slightly.
That feeling of unease is getting stronger and stronger...
Time ticked by, and it was exactly 6 PM.
A figure dressed in a black robe, whose body and face were completely concealed under the hood, appeared on the central platform.
Around the other person's neck was a pendant shaped like a miniature Federation galaxy.
The pendant rotated slowly in the Capitol, mimicking the orbital motion of a planet and emitting a special glow.
Dean Bai and a few others in the audience who had actually seen the Prophet showed slight changes in expression, realizing that the person before them was not the Prophet in person.
However, the pendant serves as a key to identity, proving that the visitor is a follower of the Prophet.
"I bring my master's prophecy..."
"A horrific catastrophe will destroy all of human civilization in the future."
"And the source of this disaster has been found... the other party is now a Federation citizen."
The moment the words were spoken, there was a brief silence in the audience, followed by an uproar.
Who is it?!
*
Wen Jing sat in the chair, closing his eyes to rest.
Genetic Collapse, a teacher's ominous premonition, the birth of Prophet... So many things happened in less than an hour in one day.
She wasn't without her doubts about the Prophet's sudden appearance.
However, based on Dean Bai's description, the Prophet sounded like a transcendent elder who lived in seclusion and should not have much to do with the conglomerate.
Moreover, at the S-level, one person's will can supersede that of all conglomerates.
From a rational perspective, while it's not impossible that the Prophet's appearance is directed at her, it's relatively low.
As I said before, if there are people or forces with the resources to specifically target Wen Jing with S-rank Awakened, there's no need for S-ranks to intervene.
Even though she is somewhat famous now and has a promising future, she is by no means capable of instigating a powerful figure of this caliber to issue a prophecy. The price she pays is completely disproportionate to the benefits she receives.
It's impossible that the other party predicted she would become a world-destroying demon king, right?
Wen Jing was amused by this guess. To be honest, judging from her current appearance, she really wasn't human anymore...
If that's really the case, we can just arrange for other powerful individuals to take action and kill her.
She herself knew she had a trump card, but in the eyes of others, her strength was no match for that of veteran Awakened.
However, at that moment, three Awakened dressed in black robes appeared silently.
Wen Jing suddenly opened his eyes, about to react—
The next moment, the entire space-time suddenly shifted.
*
"Who is this person? How could he possibly destroy all of human civilization?!"
Inside the Capitol, everyone was stunned by the contents of the prophecy.
If it weren't for the prestige and status of the Prophet, many people's first reaction would definitely be to scoff.