Chapter 268: Internal Problems Have Arisen

On the spacecraft's detector, all data turned into chaotic red alarms. This is the graveyard of physical laws.

Qin Hao handed control of the spacecraft to the AI, letting it wait in place while he himself rushed toward the area representing ultimate death.

【Detecting ultra-high-density energy source……beginning energy absorption.】

Qin Hao felt this darkness from which even light cannot escape.

He surprisingly discovered that the black hole is not a solid object, but a void where spacetime is extremely curved.

Here, time and space lose their meaning.

The next second, he flew to the black hole's center point; the numbers wildly jumping on the system panel made Qin Hao's breath catch.

【Energy absorption in progress……current speed: 1.2 energy units per second.】

This number exceeds his previous star-absorption speed by over a hundredfold!

Qin Hao's face lit up with ecstatic joy.

"The speed is indeed fast; this is probably the fastest method available now!"……

Time flew by rapidly in this frantic charging.

In the blink of an eye, twelve years passed.

The entire Yanhuang Civilization underwent a tremendous transformation.

The Yanhuang Academy of Sciences, Qian Bowen's biological gene team, after consuming countless resources and conducting hundreds of millions of simulation drills,

Finally, in the ninth year, they fully mastered all core technologies of the "Cradle of Life".

But they did not simply copy the technology of the Biteng Empire.

"The gene sequence of the Biteng people is founded on their energy-based lifeform, pursuing absolute stability and logic, which does not align with the evolutionary direction of our Yanhuang Civilization!"

Qian Bowen wrote in the report, "Our civilization needs infinite potential and the possibility of change!"

Thus, under his leadership, the team combined the Light's Offspring Gene, the Ultra-thought Gene, and humanity's own gene sequence,

They redesigned a whole new scheme better suited to the physique of Yanhuang Civilization.

"The Longevity Gene V1.0 version" was officially born!

Meanwhile, the achievements of Military Equipment Chief Wang Hongbin were even more astonishing.

Under the irrigation of fourth-level civilization technology, Yanhuang Civilization's military-industrial system completed a major leap.

One after another, fully automated interstellar shipyards sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain.

When the twelfth year's bell tolled, the first batch of eighty thousand ships, fully equipped with space-diffusion shields and vacuum zero-point energy engines, had quietly completed their deployment.

Theoretically, each warship's combat power is enough to single-handedly face a fleet of ten thousand third-level civilization warships.

Even against fourth-level civilization warships, they are not inferior, for they were built according to fourth-level civilization technology.

This fleet, named the "Heavenly Sword-class," became Yanhuang Civilization's sharpest fang, lying dormant in the darkness, awaiting the day it would be unsheathed.

The technological leap brought about a surge in civilizational strength.

However, just as everything was thriving, a potential internal conflict began to surface quietly.

With the maturation of the "Longevity Gene" technology, a universal popularization plan was put on the agenda.

However, during the promotion process, among some of the populace of the original Star Sea Divine Church Civilization, a strange voice began to emerge.

They personally witnessed the shock this technology brought, reactivating aged cells and rewinding the clock of life.

This near-miraculous technology revived the religious fervor long suppressed deep within their hearts.

They began to deify this technology, calling it "the second life granted to mortals by Instructor Qin Hao through the Holy Light."

At first, this was merely private discussion.

But soon, some people spontaneously organized gatherings, not studying scientific principles but instead kneeling and praying before the equipment model of the "Cradle of Life," as if it were a new faith.

More seriously, a group of fundamentalists appeared.

They believed this was an opportunity to revive the glory of the God Church, and began publicly promoting the "Instructor Deification Theory," using it as justification,

rejecting the study of Yanhuang language and history, considering those merely "mundane knowledge" that would "taint the purity of the Holy Light."

This dangerous trend was immediately noticed by Mao Xin Yang.

As a former civilization Overlord, he knew better than anyone the terrifying contagion of this ideology.

This is no longer mere superstition, but a shaking and denial of the very foundation of civilizational integration!

"We must put a stop to this immediately!"

Minister of National Defense Zhou Shaoqing took a hard line at the emergency meeting, "This is an act of splitting civilization; we should immediately take coercive measures and arrest the leaders!"

"No!"

Mao Xin Yang immediately stood up in opposition, "Hardline suppression will only intensify the conflict, giving them the illusion of persecution,

but will instead make them more united and more extreme. Ideological problems must be solved with ideology."

Old Luo looked at Mao Xin Yang and said, "What do you have in mind?"

Mao Xin Yang confidently said:

"He who tied the bell must untie it. Please, Old Luo, grant me authority to handle this personally."

"Good! I believe in your abilities."

Old Luo ultimately agreed.

Soon, Mao Xin Yang went alone, without a single soldier, to the planet where the populace was most densely concentrated.

He did not adopt a high-pressure stance, but instead used his former status as Church Leader to convene several large-scale ideological symposiums.

At the venue, facing countless pairs of fervent yet bewildered eyes below, Mao Xin Yang offered not a single word of criticism or blame.

He simply calmly recounted the full process of his own ideological transformation.

From a lofty charlatan to a steadfast materialist warrior, he sincerely laid bare his own spiritual journey for everyone to hear.

Afterward, he shifted his tone and began to cite the core ideas from the thoughts of great figures.

"Great men taught us that there has never been any savior in this world, nor do we rely on divine emperors."

"To create an ideal and healthy civilization, we rely entirely on ourselves!"

"You say the longevity gene is the Holy Light bestowed by the mentor; then I ask you, did this technology appear out of nowhere?"

"No! It is a technological barrier overcome after nine years of day-and-night struggle by countless scientists in the laboratory!"

"You worship the equipment, but will it operate on its own? No!"

"It is the great crystal produced by countless engineers and workers sweating on the production line!"

"What is the true Holy Light? It does not come from some illusory deity, nor from a cold piece of equipment!"

"It comes from the struggle and progress of every individual in our civilization! The wisdom of scientists is Holy Light, the sweat of workers is Holy Light,"

"It is our each person's effort for the future of civilization that is the true Holy Light that illuminates our path forward!"

"Mao Xinyang's voice, like a great bell, resonated in every heart."

"He did not deny the Holy Light, but redefined it."

"This 'using the opponent's spear to attack their shield' method achieved unexpected remarkable results."

"The fervent masses were left speechless by the questioning, and then fell into deep thought."

"They found that every word Mao Xinyang said could not be refuted, and was more inspiring than their empty faith."

"A thought upheaval capable of shaking the foundations of civilization was thus dissolved invisibly by Mao Xinyang's wisdom and patience."

"After this incident, the people of the original Star Sea Divine Church Civilization instead developed an unprecedented sense of identification with the core spirit of self-improvement and man conquering nature in Yanhuang culture."

"The fusion of the two civilizations, after experiencing a minor setback, became closer than ever before."