Chapter 318: The New Lord of Civilization

A hundred million years of leisurely time left few traces on the Void Sea.

The civilization wars, occurring once every three hundred and eighty years, continued to play out among the many civilizations of the Void Sea, and after a million years, they finally fell upon the Shanhai Realm once more.

However, the second civilization war of the Shanhai Realm was clearly different from the first; no doubts arose, and almost no one believed the Shanhai Realm would lose.

A million years ago, the Shanhai Realm, having developed for only tens of thousands of years, had easily seized victory in a Void-level battlefield; on the Civilization Lord battlefield, Lin Qing, the Civilization Lord, had displayed terrifying power, beheading the Lord of Canggui on the spot!

And now, after a million years, the Shanhai Realm had even produced numerous Void Rulers; was there any doubt about achieving victory?

Most importantly—

The Sacred Land of the Time-Space Island had become a dead zone, the Ancestor of the Time-Space Island had already perished, and rumors regarding the cause of the Ancestor's death had spread within the Shanhai Realm.

—Killed by the Lord of the Shanhai Realm!

This rumor was absurd and bizarre; if placed in the past, naturally no one would have believed it.

Even the Child of Chaos, compared to the Ancestors of the three Great Sacred Lands, was far from the same level of power; how could he possibly kill an Ancestor?

Yet, the demise of the Time-Space Island Ancestor, the silence of the Ancestors of the other two Great Sacred Lands, and the treasures of the former Time-Space Island Sacred Land circulating out from the Shanhai Realm made this rumor increasingly believable.

Moreover, thirty thousand years ago, a single move by the Lord of the Shanhai Realm had proven his terrifying power!

Because...

One day thirty thousand years ago, the Lord of the Shanhai Realm broke into the Ancient Wheel Civilization and, under the protection of the Lord of the Ancient Wheel Civilization, forcibly killed Lord Chunzhen!

Not to mention that Lord Chunzhen was a Void Divine Officer, the Lord of the Ancient Wheel Civilization was a supreme expert of the twenty-first layer of the Yu Xingyuan; with the support of the World's Origin, his power was beyond imagination, let alone the fact that a World Lord could forcibly expel enemies.

But afterwards, the Lord of the Ancient Wheel Civilization stated that he was completely unable to expel this Lord of the Shanhai Realm!

Just as when facing the three supreme Ancestors of the Sacred Lands, the invincible myth of the World Lord had become a complete joke!

Even though the Lord of the Ancient Wheel Civilization invoked the name of the Pantheon Ancestor, the Lord of the Shanhai Realm still did not care, stating only that he had acted out of a favor owed to someone, and then departed lightly.

Even when the Lord of the Ancient Wheel Civilization was willing afterwards to pay a price to ask the Pantheon Ancestor to uphold justice, he received not a single response.

It seemed... even the Pantheon Ancestor was unwilling to intervene in this matter.

Recalling the rumors about the death of the Time-Space Island Ancestor, all sides of the Void Sea were increasingly shocked and felt more and more that this might be true!

Merely a Void Ruler, yet able to kill the supreme Ancestor?

Let alone this era; even if one traced back further to the history of more ancient eras, there probably were no such terrifying Children of Chaos!

Now that the civilization war of the Shanhai Realm had arrived again, all sides were eager to see whether this Lord of the Shanhai Realm, whose power was so terrifying it had shattered cognition, was truly as outrageous as the legends claimed.

Above the Shanhai Realm, a massive World Rift had formed, within which three huge battlefields were taking shape.

"Is it the Hanhai Civilization?"

"Matching against a level 2.7 civilization in the second civilization war is also quite rare."

"After all, the Shanhai Realm defeated a level 2.7 civilization in its first civilization war; the invisible operating rules must have given the Shanhai Realm an extremely high evaluation."

"However, the power gap between the Lord of the Hanhai and the Lord of the Shanhai is too great; even with a clone, he couldn't withstand a single strike."

All factions had already understood the outcome of this battle.

The Hanhai Civilization was not even as powerful as the Canggui Civilization; how could it possibly defeat the Shanhai Realm?

As expected, once the civilization war began, the Hanhai Civilization did not send a single soldier into the battlefield, and even the Lord of the Hanhai showed no intention of acting.

Clearly, they had directly admitted defeat and given up.

Those watching this battle from all sides could not help but feel somewhat disappointed, secretly sighing that the Lord of the Hanhai was too cowardly; having a clone, he still did not dare to step even half a pace into the battlefield.

Meanwhile, in the center of the Hanhai World on the other end of the civilization battlefield, this Lord of the Hanhai had just finished sending a surrender letter full of sincerity to the opposing Lord of the Shanhai, and only then wiped away cold sweat.

"A bunch of cowardly rats, none daring to provoke the Lord of the Shanhai Realm, yet they still expect me to test him?"

The Lord of the Hanhai sneered inwardly, "Who knows what methods this terrifying Lord of the Shanhai Realm possesses? What if he has karmic or soul techniques, and in a fit of rage kills even my true body? They still want me to test him?"

Facing an opponent with such a vast gap in power, he naturally did not want to waste a single soldier.

Inside the Shanhai Realm.

At the peak of Mount Buzhou, in a delicate and small courtyard, Lin Qing sat on a recliner, lazily watching the plane battlefield, and casually sent a clone into the Civilization Lord battlefield to occupy that World Origin Crystal Pillar.

Standing not far beside him, Qi Lingxiao gazed at the Ruler-level battlefield and said, "Lin Qing, on the Ruler-level battlefield, the opponent seems to have sent no one either; it seems I am not needed?"

"Mm."

Lin Qing nodded. "The Lord of the Hanhai just sent me a surrender letter; the Hanhai Civilization has already given up."

"Your reputation is terrifying enough," Qi Lingxiao couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration, "Scaring them into admitting defeat directly? It seems that time you acted in the Ancient Wheel Civilization really frightened quite a few people."

"It was just for a promise; the contract was signed; I couldn't simply ignore it," Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

Back when he had just entered the Void Sea to adventure, before he had even become a Void Ruler, he had met that gasping Void Divine Officer in the Misty Sea; at that time, he had accepted a Seven-Colored Divine Artifact from the other party and promised that when he had sufficient confidence in the future, he would act to kill the other party's enemy.

The other party's enemy was a Void Divine Officer, at the lower-middle level of the twenty-first layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

By all rights, to kill such a powerful expert, a Seven-Colored Divine Artifact as payment was naturally far from enough.

But the other party was merely making a slightly hopeful investment; they hadn't even expected success.

Moreover, for Lin Qing at that time, the Seven-Colored Divine Artifact was still of great use.

Now that his power was sufficient, as Lin Qing wandered through various parts of the Void Sea, when he planted soul imprints on the Main Star and Void Stars, he had also casually fulfilled this promise.

Presumably, that Void Divine Officer who gave him the Seven-Colored Divine Artifact back then must now understand... that one of the investors back then was the Lord of the Shanhai Realm.

However, Lin Qing was too lazy to maintain any further contact; fulfilling the contract was enough.

"It seems we won't need to worry too much about the civilization wars of our Shanhai Realm in the future."

Qi Lingxiao sighed, "Then I can also go to the Supreme Star with peace of mind to participate in that Void-level Divine Officer examination."

"Divine Officer examination?" Lin Qing couldn't help but ask, "Does Hall Master Qi have confidence?"

He knew that nearly a million years ago, Qi Lingxiao had already been a Void Ruler, and tens of thousands of years ago had even created a Spatial Rule Divine Technique.

"Yes," Qi Lingxiao nodded. "You have already forged four Chaos Divine Artifacts for me; combined with the opportunities I've encountered over these years, my Gene Index has reached millions of times the universal standard, my Will has long met the requirements, and my combat power is at the twenty-first layer of the Yu Xingyuan; that is sufficient to pass the Void-level Divine Officer examination."

"Very well," Lin Qing nodded slightly. "With Hall Master Qi's astonishing luck, if he still cannot pass the Void-level examination, that would be too outrageous." "I don't know what's going on; my luck keeps getting better and better."

Qi Lingxiao scratched his head. "Last time I accidentally stepped into the Lin Yuan Realm's ruins, I thought I was dead for sure, but somehow I barely survived."

"Lin Yuan Realm's ruins?" Lin Qing's heart stirred involuntarily.

In the simulation of the future, after Qi Lingxiao transcended the universe, he was directly summoned away by a powerful being from the Lin Yuan Realm.

Could this be connected to this Lin Yuan Realm ruin?

The Lin Yuan Realm was one of the three semi-divine civilizations ranked alongside the Primordial Realm and the Immortal Realm — a peak human civilization. Though also a Level Three civilization, it ranked above transcendental civilizations like the Reigning Kings Realm and the Tianyuan Realm.

The founding ancestors of the Three Sacred Sites died without ever earning a single invitation from any Level Three civilization — yet Qi Lingxiao was destined from the start?

What incredible luck.

"By the way, when are you going to take the Chaos God Trial?" Qi Lingxiao asked.

"I still need to wait."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly. "I'll wait until my disciple becomes a Void Sovereign. She's nearly there. Once I pass on the position of World Lord to her, I'll go to the Supreme Star to take the Chaos God Trial."

"Your disciple has exceptional character and high insight, though she's stubborn," Qi Lingxiao nodded.

Lin Qing smiled and shook his head. "Stubbornness is fine — at least she won't easily change what she's decided."

"Master."

At that moment, a clear, melodious female voice sounded outside the courtyard gate, tone deeply respectful.

Lin Qing couldn't help but smile. "Just talking about this child, and here she comes."

He immediately called out: "Jingjing, come in."

The courtyard gate opened, revealing a tall young woman entering. Her black hair was neatly coiled at the back of her head; she wore a clean, crisp training robe, her entire presence cool and martial.

"Master," the young woman said respectfully.

"What's wrong? Need something?" Lin Qing asked with a smile.

This young woman was his direct disciple, whom he had taken in three hundred thousand years ago — arguably the disciple most aligned with his heart!

Shen Jingjing.

Like him, she was of original Earth Han Chinese descent, endured great hardship from childhood, and possessed a pair of eyes that saw through life and the world. Her will and character were so high that, as a mere primal lifeform, she had walked ten thousand levels of the Bronze Demon Mountain — unimaginable.

Her insight was also astonishingly high, among the very top of this generation in the Shanhai Realm.

Though her innate talent was only Level Six Life, Lin Qing didn't care. After discovering this promising seed, confirming her potential, he transferred his own talent to raise her innate ability to Level Eleven, enhanced her genetic index with whole-blood treasures, and gave her a treasure for cultivating a body double.

And Shen Jingjing did not disappoint his expectations. She successfully assumed a Cosmic Series divine office and a Master of Arms Series divine office — just like him.

Shen Jingjing's insight was truly astonishing. She learned the same World God and Primordial Annihilation God Arts as him, quickly became a Void Lifeform, and even created her own combined divine arts.

In truth, she and Lin Qing were very much alike — differing only in gender.

Thus, Shen Jingjing was the one most likely to inherit the position of Shanhai Realm Lord.

Lin Qing was very satisfied with this disciple.

Now, Shen Jingjing was nearly a Void Sovereign.

"Master, you may vacate the world-origin slot I occupy."

Shen Jingjing said respectfully: "I have now mastered the complete Spatial Rules. I only need to transform my Spatial Divine Body to become a Void Sovereign. My body double is also returning to the Shanhai Realm."

"Oh?" Lin Qing's face lit up with delight. "I suspected you were close to breakthrough — you're even faster than I expected."

He nodded slightly. "Then begin your breakthrough. When you become a Void Sovereign, the position of Shanhai Realm Lord shall be yours to bear."

Shen Jingjing froze slightly, then blurted: "But I'm newly promoted to Void Sovereign — I don't even understand Spatial Rule divine arts yet, and my strength is weak. I fear I'm not ready to hold the Shanhai Realm. Master, perhaps you should wait a little longer, until I…"

"No need."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly. "All civilizations now revere the Shanhai Realm. If not for the need to deter them, why would I have publicly revealed the cause of the Primordial Island Ancestor's death?"

He patted Shen Jingjing's shoulder. "Even if I step down, no one in the Void Sea will dare touch the Shanhai Realm."

"This…"

Shen Jingjing took a deep breath, then gritted her teeth: "Yes, Master. I will do everything in my power to protect the Shanhai Realm."

"Relax," Lin Qing smiled. "Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. You just focus on your cultivation. When I truly leave the Shanhai Realm, you won't have to bear it alone — Qi Guanmaster will also guard the Shanhai Realm. If all else fails, contact the Tianyuan Seat Ancestor. I've already spoken with him."

"Yes," Shen Jingjing said, finally at ease.

Lin Qing smiled and said: "But someday in the future, I might sit back in the position of Shanhai Realm Lord. Don't be reluctant then."

"Master is unquestionably the civilization lord of the Shanhai Realm. I am merely temporarily holding the World Lord position. If you need it, take it back anytime," Shen Jingjing said without hesitation.

"I was joking," Lin Qing chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Enough. Go break through. When you're done, I'll pass on the World Lord position to you."

After Shen Jingjing left, Qi Lingxiao asked: "Passing on the World Lord position so soon — isn't that too hasty?"

"Can't delay. I must become a Chaos God as soon as possible," Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

He must reincarnate into the Reigning Kings Realm early, then return to the Void Sea as a Chaos God, become a Main God, and transfer part of the accumulated cosmic origin from the Void Sea — only then could he delay the coming of the Great Annihilation.

At the same time, ascending to Main God status sooner would let him advance faster in the Time Rule.

Perhaps… one day he could even forge a Level Three civilization?

Then, let the Shanhai Realm transcend the universe, become a sub-universe of a transcendental civilization, and no longer fear the threat of the Great Annihilation.

But this must be achieved before the next Great Annihilation arrives — so the sooner, the better.

"After all these years of preparation, I can finally take the Chaos God Trial…"

Lin Qing took a deep breath, anticipation rising in his heart.

(End of Chapter)