Deducing Godhood from the Fetal Stage

Chapter 96 Passing the Flame

Inside the encrypted office, the spiritual runes on the stone door flowed silently.

"The Empire needs something from you too."

After saying this, Qiu Mian removed the badge, the stone gate disappeared, he sat back down, picked up the teacup, and began to pour tea.

It seems I need to give a proper explanation.

"What the Empire wants isn't actually that complicated. For example..."

"loyalty."

These two words were not spoken by Qiu Mian.

Jiang Yun's childish voice, though still clear and distinct, beat him to it.

It was no longer unclear speech, nor was it a simple repetition of words; instead, it was a clear pronunciation of a word that only adults could understand.

loyalty.

Qiu Mian's hand, which was holding the teacup, suddenly froze.

Jiang Ren, standing beside him, stared wide-eyed at the exquisitely beautiful baby in her arms, her eyes filled with disbelief.

There was a two-second silence in the office.

Then, Qiu Mian chuckled softly, gently placed the teacup back on the table, and the probing look in his eyes completely disappeared.

"—Indeed clever."

Anyway, this director had already thoroughly investigated his own full wisdom and Taoist essence, so pretending to be confused would only make him seem guilty.

Install it when it's time to install it, and turn it on when it's time to turn it on.

A single word, "loyalty," saves him the trouble of half a cup of tea's worth of preamble, making both sides look respectable.

"Since the child is so agreeable,"

Qiu Mian stopped laughing and pulled up a new holographic document. "Then I'll be frank. The Empire doesn't need you to risk your life; it only needs you to acknowledge the roots of this human race."

The document unfolded, revealing densely packed clauses suspended in the air.

"Service Agreement." He pointed his finger. "Until you reach the Hidden Spirit Realm, you are exempt from service. At the Hidden Spirit Realm, it's twenty years. At the Sympathetic Realm, it's fifty years. At the Profound Realm, it's one hundred years. These terms don't stack; your highest level will be the standard."

"The higher the realm, the heavier the burden?" Jiang Ren couldn't help but ask.

"The higher the level, the more generous the subsidies you can enjoy."

Qiu Mian glanced at her. "Regardless of your realm, the resources provided by the Empire are top-notch, even better than those provided by the Twelve Manifest Clans. This is not a shackle, but a ladder."

The Twelve Manifest Clans refer to twelve families that have ancestors of the Great Sage level or above.

Fair. Jiang Yun nodded inwardly. The more effort you put in, the more you get back; it's not like you're getting something for nothing, nor is it like you're giving something away for nothing.

This logic is consistent with my great-grandmother's belief that "merit determines promotion."

It suits his taste quite well.

Qiu Mian took out a clay inkpad from the drawer and pushed it in front of Jiang Yun. "Just a footprint will do. The causal imprint of a god-level soul is more effective than any signature."

Goodness, footprints.

Jiang Yun looked at the mud platform and let Jiang Ren pinch her little toes and gently press them up.

"Click."

A tiny footprint glowed with pale golden light, instantly disappearing into the document and transforming into a flowing inscription.

"It's done." Qiu Mian stood up and walked to the wall at the far end of the office. "Next, the real highlight is yet to come."

He took off the gold badge from his chest and pressed it into the groove in the wall.

The entire wall rippled like water, revealing the three-meter-high stone door, engraved with living spirit patterns.

"The Divine Fire Palace. The connection point between the Supreme Heaven and the Fifth Star Realm." Qiu Mian turned to the side. "Inside the gate is a void realm, with four gates in total. Each gate corresponds to an existence at a certain realm level. How many gates you can open depends on yourself."

"How many people have pushed me away?" Jiang Yun asked, looking up.

"The first level, 13,800 people in the past 10,000 years." Qiu Mian held up one finger. "Those who can stand before this gate are geniuses who appear only once in a century."

Jiang Yun didn't say much, and with her short legs, she walked alone into that sea of ​​stars.

A phantom staircase appeared beneath my feet, leading to the first door at the end.

He reached out his hand, but before he could touch it, the door silently cracked open.

It was still an endless sea of ​​stars, but this time there were many stone statues standing on both sides of the steps.

Majestic, solemn, menacing, and even some resembling demons or gods, the seventy-two statues, each tens of meters tall, stood silently, looking down at the infant who had entered.

"Lord of the Dao."

Qiu Mian's voice echoed in the void, "Before the Emperor's Path was opened, the powers of those above the Dao Lord level would pollute the mortal world if they descended at will. Therefore, they mostly resided in the Supreme Heaven and created their own grotto heavens, rarely entering the mortal realm. The way people communicate with them is through these statues."

"A Dao Lord who is willing to protect you will light a divine fire for you. If multiple Dao Lords light divine fires for you, you can only choose one—"

Jiang Yun lifted her foot and stepped onto the first step.

"Buzz"

The nearest row of statues were all lit up with divine fire.

Qiu Mian's voice came from behind: "The so-called Dao Lord is someone who inherits the achievements of his predecessors, serves as a pillar in a specific area of ​​civilization, protects the human race for thousands of years, and whose status is comparable to that of gods."

Jiang Yun nodded, then lifted his foot and stepped onto the second level. Another row of divine flames lit up.

Level 3, Level 4, Level 5 —

It's just a little guy who's barely learned to walk, yet he walks with unusual steadiness.

With each step he took, a row of divine flames rose up. This continued until he stopped and turned around.

All seventy-two divine flames remained burning.

Fully lit.

Outside the void, Qiu Mian's pupils contracted slightly.

Jiang Yun, however, had already looked up and was gazing at the second door.

"Mysterious Venerable".

Qiu Mian's voice came from behind.

"So-called cultivation is seeking the profound and the Dao, seeking transcendence. The Dao Lord establishes the state by inheriting the Dao of their predecessors, and the Dao Sovereign grants them the position of Xuan, only then can they understand the changes of Yin and Yang and comprehend the principles of the Five Elements. The Fifth Star Realm has twenty-seven Xuan Venerables in existence, composed of members from the Mountain and Sea God Clan, the Great Wilderness Demon Clan,..."

"We, the human race of the Star Sea, jointly rule."

"This door has been pushed open by 1,173 people."

Jiang Yun reached out and gently pushed the door open.

Behind the door, twenty-seven taller, more ethereal figures appeared.

No longer physical statues, but divine figures sculpted from aggregates of various energies. Some are towering fire giants reaching to the heavens, while others are majestic women sculpted entirely by water.

He took a step and continued walking.

Twenty-seven divine flames lit up in turn.

Fully lit.

Outside the void, Jiang Ren tightly covered her mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping. She knew perfectly well what this meant! The lighting of every divine flame signified that each Dao Lord acknowledged the child's talent and was willing to bestow their protection!

Even knowing Jiang Yun's talent and which family his sister-in-law came from, he was still shocked to see her like this.

Qiu Mian remained silent.

Seeking the profound truths and inquiring about the Dao, the Mysterious Venerable is already the pinnacle of the multiverse. Yet, this little fellow's gaze clearly suggests that it's still not enough.

His eyes burned with ambition; he wanted to continue exploring what lay beyond.

Sure enough, as if to confirm his thoughts, Jiang Yun simply glanced calmly at the dazzling light before turning to look at the third door.

"Creak—"

'

This time, the door opened by itself before I even got there.

Behind the third gate, thirteen figures appeared. This time, the statues had transformed into portraits, not large, but some stood guard over the sky, others were establishing territories, and still others were surrounded by children, as if telling ancient stories—

"Great Sage".

Qiu Mian's voice was already a little dry, but he still insisted on explaining.

"Inheriting the position of the predecessors, embracing the mysteries of heaven and earth, one opens one's own path and condenses the fruits of the Dao. The mysteries reside in heaven, the state is on earth, and the fruits of the Dao are fundamental. Therefore, one can perceive the void, transform into countless forms, travel throughout the multiverse, and be known as the Supreme Sage Who Reaches the Heavens."

"One hundred and thirty-two people pushed it away."

Jiang Yun stepped forward, and the scroll on the left lit up, revealing a woman with red hair, dressed in white, and nine tails on her back, sitting in a peach blossom grove:

[The Mysterious Fox Spirit's Encounter with the Great Sage]

The corresponding story is also written below.

[The path to enlightenment, though seemingly simple, has been obscured for millennia, with internal strife within the empire intensifying. Therefore, the path of "intercourse" has been established. By harnessing the natural instincts of human nature to resolve conflicts among the people, the rules of connection have been re-established, several crises of internal strife have been averted, and the foundation for the continuation of civilization has been solidified.]

Then, another image appeared on the right: a simply dressed man wearing a hard hat was hammering steel.

【The Great Sage Who Transformed into Yang, Forged Jade, and Refined Stars】

"The Dao Fruit Refines Stars to Purity," opening the "Star Refinement" Dao position. Using the laws to temper mortal metal, transform iron into steel, and turn stone into stars, forging the foundation of the empire's industry and ending the era of barbaric trade.

Each image is accompanied by a note.

Jiang Yun's gaze swept over the thirteen portraits one by one, each representing a path that had reached its ultimate limit.

Each one of them is a powerful individual who, through their own insights, has pioneered a new path of cultivation for the human race and for the Fifth Star Realm.

As he walked up these steps, it was as if he had traversed the millennia of human civilization, witnessing one legend after another.

The only thing that remains unchanged is that, with each step taken, a row of divine flames is lit.