Six years had passed since the end of the apocalypse in Hua Country.
In those six years, humanity had not merely recovered—it had transformed.
On the first day of the new year, Gu Yunchen summoned the leaders and high-level warriors of the Empire.
Standing on the wide platform before the Imperial Hall, he looked over the gathered cultivators. The air trembled faintly with their energy. Every one of them had grown stronger than the heroes of the old world.
His voice carried across the plaza.
"We have rebuilt our lands. We have restored our people. But one place remains largely unknown to us."
He paused.
"The oceans."
Murmurs spread across the crowd.
Gu Yunchen continued calmly.
"In three months' time, all high-level warriors will depart to clear and explore the seas surrounding Hua Country. We are certain that colossal beasts and zombie creatures still lurk beneath those waters."
Everyone present understood the gravity of those words.
Even before the apocalypse, the ocean had been dangerous.
Now?
It was an abyss of unknown monsters.
But no one stepped back.
Instead, the warriors' eyes burned with excitement.
After all, cultivators grew strongest through battle.
In the capital, humanity's advancement had taken an entirely new direction.
A massive Aerospace Research Institute had been constructed on the northern side of the capital.
Nearly three thousand cultivators worked there.
They were scientists, engineers, formation masters, and spiritual researchers.
Around the aerospace institute, five other major research facilities had been established:
The Medical Research Institute
The Institute of Technology and Science
The Energy Refinement Institute
The Beast Evolution Institute
The Spirit Array Development Institute
Together, these institutes formed the intellectual heart of Hua Country.
Cultivation and science had fused together.
Machines now ran on Mana, Spirit Qi, Lunar Energy, or Solar Energy.
Air vehicles, floating trains, and crystal communication devices had become everyday tools.
By this time, the cultivation levels of humanity had also reached incredible heights.
Every citizen of Hua Country had reached at least the Tutor Realm.
Talented cultivators—and especially the Gu family—had stepped into the Master Realm.
Humanity had truly entered a new era.
Before the ocean expedition began, Gu Mian decided to give the people a special New Year gift.
Deep in the mountains near the capital, she reshaped the terrain with her powers.
Using earth manipulation and spirit formations, she created multiple cleansing ponds connected to a massive Spiritual Spring Lake.
The spring had grown tremendously over the years.
Originally it had been a small pool.
Now it had expanded into a vast lake, filled with powerful cleansing energy.
The entire nation was invited.
But Gu Mian made one decision first.
"Women first."
Because the female population of Hua Country had fallen to less than one hundred thousand, she prioritized them.
When the first women stepped into the spring…
Their screams echoed across the mountains.
"Howls and shrieks filled the air."
The cleansing process forced impurities out of the body.
Painful.
Exhausting.
But also miraculous.
Those waiting outside the ponds watched as the women emerged afterward.
Their skin glowed with vitality.
Their spiritual energy surged.
Many had broken through one or two cultivation levels during the cleansing itself.
Gasps spread through the waiting crowds.
Soon the screams no longer frightened anyone.
Everyone simply waited their turn eagerly.
It took two full weeks to cleanse all the women.
The men required two and a half months.
But when it was finished, the transformation of Hua Country was unbelievable.
Even those who had once been plain now possessed radiant vitality and smooth, flawless skin.
Naturally…
The number of couples in the country rose sharply.
The empire jokingly called it "The Spring Lake Effect."
During those three months, another monumental project reached completion.
The Crystal Network.
It was the successor to the internet of the old world.
Instead of cables and satellites, it ran through spirit crystals and energy arrays.
Instant communication became possible across the entire nation.
Even more impressive—
Warriors heading into the ocean could livestream their battles.
People across the empire could watch the exploration unfold in real time.
The whole nation was connected.
When the cleansing period ended, the exploration fleet assembled.
Hundreds of spirit ships floated above the ocean.
These ships had been rebuilt using new technologies and cultivation arrays.
Each vessel was surrounded by powerful energy barriers, allowing them to dive beneath the ocean surface safely.
Gu Yunchen remained behind in the capital with Mu Qian and their four children.
The rest of the Gu family boarded the ships.
Soon the fleet descended into the sea.
The ocean exploration war had begun.
The underwater world was far more dangerous than expected.
Monsters attacked constantly.
Mutated sea beasts.
Gigantic zombie creatures.
Colossal horrors that had evolved in the darkness of the abyss.
Every day was battle.
The warriors carefully identified their targets.
They did not slaughter creatures blindly.
Only zombie monsters were destroyed.
Whenever one fell, Gu Shao stepped forward.
His Cold Fire ability burned the corpses completely, preventing further contamination.
By the end of each day he was exhausted.
Yet he smiled.
"I'm getting stronger faster than all of you," he joked once.
And it was true.
Constant combat pushed the warriors to new heights.
Their cultivation rose rapidly.
Far beyond human awareness…
The planet itself was watching.
The consciousness of the world had been silently observing everything.
It was astonished by what humanity had created.
Especially one thing.
The Hundred Refinement Technique.
The planet consciousness murmured to itself.
"In my entire existence… I have never seen a technique like this."
In ancient times, there had been cultivation methods that harnessed the power of stars, moons, and suns.
But none were as elegant as this simple concept:
Refine a single strand of Qi… one hundred times.
Perfection through repetition.
The planet consciousness decided to imitate it.
It began refining its own energy.
Once.
Ten times.
A hundred times.
A thousand times.
Eventually—
Ten thousand refinements.
Its power surged.
The realm that had once bound it shattered.
The planet consciousness rose from the Immortal Realm to the Demigod Realm.
If someone could observe the planet from outside the universe, they would see something extraordinary.
A glowing blue world.
Surrounded by a shimmering mist-like barrier that trembled with divine energy.
The planet consciousness had become something more.
Something greater.
From this moment onward…
It would be known as the World God.
After reaching the Demigod Realm, the World God searched for something.
The soul of the author who had written the book that changed everything.
He finally found it.
She had been murdered two years before the apocalypse began.
Her soul had never reincarnated.
Instead, it had drifted into the World God's reincarnation space.
When he held her soul in his hands, he felt something unexpected.
"It is… beautiful."
Gratitude filled him.
Without her story, none of this future would have existed.
So he decided to repay the debt.
Her name....Ji Yueqing
The World God created a Mythical-Level body and placed her soul inside it.
Then he sent the body into Primal Chaos Space—the mysterious realm owned by Gu Mian.
The body would awaken when Gu Mian reached the Mythical Realm.
For himself, the World God created an Immortal-level body.
He also placed it inside the Primal Chaos Space.
Neither Gu Mian nor anyone else knew that two powerful beings were quietly incubating within her space.
As the World God's power increased, the entire planet evolved.
Cultivation levels rose everywhere.
Animals began reaching the Master Realm.
And when they did—
They gained the ability to speak.
Across Hua Country, people suddenly heard the voices of their bonded beasts.
Laughter filled homes.
For the first time, humans could truly speak with their companions.
Yet humanity still knew nothing about the deeper changes happening across the world.
In the deepest oceans…
A clan of mutated water snakes slept through a long metamorphosis.
They were becoming dragons.
On the highest mountain of the planet…
An egg formed purely from energy.
Inside it slept three phoenixes:
A Dark Phoenix
A Fire Phoenix
An Ice Phoenix
Far out in the ocean, three tiny islands drifted silently.
But they were not islands.
They were gigantic turtles, still growing.
Across forests and jungles, animals continued mutating and evolving into creatures once known only from ancient myths.
Before the World God fled from his original universe long ago…
Such beings had been as common as grass.
Now they were returning.
The world was healing.
The world was awakening.
And the World God smiled quietly as he continued cultivating.
The age of legends had begun again.