Above The Sky
Chapter 1153: 167 Pure White Sky Tower and Dark Key (1/2)

Chapter 1153: Chapter 167 Pure White Sky Tower and Dark Key (1/2)

——Humans are still moving forward.

——Even if it’s a pitch-black evil fire, it’s still a flame.

As long as the flame hasn’t extinguished, there’s no need for a spark, no need for a tombstone, it signifies civilization is still alive. Even if it takes a malformed body, a sickly frame, it still continues down its path, whether right or wrong.

“Knowing this is enough.”

At this moment, Ian’s gaze is bright.

Now, he vaguely sees the plans lurking behind the various nations.

The ‘Shenmin’ behind the Setar Empire, the ‘Celestials’ behind the Azure Sky Royal Court, the ‘True Elves’ and ‘Affiliated Elves’ behind Canaan Moore… He doesn’t really know the true situation behind these plans, nor the specific research details.

But just from the surface, he can fully understand one thing.

That is, the Terra Nations have long understood the limitations of the current Terra Sublimation Civilization.

They already know that a social structure that burns and ignores many ordinary humans as an important ‘resource’ is an abnormal wartime structure.

Using the future potential to oppress a civilization temporarily bursting out strong power to face many natural disasters, even ‘alien civilization warfare’ social structures.

It’s too wasteful. Whether it’s the Sublimators who should have sublimated their life essence, turning into short-lived kinds indistinguishable from ordinary people.

It’s too wasteful. Those who should have all become Sublimators, using Sublimation Skills to delve into science, researching Spirit Energy Domain, exploring the mysteries of Aether and cosmic Logos, have all become mundane not knowing what the stars are.

Mundane.

This is a concept belonging only to a backward civilization.

The ‘Erudite’ ‘Scholars’ contemptuously view monkeys from above, holding ‘Power’ like those high-ups looking down on ants, the ‘Fist Strength’ powerful ‘Fighter’ could knock down dozens of people… Those possessing special knowledge, extraordinary strength, and surpassing skills naturally can disdain mundanes.

But only a backward civilization would have such a wasteful concept.

Humans are inherently active, born with the ability to reform the world, an incredibly powerful race—letting such powerful humans waste their brains, abandon their bodies, not receiving the right education and training, unable to grasp the skills they ought to, not letting them gain the strength and knowledge they should have…

It’s too wasteful. It’s just like pouring premium milk into the river.

The waste of humans by backward civilizations is just like this behavior.

Only those who first utilize more humans, make more humans not mundane societies, can become the ultimate victors.

Fortunately, yet unfortunately…

The Terra Confederation… can all understand this principle.

To restore the dynamism and structure a civilization should have, major changes must be made.

Yes. They might just see humans as crucial renewable resources, might only wish to strengthen their nation and race, might want to surpass ancient civilizations by taking shortcuts and become the up-and-comers… or even the simplest, just want to live a little longer, to strengthen power against the unknown amount of natural disasters heaven knows.

The reason doesn’t matter at all, what matters is they haven’t stopped moving forward. They’re all trying to move ahead.

This is the true reason why Ian smiles—not because he’s the only one trying the Arcane Pathway… many people are attempting to walk their own Arcane Pathway.

However…

“They’re not doing well enough.”

Ian closes his eyes, he murmured to himself, “If this continues, in the stories and legends, those races inherently containing endless strength will be created.”

“Born with the strength comparable to the Chosen One, perfectly flawless Shenmin, the Celestials possessing all racial advantages at birth, the immortal, wise True Elves… if adding what I might create—the Spirit Gods and Arcane Pathways—how interesting would this world become?”

“Swords and Magic, Different Races’ Gods, God-descended Celestials… No need to hunt Magical Beasts, only need meditation, self-cultivation, can gain strength. Civilization will shift from a savage-oriented hunting and nomadic mindset, gradually turning towards self-exploration in meditation, and technological analytical thinking.”

“Of course, there’s a downside, the strong gets stronger, even if all humans became the extraordinary people of the past, because stronger humans have become ‘Gods,’ then still ‘under All Gods, nothing but ants.'”

“But I don’t intend to immediately transform Terra into a utopian society, just better than now is enough, the future we’ll talk about in the future.”

“Just…”

Terra has no future.

Ian opens his eyes.

The gleam representing joy in his eyes is gradually extinguishing, turning into a frigid icy blue, like an iceberg.

——Such modifications, such plans, are all petty endeavors, inherently unable to change the cage gathering five light-years away.

What they did was nothing more than transforming this prison to be more colorful, adding libraries and cinemas, even bathhouses and buffets.

No matter how comfortable or interesting it becomes, it is still a prison for the inmates.

“If I die, the world will become a shape no one knows.”

Under Yisen’s rather appalled gaze, Ian calmly stared at his own left hand and uttered words that would make his friend worry: “Or rather, if I die, that would be a normal world.”

In a story, there is always a sage who transforms the world.

He may not be human, may not even be a living being, merely a sudden point of origin, the beginning of a story—an incredible, extraordinary change that shapes a brand new form of the world, thus allowing a story to unfold.

In that story, all things, whether the Demon Lord, the Divine Artifact, or even the hero himself, are derived from the great change of yesterday.

But… apart from this sage, there are many other erudites.

They also transform the world and create their own legends and tales—if there isn’t the greatest sage, the world would still be changed, it would become another form, unfolding another story.

It might even be the most should-have-happened, the “normal ending.” The genius of sages who transform the world with their own power should not exist.

Yet.

——Since I have descended upon Terra, miracles happen.

——I will seek another ending.

“Thank you, Yisen.”

Calming his emotions, Ian sincerely thanked the blonde boy nearby: “This is quite significant. I believe it began during the era of Inega II, perhaps even earlier during the times of the Imperial Emperor.”

“Of course, there were many experiments I believe were initiated by Inega II, and I’ll mark them for you later.”

“Alright. As long as you feel you’ve gained something.” Yisen Gard still felt somewhat concerned, with Ian suddenly talking about ‘the world would be normal if he died’ such absurd words made him feel his friend might have temporarily lost his mind.

But on further reflection, what prophet doesn’t go insane occasionally? Compared to other prophets, Ian’s occasional muttering actually makes him quite ordinary.

So eventually, the blonde boy just waved his hand, reminding Ian: “But you haven’t finished reading—there are still several plans with only names, and I don’t know what the plans are.”

“Oh?”

Ian raised an eyebrow in confusion as he looked at the document in his hand, flipping to the end and softly reading out the two peculiar names: “Pure White Sky Tower…”

“And Pitch-Black Key?”

[Pure White Sky Tower] and [Pitch-Black Key].

This time, even Ian raised his eyebrows, unclear about what they were: “What does this mean?”

“Ian, you don’t know either?”

Yisen Gard was not disappointed, he lightly scratched his cheek with his forefinger, and softly said: “This is the plan even my uncle and mother couldn’t figure out. They’ve never heard of it, not a slight hint before… it’s the Empire’s current collaboration with Canaan Moore which exposed this slight sign from participating personnel within many secret experimental groups collaborating with Canaan Moore’s various large projects.”

“But even with the power of my uncle as one of the crown prince reserve three, it’s impossible to obtain even a single detail about these plans. So I thought, maybe you, Ian, as the inheritor of the external great-grandfather, might know something?”

Yisen Gard had faith in Ian, though it wasn’t surprising Ian didn’t know, since not even the second prince or the most favored imperial princess knew, who could possibly know?

Only names, only codes, even if one knows the details, it would be impossible to associate them with such titles, wouldn’t it?

“Hmm…”

Ian furrowed his brows slightly, he stored these two names in the reminder memo of the Silver Chip, then hesitantly speculated: “Pure White Sky Tower, that pure white…”

For some reason, Ian suddenly thought of a scene he once saw in the South Sea Great Labyrinth, the ‘Voidrealm Machine God soaring into the azure sky.’

Upon returning to Harrison Port, back in the South Sea Great Labyrinth, meeting with Shasha Qingtong and the fae, he was fortunate to witness the sight of the Voidrealm Machine God’s proliferation, and later, before leaving Harrison Port, saw many Voidrealm Machine Gods rush toward the virtual sky.

Back then, endless light points converged into a river, linking heaven and earth within the virtual realm…

“No, that’s not purely white.” Shaking his head slightly, Ian pressed down this instinctive foresight—leaving aside that Voidrealm Machine Gods come in all colors, with rivers as colorful as rainbows, even if all Machine Gods were pure white, it would be a pure white heavenly river rather than a tower.

Then, does it refer to the Orbital Space Elevator or the accelerators? The remnants in the far seas south of Harrison Port?

Hi, if it’s just that, what’s secret about it? Current Terra materials science and engineering surely have enough capability; it’s just that there’s not that much manpower or resources, and the societal structure doesn’t allow for building such wonders.

The Sky Tower surely involves something else, but whether it exists in the real material world… that’s not certain.