The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Annie, the student council president and one of the college's most beautiful girls, had a ball gown custom-made and it just arrived from the tram station behind the church.

She received the package and was riding a small track car back to the school building, intending to show it to her close female friends in the meeting room, when she noticed the strangeness here and decided to come over.

Marston Royal Academy of Mechanical Sciences has never had just one major: mechanical engineering. Noble ladies don't want to get involved with various machines, fearing that the lubricant will stain their dresses. Therefore, most of them study in the theology department, which inevitably involves dealing with this church.

Anne was deeply worried, thinking that it was very likely that one of the female students had been careless and forgot to extinguish the candles after evening prayers.

This is too dangerous. Although it is a sturdy granite building, there are still many wooden pews, shelves and decorations inside the church. They cannot withstand even the slightest spark. If something happens, someone will definitely be severely punished, expelled from school, and burdened with heavy debt.

Annie grew increasingly anxious and jumped off the slowly moving train. She clutched the brocade box tightly to her chest, and the hem of her pale blue skirt swept across the dew-covered stone path. A chill spread through her ankles, but the cool touch could not quell the anxiety in her heart.

She walked quickly across the courtyard, the moonlight casting long shadows of the century-old cherry tree, and the stained glass windows in the front hall gleamed with a cold, desolate blue.

Startled by the footsteps, the night birds among the branches fluttered their wings and flew into the night sky, scattering a few pink petals.

The closer she got to the chapel, the more a unique fragrance permeated the air—not the frankincense commonly used in churches, nor the acrid smell of candlelight, but a warm, gentle scent, as if brewed from the morning light, softly enveloping her breath.

Anne paused, her steps faltering as doubt replaced her worry.

"Is anyone home?" she called softly.

She pushed the oak side door of the hall. Instead of the usual creaking sound, the door hinges seemed to be pulled open slowly inward by an invisible force, causing Anne's gaze to suddenly stop and fall on the white marble statue deep inside the church.

It was originally a "Messiah Shepherd Icon," located behind the altar, with ancient Latin verses inscribed on an ivory-white marble base. Its features were blurred and covered with a thin layer of ash.

Anne had come to evening prayers countless times and never thought it was anything special—until tonight, when she saw the overflowing soft golden light.

It wasn't the reflection of candlelight, but light shining through the stone itself, like molten gold infused with moonlight, gentle and not dazzling, yet illuminating every line of the sculpture. Tiny specks of light floated in the air, carrying an indescribable divinity.

The fragrance emanated from the palm of the holy statue, growing stronger as the light scattered, yet it wasn't pungent. Instead, it warmed her chest and even made her breathing more even.

"Oh my god..." Annie instinctively covered her mouth, and the brocade box slipped from her arms and fell to the ground with a "thud," but she didn't even notice.

As a top student in the theology department, Anne had read countless accounts of "miracles" in the classics—the prophet seeing thorns in the fire in the wilderness, the apostle encountering calm sea storms at sea.

But the miracles described in those words are not even one ten-thousandth as awe-inspiring as the scene before my eyes.

Awe overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

She instinctively bent her knees, kneeling heavily on the cold stone slab, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her forehead touching her fingertips—the most devout kneeling posture the seminary had taught her.

Although she didn't have much faith in her heart, and her attendance at the seminary was more due to family arrangements and social needs, at this moment, Anne felt as if her soul was being gently lifted by a pair of gentle hands. All the perfunctory attitude and utilitarianism had melted away, leaving only pure awe.

His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a complete prayer.

Just as she was feeling flustered and at a loss, a magnificent, ancient, ethereal voice, yet devoid of any emotional fluctuation, suddenly resounded in her skull.

Magnificent and ethereal, like countless chimes overlapping, yet each word is so clear it is etched into the heart: "Anne Stuart".

“Anne, my people! Though you have not turned to me with all your heart, you have always been compassionate—you have come with worry, concerned for the safety of this temple. I have seen your sincerity, and you have been a righteous person in this crooked and perverse generation.”

“I…I…” Annie opened her mouth, her whole body trembled, and tears welled up uncontrollably.

She never imagined she would hear the voice of God. The textbook said that only saints and prophets could receive revelation from God and angels, but she was just an ordinary girl worried about a fire.

"You need not say more, my eyes see all things." The voice continued, carrying a comforting power, like a warm current flowing over parched land, like a spring breeze awakening frozen buds:
You have done just things in this world, showing mercy to your afflicted classmates and treating your servants kindly; your good deeds are written in the book of heaven. Now, what is your desire? Everyone who calls on my name will be saved, and everyone whose heart is sincere will have their request answered.

Wishes? Countless thoughts flashed through Annie's mind in an instant—she wanted everyone in her family to be safe and happy, she wanted that mysterious boy who seemed detached from the world to look at her more often, and she wanted her new gossamer dress to receive everyone's praise at the banquet...

But as soon as these thoughts came to mind, she immediately suppressed them.

Before such sacredness, selfish desires seem so insignificant; words, though on the tip of my tongue, amount to only two sentences:

"I...I only ask that you protect this academy, this city, and all innocent people, keeping them away from the ravages of war and disaster! May God's grace fall upon all who revere you!"

The local scions of prominent noble families are quite responsible, and the young girls who have not yet entered the world of fame and fortune are a force for change.

Inside the prayer hall, separated by only a wall, Zhao Qing seemed lost in thought.

Although the mirror puppet cannot normally use telepathy, it can easily analyze the scattered thoughts of ordinary people, use telepathic communication to create a panoramic surround sound in Annie's mind, shake her mind, and make her naturally "baptized".

First, build a core team to lay the foundation and establish order, then carry out miracles on a larger scale. This is the strategy of "missionary work". Directly attracting too many believers without a framework to maintain them will only result in a disorganized mess that will disintegrate on the spot when problems arise.

The simulated holy voice remained silent for a moment, then echoed in Annie's mind with an even greater warmth:
"Well done, my people!"

"Your wishes are in accordance with my heart, for you care for the well-being of all, not for your own selfish desires. I will grant you this promise—though war may be approaching, it will not harm the innocent; though calamity may lurk in the shadows, peace will be preserved for those who fear me."

As soon as she finished speaking, a surge of heat suddenly poured into her head, flowing down her spine like silk soaked in warm water, gliding over her neck, chest, and then to her limbs.

She could feel her body changing—every cell was cheering, her bones were humming softly, her muscle fibers were becoming incredibly strong, and her five senses were becoming exceptionally sharp. She could see the trajectory of dust particles dancing in the golden light and hear the petals swirling in the wind outside the window.

An unprecedented sense of power surged through her body. She instinctively clenched her fist, feeling as if she could subdue even a lion or a ferocious dragon with her bare hands. This enhancement was more than tenfold, a hundredfold!
As the first person to witness the "miracle," Annie naturally represented Zhao Qingfang's reputation and could not appear weak or shabby.

“I have already bestowed some grace upon you, strengthening your body and mind and enlightening your intellect. But this matter is not yet over.”

The distant melody awakened Anne from her reverie of profound change: "Now, you must return immediately, without lingering. Go and call to this place alone the one you believe most needs guidance and redemption, the one most lost in darkness, the one most yearning for true light."

"Tell her everything you have seen and heard, without hiding anything or making a big fuss about it."

“I will also bestow this grace upon her, and I will make you my witnesses, to proclaim to the people of this city: I have come.”

“Remember, whenever and wherever people call on my name in truth, and they do so with reverence, I will listen. And I will deliver all who follow my ways from evil and grant them long life, even in the valley of the shadow of death. And all who disobey and do not believe will see signs and will have no excuse.”

As the heat gradually subsided, the voice finally proclaimed: "Go, my handmaid, do not be afraid, for my spirit is with you. Your steps are my guide."

“I…I will obey!” Annie nodded vigorously, tears still clinging to her cheeks, but her resolve only grew stronger.

She slowly rose, amazed by the changes in her body, yet she understood even more clearly that this was a mission, an unquestionable divine decree.

Picking up the ballet dress bundle from the ground, Anne carefully retreated to the doorway, clasped her hands together, and bowed deeply once more.

As I stepped out of the church, the night breeze blew by.

She touched her cheek; the sensation was real. She felt the power coursing through her body; it was crystal clear. This wasn't a dream!
She was both excited and apprehensive—excited that she had been summoned by God, given grace, and become a messenger of miracles; apprehensive because if she told others that "the Messiah has appeared," would they think she was crazy? Would she be blaspheming this sacred thing?
Throughout the entire Marston Royal Mechanical Academy, who is the one he should "pass on the torch" to, the one he can trust? Who is the one, as the oracle spoke, most lost in darkness and most yearning for the true light?

Anne's heart pounded like a drum, but her steps quickened involuntarily as she ran towards the brightly lit reception room of the school building.

Normally, a few influential student clubs control the use of the meeting room, and the number of members is not very large. But recently, cavalry have been passing through one after another, as if something big is about to happen. The club members have become excited and are happy to show off their family's status in the political and military circles, exaggerating the news they have heard from their elders and talking about it eloquently.

Surely, among the nearly one thousand teachers and students gathered there, one can find a suitable lamb... Lulu? Susan? Shayana? Or perhaps tell the priests and nuns who are theology teachers?
Names and faces flashed through her mind, only to be rejected one by one. The oracle demanded those "most in need of guidance and redemption," those "most lost in darkness, most yearning for true light." This standard was so weighty that it made her hesitate.

"Caesar... will you be the chosen one?"

Anne murmured to herself, thinking once again of that boy from Emerald Cold, who seemed out of place in the noisy world.

He was always alone, even when walking in a bustling crowd, he looked like a person walking on an endless autumn grassland, his back view so lonely and heavy.

Those deep purple eyes were always filled with an air of authority beyond their years and an inescapable weariness, as if they carried the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. What made him so weary...?

That aloofness that keeps people at arm's length may be the hard armor that protects one from extreme loneliness.

Caesar... isn't he the one who most needs a ray of light to penetrate him and pull him out of the endless darkness?

How can those who are spoiled, fame-seeking, timid, or have faith be considered "lost in darkness"?

What God wants is not an easily believed believer, but a soul that truly needs redemption.

Anne clenched her fists and suddenly changed the direction she was running.

……

At 11 p.m., the school gates closed.

Dark black cumulus clouds surged and occupied the sky over Marston, brewing the beginnings of a storm. A curtain of thousands of water droplets shrouded the white city, and the cascading silver light bounced and danced on the blue brick pavement.

It was supposed to be a warm April day, but it was surprisingly a bit chilly.

Zhao Qing stood quietly atop the highest spire of the clock tower, her pupils slightly tinged with purple, overlooking every corner of the Mechanical Engineering Institute, as well as the Upper City, Lower City, port, and railway station.

The wind blowing against her face lifted her long hair, and raindrops froze into tiny ice crystals as soon as they approached, colliding and making a tinkling sound.

Purple is the color of the fusion of the moon and the sun, often contrasting with the void, and also implying the primordial chaos, almost like the manifestation of the Tao.

"This world should be divided into two layers, an inner and an outer layer. The time flow in the outer layer where we are located is exactly ten times that of the original 'Earth', which seems to be influenced by some special mechanism of the World Tree Matrix."

She thought for a moment, then slowly revealed the results of her investigation, which had just been reflected in the void, and told everyone, "If my guess is correct, it can most likely be regarded as something like a 'fruit'..."

"In the classics of the Messianic Church, there were two trees in God's Garden of Eden: the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life."

"...The first humans devoured the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and gained a god-like status and wisdom, but they did not also eat the fruit of the Tree of Life, otherwise they would have become immortal and become beings equal to the gods."

"The Tree of Life also has another meaning: it is the blueprint for God's creation of the universe. This universe is actually shaped like a towering tree, and the eleven fruits represent the eleven kingdoms created by God. This world is just one of those kingdoms."

"The Kabbalah Tree of Life is the largest and most mysterious symbol; no one has been able to decipher it since ancient times..."

"Eleven fruits? Aren't there ten?" Xia Mi asked.

“The eleventh fruit, ‘Knowledge,’ is hidden and sometimes not indicated,” Zhao Qing explained. “Considering that the ‘World Tree Matrix’ is actually an achievement of alchemy, it might be equivalent to Kabbalah…”

"There are ten more similar worlds?" Xia Mi cried out in distress.

"I don't know about that," Zhao Qing said with a smile. "What do you think of the bloodlines circulating here? And the existing extraordinary powers?"

"Essentially, they are just hybrids suppressed by their environment."

Xia Mi sat on a small sofa in the clock tower, listening to music with her headphones on, looking relaxed: "Take Anne, for example, who came from not long ago. The surname Sturland originates from the Anglo-Saxon Islands in the west, and the Duchy of Caledonia here."

"As we all know, the British royal families of all generations have more or less some dragon blood, and the Stuart dynasty and its descendants are no exception. Of course, among the many mixed-race families, there is nothing particularly outstanding about them, they are just lucky."

"I just sensed it, and this Anne Stuart's bloodline is almost exactly the same as the one I know. She should be an equivalent of the Stuart family on the other side..."

"By extension, the Gregory family, the Medici family, the Borgia family, the Romanov family, and even most of the lower and middle-class nobles and knights are all of dragon blood. It is because of their certain advantage in bloodline that it became the foundation of their rule."

"Of course, in this world where elements are extremely scarce, the advantages of hybrids are far less than in normal environments. Word magic has completely disappeared. The main advantages are that their average appearance and intelligence are much higher, but their physical fitness will not improve significantly with growth and development. Instead, they need to be developed through high-intensity and targeted training."

"According to relatively reliable historical records, ancient ascetics once had the feat of fighting heavy cavalry single-handedly. In the present day, many of the retired drivers of the Blazing Iron Cavalry have also demonstrated incredible physical strength, exceeding that of ordinary people by several times..."

“Aside from lacking the power of words, he basically meets the standards of an A-rank hybrid, which is indeed noteworthy,” Xiao Shi added. “I’ve noticed the dean of studies at this academy, Poincaré. He’s supposedly a former swordsmanship instructor from a prestigious school, but his physical abilities are far more complex than they appear…”

"If nothing unexpected happens, Poincaré is actually a retired top knight, and may even be from the Seraphim Knights—the latter uses neural current connection control technology that may be able to stimulate bloodlines."

If such methods could also be applied to the cultivation of true essence, that would be an extremely significant gain after entering this world.

“The most special example is Licinius, the deputy director of the Inquisition, former deputy commander of the Seraphim Knights, codenamed ‘Crimson Reaper’.”

Xia Mi emphasized, "After the armored knights' technology matured, except for a very few battles where they suffered huge casualties, in the vast majority of battlefields, ordinary infantry and cavalry had no choice but to flee when facing armored knights."

"But Licinius was different. Legend has it that he was not only an outstanding armored knight, but could also defeat a fully equipped armored knight without wearing armor—you know, a regular civilian combat mobile armored vehicle has 600 to 800 horsepower, while military ones start at 2000 horsepower and have no upper limit..."

"If we disregard the power of words, this might be a super S-class guy."

"But even more mysterious than these 'knights' are the groups known as 'witches' or 'sorceresses.' They seem to have no physical enhancements, but possess certain special mental abilities. In the doctrines of the Messianic Church, they are considered the most dangerous demons to have taken the form of beautiful women, using dark magic to bewitch the world..."

"Any stories about 'witches'?" Xiao Shi asked.

“It mainly involves consuming other people’s lifespan during divination, and bloody sacrifices of relatives,” Xia Mi replied. “In ancient times, there were quite a lot of witches. The most powerful of them even became queens of a country. But after many years of purges, we rarely hear of witches operating around anymore.”

"Alright." Zhao Qing waved his hand: "The second prospective apostle who is fortunate enough to witness a 'miracle' has finally arrived... Let me see, hmm, this Caesar's bloodline seems to be the most special!"

“Deep in his eyes, I sensed a gloomy sky, bleeding roses and crosses, a roaring red dragon, a king crawling out of the abyss… This child is on the path to awakening his power!”

"Power? Equivalent to the authority of the four great monarchs, translated into this world? Only on a slightly lower scale and at a slightly lower level?" Xia Mi thought for a moment and asked:

"Could it be an alchemical power? Derived from the element of fire?"

"Do not."

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the U-505 submarine was also getting closer to the North Pole. However, due to concerns about potential trouble on both sides, it slowed down slightly, pre-loading its alchemical nuclear torpedoes into the launch tubes. (End of Chapter)