Golden Star, the Life Factory.
In the dimly lit environment, petri dishes were evenly distributed on the metal floor. Through the glass barrier, one could see the pale green life solution inside, and human bodies growing rapidly like inflated balloons.
With a crisp electronic sound, the incubator stopped running, the hatch slowly opened, and one by one the 'newborns' sat up, opening their eyes in turn after a moment of silence.
After a brief period of confusion, the dormant information clusters in the minds of these newborns begin to take effect, gently and quickly infusing some basic memories into their already fully developed brains using advanced information technology and bioelectric technology.
Then, those empty eyes began to radiate a light that represented wisdom.
An octopus-shaped alchemical assistant floated over and spoke, "Welcome to the Golden Empire. From today onwards, you are legal citizens of the Empire and will enjoy all the benefits that ordinary citizens of the Empire should have. Now, please leave the incubation dish, line up and follow me out of the Life Factory to collect your identification documents. On the way, you may think about your names."
After saying this, the alchemy assistant turned around, flew to the door, and waited quietly.
The newborns in the petri dishes looked at each other, but without much hesitation, they smoothly accepted their status as citizens of the Golden Empire thanks to the memories in their minds. They then lined up in an orderly fashion and followed the alchemy assistants out of the factory.
After taking parallel stairs and passing through a long metal corridor, the group of newborns arrived at the identity registration machine and completed the registration and authentication process.
According to past procedures, newborns should be assigned various jobs to gradually integrate into society. After fully adapting, they can choose further education, and if they are qualified enough, they can also enter higher education institutions for advanced studies.
However, today, the familiar procedures have changed slightly.
After registering their identity information, these newborns were not immediately sent back to society, but instead entered the Nirvana Tower through a short-distance spatial teleportation portal.
Where is this?
"I don't know, what are those glowing things in the sky?"
"Wow, it looks so beautiful, just like the Starry Sky I remember."
The newborns were buzzing with discussion.
Aside from the basic educational knowledge transmitted in a fixed manner, the other memories they receive in the petri dish are all different and completely random.
Logo, through calculations, designed a life template system, creating hundreds of millions of different templates, which he then loaded onto these androids, shaping their distinct personalities—some warm and generous, some calm and rigid, some decisive and ruthless...
Without exception, these androids are absolutely loyal to the Golden Empire, at least for the time immediately after their creation.
It was for this reason that Lancelot intended to make them the first test subjects for his Transcendent system.
Loyalty is one aspect, social impact is another. If we choose people who have already fully integrated into society for the experiment, we will need to handle the aftermath if an accident occurs.
Neither Logo nor Lancelot treated the citizens of the Golden Empire as mere tools; they also considered themselves part of civilization.
"You don't need to be nervous, relax. This is the Nirvana Tower, not a dangerous place."
Lancelot appeared out of thin air, standing in mid-air with his arms crossed, looking down at the densely packed artificial humans.
"Nirvana Tower? Isn't that the supreme holy site of the Empire?"
"He is His Excellency the Radiance of Holy Light, the second most powerful figure in the Empire, the great True God."
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Holy Light!"
With a gasp, the androids who recognized Lancelot all knelt down.
Seeing this, Lancelot nodded slightly and waved his hand, saying, "Get up, all of you. There's an important matter that has brought you into the Nirvana Tower. Our Golden Empire has just created a new Transcendent system, and you are fortunate to have the opportunity to be among the Transcendent to experience it."
"A new Transcendent system? I don't remember it."
"Nonsense, His Holiness the Holy Light has already stated that it's a new Transcendent system, so of course it's impossible for it to exist in our memories."
"For His Holiness the Holy Light to personally intervene, the professionals trained by the new Transcendent system must be incredibly powerful!"
Ignoring the whispers among the homunculi, Lancelot raised his hand, and the countless orbs of light floating in the sky transformed into a river of light, flowing down towards the crowd below.
As they got closer, the true nature of these orbs of light was revealed: they were actually small statues of various shapes, their surfaces emitting a faint glow.
Hake Wellinsson was one of the newborn androids. He was male, with a square face, a strong build, and pale gold skin. He was clearly a Quebec People, the same race as Lancelot's original race.
At that moment, a statue shaped like an eagle landed in front of Hake Wellinson, its light dimming as it swayed back and forth.
Hake was taken aback, then, as if struck by inspiration, he stretched out his right hand, and the eagle statue landed in his hand, then turned into liquid and entered his body through his pores.
"What's going on?!"
After a moment of stunned silence, a sense of curiosity mixed with a slight panic surfaced in Hake's mind, leaving him somewhat at a loss.
But soon, a sharp, piercing cry of an eagle exploded in Hake's mind. He screamed and fell to the ground, startling those around him who quickly retreated, all eyes fixed on Hake.
Under everyone's gaze, blood-red lines appeared on Hake's body, resembling eagle feathers. His fingernails grew longer and thinner, becoming exceptionally sharp, and his pupils transformed into Eagle Eye. The most significant change was on his back, where a pair of eagle wings tore through his skin and emerged from behind Hake.
In a very short time, Hake transformed into an Hawkfolk.
What's wrong with me?
After the pain subsided, Hake regained consciousness and then realized he was different.
"Such immense power, is this really my body?"
Hake stretched out his claws in disbelief and swung them forcefully. A sharp whooshing sound rang out, and three sharp, pale blue energy blades shot out and flew towards the crowd.
The deadly danger terrified those facing the energy blades, turning them ashen-faced and closing their eyes to await death.
At this moment, Lancelot made his move. With just a thought, he caused the energy blades capable of severing the giant steel gate to freeze in mid-air. They then returned to their source, transforming back into energy and returning to Hake's body.
"Your Majesty, I... I didn't mean to..." Hake blushed and hurriedly waved his hands to explain.
But before he could make more than a few moves, he lowered his hand in alarm, fearing that he might accidentally release the energy blade again. In his memory, the laws of the Golden Empire stipulated that murderers would pay with their lives and be sentenced to death. He had just been given life and had a long life ahead of him; he couldn't die and had to abide by the law.
Hake's flustered reaction made Lancelot laugh, and he explained in a very gentle tone, "Don't be nervous, this is a direct reaction to the awakening of Transcendent genes. It's easy to lose control of the power at first, but you'll get used to it."
"Will I look like this in the future?" Hake asked nervously, glancing at the several beautiful women beside him as he spoke.
Lancelot immediately understood and reassured him, "Don't worry, once you can control the power within you, you'll be able to restore your appearance."
"Is that so? Holy Light, Your Majesty, for your grace, which has made me Transcendent being!"
"That person became Transcendent? How did they do that?"
"I think I just saw him merge a statue into his body, and then something changed."
"If he can do it, we should be able to too. His Highness the Holy Light certainly won't show favoritism."
The immense power that Hake displayed completely excited the artificial beings, who all reached out to grab the glowing statue floating in mid-air.
However, most of the time, their hands simply pass through the seemingly solid statues. Only a few lucky ones, like Hake, merge with the statues, undergoing a dramatic physical transformation and becoming Transcendent beings.
As more and more people became Transcendent, the remaining ones began to feel anxious. Lancelot, in this process, said little and instead acted as an observer and recorder.
A dozen minutes later, all the androids had the statues implanted in their bodies and become Transcendent.
During this process, Lancelot also collected a large amount of relevant parameters. Looking at the chaotic crowd below, he said, "From today onwards, you are all members of the new Transcendent system, the ' Endless Pantheon.' I have placed all the relevant cultivation plans and advancement paths in the Endless Divine Hall. From now on, the Endless Divine Hall will stand above the Crimson Continent, and any member of the Endless Pantheon can enter it to obtain the corresponding cultivation knowledge."
"Endless Pantheon? Endless Divine Hall? Is this the name of our class system and its corresponding Hall of Inheritance?"
"Sounds pretty good, no wonder His Holiness the Holy Light is personally promoting it."
A few minutes later, the first batch of Transcendent beings from the Endless Pantheon were sent out of the Nirvana Tower.
With a thought, Lancelot conjured a majestic and towering sacred temple in the sky above the Crimson Continent, instantly attracting the attention of many.
"The Endless Pantheon, sharing the same name as your Divine Body, does indeed align with the cultivation methods of this Transcendent system."
Logo revealed himself and stood before Lancelot. "Are you sure it's feasible to use the particles that constitute your Divine Body to support Endless Pantheon? What if the particles can't be retrieved in the future? That would be disastrous, and you'd be easily targeted using causal methods."
"Don't worry." Lancelot smiled confidently. "I've considered all of these things you're concerned about. Rest assured, the particles I sent out were merely Replication Steel Feather Cloak. The original body remains within me, carrying the essence of my Divine Body and retaining absolute control."
"Oh? Is that so?" Logo understood, then asked, "What's the difference between the offspring and the mother?"
Lancelot explained, "What I call the 'sub-body' Foundation of Transcendence. It allows those without Transcendent talent to embark on the path of the Transcendent. Furthermore, every time the host of the sub-body grows stronger, it will feed back a portion of its power to me. If the host dies completely, its power will immediately return, including all the experience it gained through cultivation..."
After Lancelot's explanation, Logo gained a general understanding of the Endless Pantheon of cultivation he had created.
In short, this is a Transcendent system that controls everything from its source, and Lancelot, as the origin "progenitor," holds an absolute position in this system.
He can arbitrarily strip the power of the sub-host, and even subtly infiltrate its consciousness. The stronger the sub-host, the faster the particles within its body grow, and the corresponding insights and energy will be synchronized to the mother body through causal lines, allowing Lancelot to gain benefits without moving.
At the same time, the sub-entity also has a host selection mechanism, which can automatically select a suitable host through talent attraction, compatibility and other means, so as to maximize the effect of the particle.
Of course, Lancelot's Transcendent system was not entirely about exploitation.
In fact, he would never strip a sub-host of his power unless absolutely necessary, because doing so would provoke a full-scale rebellion within the system.
The higher the sunk costs invested and the stronger the Endless Pantheon becomes, the less likely Lancelot, as the original progenitor, is to destroy the Great Wall himself.
In addition, Lancelot's Endless Pantheon does not consider Transcendent talent. Everyone starts from the same point, and subsequent development depends entirely on one's own qualities, such as courage, perseverance, decisiveness, and wisdom. In this way, it undoubtedly provides a broad road for elite mortals without Transcendent talent to climb upwards.
Essentially, this is a mutually agreeable transaction.
Because in the later stages, the sub-hosts can basically perceive the essence of the Endless Pantheon, which is that the source controls everything. Lancelot himself never thought of hiding it.
This is a blatant and overt scheme.
Do you want power?
If you want it, join the Endless Pantheon. I can give you power, but the price is that all your power will be under my control.
Don't want to be controlled?
Can!
Simply strip the daughter particles; this is absolutely not mandatory.
If you want to stay, that would be best.
Let's work together to build Endless Pantheon, making the entire system powerful, and everyone will benefit.
However, as the founder, Lancelot always takes the biggest slice of the pie.
Of course, in this process, there will definitely be traitors and double agents who attempt to overthrow Lancelot and ascend to the supreme throne of the Endless Pantheon, turning the tables on him.
As long as human nature doesn't change, all of the above are foreseeable.
Lancelot didn't care. As he always said, he was never afraid of fighting; on the contrary, he enjoyed it.
"With your system in place, once the number of your sub-particle hosts spreads throughout the entire Astral Realm, you'll probably be no different from those Concept God," Logo remarked.
"It's too early to talk about that," Lancelot shook his head. "Next, I plan to focus all my efforts on building the Endless Pantheon, and I'll need your help."
"Yes, that's natural," Logo said. "Just now, based on your ideas, I did some deductions, and I'll share my thoughts."
"You say."
"First, the Endless Pantheon must be tiered; the template can be taken from the Great God in the Divine Realm."
"Secondly, the promotion system has been clarified. You should already be prepared for this, so I won't go into details."
"Third, the Endless Divine Hall must be designed with corresponding advancement ladders, each stage should have corresponding abilities and challenges, and it would be best to establish a task system and a merit system to provide clear objectives."
"Fourth, the Endless Divine Hall and the Nirvana Tower can be connected, and the host can be sent to various parts of the plane for training through spatial channels. Once the Nirvana Tower is upgraded by a few more stars, it might be able to open up a teleportation network to various parts of the Astral Realm."
Lancelot listened quietly to these words, nodded slightly, and said, "I basically agree with what you said. As for the levels, I've also designed them."
Below the True God level, the Endless Pantheon is generally divided into three stages: the Brave Stage, which involves accepting sub-body particles, completing bloodline modification, and achieving complete physical Transcendent, equivalent to Tier One to Ninth-Rank Transcendent Individual.
In the Hero Stage, one masters a single law, and particles manifest Bloodline Totem, equivalent to Legendary and Epic Transcendent beings.
From the Subordinate God Stage, particles condense into divine seeds, wielding the authority of nature, equivalent to Demigod or Transcendent beings.
"Well, although it's a bit rough around the edges, it's basically perfect, with no major flaws. Let's leave it like this for now and get it running. I'll have my subordinates add Endless Academy to the Alchemy School and give strong support to the development of the Endless Pantheon."
After discussing the affairs of the Endless Pantheon for a while, Lancelot left the Nirvana Tower. Not long after, the Endless Pantheon began its brutal expansion, centered on the Golden Star.
Due to the devastating war and the resulting sparse population, the Endless Pantheon, primarily reliant on the Life Factory, expanded at a speed far exceeding everyone's expectations.
Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, outside the Destruction Realm Abyss, storms raged and the Void trembled. A huge rift appeared outside the Planet Illinois. From the planet's surface, the sky looked as if it had been split open, or as if a ferocious demon had revealed a hideous smile.