Above The Sky
Chapter 52 - 52 50 Teaching

52: Chapter 50 Teaching 52: Chapter 50 Teaching ——Conscripted service, continuous enlistments, grand construction, and extreme luxury.

It is said that during the reign of this emperor, every man over the age of sixteen in the Empire had been conscripted into service at some point, and he had also erected an unprecedentedly grand palace in the Imperial Capital, the likes of which had never been seen or heard of in other nations.

Beyond this, he was a warmonger, amassing over a million soldiers at Steep Ridge Fortress, Fiery Flame Land, Ushetaraf Mountain Range, and the Karan Mountain Range, forcing even the Azure Sky Royal Court in the east to retreat to the Zhuxing Plains.

Not only did he strike fear into the hearts of his own people, but other nations also trembled before him, like a black sun dominating an era.

Upon hearing this epithet, Hiliad fell silent for a moment.

Then, he sighed lightly, “He was neither the Black King nor a tyrant.”

“But that’s not important.”

Skipping over that point, the old knight calmly continued, “Anyway, the Imperial Exploration Team discovered that there are ruins of a previous civilization in the Southern Sea—and the original mission of Harrison Port was to serve as a forward base for the exploration of these ruins.”

“However, due to the discovery of ruins in other regions that were easier to develop, and with Nanling Province being too primitive and difficult to develop, coupled with the troublesome natives, Harrison Port, which was initially constructed, ended up developing slowly…

Thanks to the Empire never forgetting, it continually transported resources to Harrison Port, thereby stabilizing the situation.”

At this point, even Hiliad’s expression turned somewhat bitter, something that Ian wouldn’t have noticed if his vision hadn’t been enhanced by the awakened spiritual power to see clearly even in the faint light of the rainy night.

He spoke gently, “It’s just that afterward, during the Dark Moon upheaval, the former Emperor passed away, and the predetermined Crown Prince vanished due to conspiracies, leaving three princes and a princess fighting over the imperial throne, bringing the Empire to the brink of civil unrest…

It was not easy to stabilize, and after the new emperor took the throne, the Empire was greatly weakened, and all frontier expansions were scaled back, including the complete cessation of support resources for all frontier cities such as Harrison Port.”

“It was only recently that the Empire’s support slowly resumed…

but it was not for the development of the ruins, but rather because of the need to trade with Canaan Moore and Whale Song Cliff, where Harrison Port could act as a relay point for opening new trade routes.”

Hearing this, Ian also had some enlightenment.

——It seems, Teacher Hiliad, you were perhaps on the failing side during the Dark Moon political upheaval?

But this wasn’t particularly important; his attention was fixated on another key term.

“A Previous Civilization?”

Ian repeated the term seriously, looking at the old knight.

“Ruins of a previous civilization?”

“Teacher, what is that?”

“What?”

But Hiliad was surprised, “Haven’t you read any history books?”

However, he quickly came to a realization, “That’s right, cultural education only lasted for thirty years before it was abolished after the Dark Moon upheaval.”

“You’ve missed a golden age.”

Extending his hand, he patted the boy’s shoulder sympathetically before briefly explaining, “This world once suffered an inconceivable natural disaster that scholars generally believe to have been a massive meteorite falling from the sky.

That catastrophe destroyed the entire previous civilization, completely obliterating all ancient civilizations, and that legendary era thus perished.”

“We are the descendants of survivors, repropagating offsprings on the land after the disaster.

Across the world, we can always find traces left by the previous civilization.

The larger and more intact ones are known as ruins.”

“The ruins are mostly very dangerous and have a high probability of transforming into labyrinths, a type of ecosystem that accumulates large amounts of spirit energy fields, and are mega-nests surrounded by numerous magical beasts.”

Raising his head to look out the window, Hiliad gazed at the thunder streaking across the sky, “These mystical phenomena, the storms, thunder, and sudden rains, are all precursors of the birth of a large labyrinth.

It’s just sedimentation right now, waiting to fully form in the next seven or eight years, or even more than a decade.”

“Even in the sedimentation period, it will cause the proliferation of magical beasts and severe weather changes.”

“My guess is that the impending crisis facing Harrison Port is related to the yet-to-be-formed labyrinth—the ‘core’ of the forming labyrinth will attract a multitude of wild beasts, magical beasts, and alien forms from seas and lands in all directions.”

“Actually, this is not too bad because magical beasts have brains and value their lives.

As long as they are not mad, they definitely will not attack human cities.”

“But if some natives intend to use the gathering power of the wild beasts…

even planning to use the power of the labyrinth…

then indeed, Harrison Port is in danger.”

Hiliad shook his head slightly, his eyes filled with worry.

He didn’t reveal everything, but the external situation was just as he described.

——That ruin is not something that can be used by humans at will.

“Time to rest.”

Standing up, Hiliad calmly said, “I came back this time just to check on you.

Later, I have to go out to sea and will probably return before dawn.”

“Whatever happens, ensuring you are physically strong and progressing well in your training is most important.”

Ian always heeded Hiliad’s advice.

But this time, the boy shook his head slightly.

“Right now,” he said, “I might have trouble sleeping.”

“Hmm?”

Hiliad looked at the boy with puzzlement.

Of course, he didn’t think that Ian was suffering from insomnia or unable to sleep out of fear—how could a child who had learned the basics of the breathing method overnight be so fragile?

The old knight scrutinized the boy’s condition seriously, then his eyes widened, “Wait a minute…

your Virtual Primordial Seed is very active…”

A possibility crossed his mind, and he exclaimed in astonishment, “You, have you already comprehended the structure of the Primordial Seed and can now operate it normally?!”

Being able to operate the Virtual Primordial Seed normally indicated that the Sublimation Apprentice had reached the entry level and could begin to attempt to condense a true Primordial Seed.

Generally speaking, the talented could achieve this within a month, while geniuses could attempt to condense it within one or two weeks.

But now, it had only been three days since Ian had started on The Path of Sublimation…

Teacher Hiliad observed solemnly, yet certain understanding dawned in his heart—no wonder Ian had trouble sleeping.

The energy provided by the running Primordial Seed was not something a child could expend, let alone an adult man, for whom being awake for three days and nights was the norm!

And to Teacher Hiliad’s incredulous expression, Ian nodded earnestly, “Yes, I have understood the structure of the Primordial Seed.

Although I lack enough Origin Quality to condense a true Primordial Seed, I have corrected a part of the structure of the Virtual Primordial Seed, making it operate more efficiently…”

“Reckless!”

This time, before Ian could finish speaking, Teacher Hiliad raised his voice and sternly reprimanded, “Modifying the structure of the Primordial Seed on your own?

That’s too dangerous, how could you do such a thing!

The Primordial Seed is the source of life for a Sublimator; what’s needed is not efficiency, but stability and balance!”

“The structure of the Primordial Seed I selected for you might not be the most efficient, but it’s the safest and most stable among them.

Your random modifications…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Teacher Hiliad had already taken large strides forward.

He lifted his right hand, with a hot surge of energy, and placed it on Ian’s chest.

He, of course, knew how to structure a high-efficiency Primordial Seed, but for an eight-year-old child, what good was haste?

If Ian avoided mistakes, being six or seven years ahead of others in training would be a significant advantage.

Moreover, it’s not as if the Primordial Seed’s structure couldn’t be replaced later.

Every time a Sublimator climbs the Sky Ladder and advances a power level, there’s an opportunity to optimize their Primordial Seed’s structure.

With Ian’s talent, it wouldn’t be late to switch then!

“Too much intelligence in a student can have its downsides…

At least, a less clever student would be obedient and not cause such dangerous situations…”

Sighing inwardly, Teacher Hiliad tried to sense the operation of the Virtual Primordial Seed within Ian using his own Spiritual Power.

He was determined that even if there was the slightest error, he would immediately dismantle the Virtual Primordial Seed in Ian’s body and then bestow it after a month’s rest.

Having no other students or apprentices, the old knight would not allow his last successor to suffer any mishaps due to such a fundamental accident.

But then…

“This…” In the instant he probed the condition of Ian’s Virtual Primordial Seed, Teacher Hiliad’s brow furrowed, but his expression became extremely odd, “How is this possible…”

To his astonishment, he found that the operation of the Virtual Primordial Seed within Ian was perfect, rapid in speed, and its overall structure, after optimization…

even had a kind of simplistic mechanical beauty!

Now, it seemed that the entity within Ian, rather than a virtual heart, was better described as a virtual engine.

This Virtual Primordial Seed, at that moment, was continuously and swiftly drawing upon the scattered Origin Quality from within Ian’s body with the power of heartbeat and breath, condensing it into high-quality Origin Quality Crystal Chips, stacking them within him, waiting for the day of shaping and release.

“Genius…”

The old knight murmured to himself, “Chosen One…

is this what being a Chosen One means?

For an Apprentice who hasn’t set foot on The Path of Sublimation, this is the highest level, a flawless Primordial Seed structure.”

“No, this isn’t right, even those Chosen Ones born with innate knowledge couldn’t possibly do this!”

“Teacher, this is good news, isn’t it?”

Hearing Ian’s voice tinged with a smile, Teacher Hiliad looked at his apprentice’s face.

The white-haired boy was smiling faintly, like an elf that had stepped out from a fairy tale, making him feel momentarily bewildered, unsure if he was experiencing a hallucination.

But he quickly came to his senses, and Teacher Hiliad gazed intently at Ian.

“I hope…” he murmured to himself, “after so many years, I finally see it.”

“Hmph.” After a moment of silence, then curving the corners of his lips, the grey-haired knight’s gaze went from complex to sharp.

Lifting his head slightly, Teacher Hiliad watched Ian, and in a voice that made the latter tremble suddenly, he said solemnly, “I truly underestimated you, my apprentice.”

His tone was unprecedentedly serious, and it even carried a firm determination, “Since you can do far beyond what I imagined, then I can’t train you as I used to think, with the same methods I would use to train a common genius.”

“Your current state is definitely not your limit.”

“Wait for it, young Ian, don’t think that this is the end.”

The old knight withdrew his hand, placed his hands behind his back, and said sternly, “Now, go to sleep first.”

“Starting tomorrow, we’ll delay the condensation of the Primordial Seed, and your training intensity will be doubled, and cultural lessons will also begin.

I will tutor you, from Sublimation knowledge to historical common sense, from experiential realization to specific practice, I will teach you all of my summarizations and experiences!”

“Only after you have acquired the same level of Sublimation knowledge as an ordinary Knight can you condense your Primordial Seed under my supervision.”

“Trust me.

You absolutely can do better!”

“Ah?”

The smile on Ian’s face suddenly became a bit stiff.

Facing Teacher Hiliad’s serious and solemn expression, and the vague sense of pressure coming from him, Ian suddenly realized that being too much of a genius might not be entirely a good thing.

——Had he…

——Had he shown off too much?