The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

The study light was still on. Chen Hao was making tea, with a tablet in front of him displaying the same paper.

"Brother, you saw it?"

"I've seen it."

"Is this really how it's written in the paper?"

Chen Hao took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and nodded. Modern systems research is no less advanced than that of ancient times, and there are more geniuses than before.

The cultivation system was only interrupted when spiritual energy was cut off. "Theoretically, it's about the same, but there's one thing Professor Li didn't write about."

"where?"

"He only mentioned three thousand spaces. But he didn't ask a single question—are those spaces currently full or empty?"

Chen Siyao was stunned for a moment.

"Three thousand positions are actually enough. The main reason is that the spiritual energy in the Thirty-Three Heavens is more abundant and easier to break through."

Chen Siyao began to understand. The main problem was the depletion of spiritual energy, while the Thirty-Third Heaven had more abundant spiritual energy, which caused a struggle among the major immortal sects.

But if that's the case, then the Thirty-Three Heavens have spiritual energy, and other immortal sects without spiritual energy simply cannot survive, right?

In this battle for the survival of the immortal sects, it seems that the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect reconciled in the end, and neither sect was destroyed as a result.

What caused them to reconcile? Chen Siyao asked her brother curiously, "Brother, did they still develop the Thirty-Three Heavens together in the end? Did the ancient cultivation civilization move to the Thirty-Three Heavens?"

"They did move, but not to the Thirty-Three Heavens."

Chen Hao nodded but didn't continue. He pushed the tablet aside and picked up his teacup.

"Let them research it. Who knows, they might actually come up with something usable right now."

Chen Siyao seemed thoughtful, then asked again, "Brother, where is the Thirty-Third Heaven?"

Chen Hao looked at his curious younger sister and smiled, "I'll take you to see it sometime."

Chen Siyao became even more curious. Where was the Thirty-Three Heavens? Even her brother seemed interested. Could it be that the Queen Mother of the West had moved to the Thirty-Three Heavens? Was it in some secret realm or in the heavens?

On the third day after the paper was published, the internet exploded.

It's not the kind of explosion that happens slowly, it's like a nuclear explosion.

Professor Li's paper was translated into various languages ​​and spread throughout the global academic community within 48 hours.

The journal Nature made a rare move by sharing the full article link on its official account, along with an editor's comment: "If the dating data in the paper can withstand scrutiny, this will be the most important archaeological discovery of this century—without exception."

The domestic reaction was even more intense.

Seven out of the top ten trending topics are related to this paper:

#Human Civilization 15,000 Years Ago#

#The War of the Gods Really Existed#

#What is the Thirty-Three Heavens?#

#There are only 3000 slots available for the Great Dao#

#Conflict between the doctrines of the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect#

#Human evolutionary history needs to be rewritten#

#Ancient Immortal Cultivation Civilization#

The comments section exploded. Some said they had wasted their time in history class, others said they had stopped believing in textbooks a long time ago, and still others asked why they couldn't see the advanced cultivation civilization anymore, wondering where the people had gone and where the spiritual energy had gone.

In an interview, Professor Li stated that the depletion of spiritual energy was the direct cause of the decline of ancient civilizations.

The response abroad was faster than in China. The most prestigious academic journals in Western Europe contacted Professor Li within three hours of the paper's publication, requesting translation and reprint permission.

Several top universities in the United States held a seminar overnight on the theme of "The significance of ancient Chinese civilization for the reconstruction of global prehistory".

The media in Japan and South Korea reacted the fastest, releasing special reports that very evening.

The South Korean report was headlined "New Breakthrough in Research on Ancient Chinese Civilization, Possibly Related to South Korea." The comments section was filled with criticism. The Japanese report was relatively objective, but some comments still sarcastically remarked, "Ten thousand years ago, Japan was still submerged in the sea."

Professor Li's paper acted as a fuse, igniting global enthusiasm for ancient history.

In Western Europe, scholars are reinterpreting Norse mythology and combining it with the concept of "limited Dao positions" from the Penglai literature, proposing a new hypothesis—Ragnarok may also be a struggle.

Japanese scholars even compared the Penglai documents with the Kojiki and wrote a paper, concluding that Amaterasu Omikami may have the same origin as a certain great being in ancient China, which was jokingly referred to by Chinese netizens as "the origin of all things".

People around the world are showing great enthusiasm and have an unprecedented interest in ancient civilizations, with related books selling out.

Yang Wanqing squatted on the sofa, scrolling through his phone, becoming more and more excited as he scrolled.

"Sister Siyao! Look at this—a history blogger compiled a timeline chart, comparing the 'War of the Gods' in myths and legends around the world with this paper."

"The timelines match up perfectly! Ragnarok in Norse mythology, the Titans' War of Hope, and the Devas' and Asuras' War in India—all over ten thousand years ago!"

Chen Siyao was also looking at her phone, but her attention was focused on something else.

The academic community responded at an astonishing speed. Within five days of the paper's publication, more than three hundred response papers had been submitted to major academic platforms worldwide.

Half of them questioned it, and half supported it—but both sides acknowledged one fact: the documents that passed down the Thirty-Six Islands were authentic, and the dating data was reliable.

The debate focuses on three aspects:

I. The nature of the Thirty-Three Heavens. Physical space? Parallel dimensions? Or a high-density region of some kind of energy field?

II. The actual meaning of the Dao Rank. Is it the "bonding relationship" that arises between a cultivator and heaven and earth after reaching a certain threshold? Or is it a finite cosmic resource?

III. Where did these civilizations go after that great war?

The third problem is the most critical.

If such an advanced cultivation civilization existed more than 10,000 years ago, how do you explain the gap of more than 10,000 years in between?

Why is it that only now...only now, until strange beasts begin to appear and mystery begins to resurface...have humans come into contact with these things again?

"Someone started a thread on the forum," Yang Wanqing read aloud, holding up his phone, "titled 'A chilling thought: If the ancient cultivators didn't perish, where are they?' There are already over ten thousand replies."

"Stop looking at those things." Chen Siyao put down her phone. "Most of it is just guesswork."

But she herself was also thinking about this issue.

Two days later, the situation escalated further.

A joint statement from ancient cultural research institutes in Western Europe states that Fenrir—the giant wolf-like creature that appeared in the Norse Sea last month—is positioned as the "devourer of the gods" in Norse mythology.

If we consider Ragnarok in Norse mythology and the Investiture of the Gods in Chinese mythology as branches of the same event recorded in different cultural traditions, then the appearance of Fenrir might mean that the remnants of that ancient war are gradually being "unsealed".

Following the release of this statement, European stock markets plummeted by four percent.

"Unlocked." Chen Siyao sat in front of the computer, staring at the word for a long time.

The appearance of the strange beasts was not random. The surge of energy tides was not a natural phenomenon. The emergence of the Heritage Island was not a coincidence.

All of this points to the same logic—

Something is awakening.

She got up and went to the study. Chen Hao was watching TV; it was a news program interviewing a British archaeologist.