"Star Gods? You’re thinking too much."
Regarding the Dragon King’s filled with longing sigh, Ian was unmoved.
Terra can’t even achieve equal human rights right now, and they’re already fantasizing about Star Gods? It’s normal for theoretical matters and practical operations to be worlds apart, but Terra’s current distance from the Star Gods is probably as vast as ten thousand observable universes!
However, with the Dragon King’s mention, Ian somewhat understood what kind of civilization the Star Gods were.
It is a pan-universal civilization built on pure belief consensus, a civilization where everyone is a ’Pioneer’... Starting with a ’Pioneer’ from each civilization, granting them great power and nearly eternal life, they continually educate others, progressing toward making everyone a Pioneer.
However, this requires a considerably long time.
And Terra absolutely does not have that time.
The current people of Terra, they’re not even yearning for the distant unknown. If Ian himself were not a soul from the Otherworld, this planet might never see another Pioneer.
Even the Galewind Dragon King knew that what it said was somewhat unrealistic, but aside from this possibility, they had nothing else to hope for: [But you’ve acquired the seed. This means you’ve inherited the qualifications of the previous era’s Pioneers... In other words, you are the only existence on this planet with the potential to become a Star God]
It guided Ian to gradually descend onto Dragon Island: [The Ascender System of the Terra Humans is not perfect, with the maximum lifespan unable to exceed two hundred years, while a dragon’s lifespan is five hundred years. As long as you wish to become the Dragon King, you can maintain the Dragon Island Seal and have more time to explore the mysteries of The Creator]
This was actually a simple personal agenda: as long as Ian became a dragon, in pursuit of longevity, he would surely strive to resolve the True Dragons’ lifespan issue.
At the very least, the Galewind Dragon King could find a ’successor’ worthy of entrusting its mission.
"...I think, Dragon King, you might have misunderstood something."
However, at this moment, Ian slightly shook his head.
He took a step forward and lightly leapt down from the body of the Dark Gold Colossus Dragon, standing on Dragon Island: "I’m not just the inheritor of a Pioneer, nor a mere fortunate recipient of the Rites of the Star Gods."
"I am the second ’Pioneer’ to receive a response from the Star God’s Great Ether Stream after the original Pioneer."
Clank. A strange tactile sensation arrived—more solid than metal, yet lighter than gas, this incredulous material, an ’ideal substance’ condensed from Aether.
This is Dragon Island.
"My mission is not to become a Star God or one of the maintainers of the Dragon Island Seal."
In the stunned eyes of the True Dragon King, the human Pioneer turned his head earnestly and said, "My goal is to find the future path of the Sublimation Path, the future of Terra’s civilization, and the path leading to the stars and the distant beyond."
"And now, it seems it also needs to include the path of the ’True Dragon’."
[The second... Pioneer?!]
Having already transformed into a purely Thunderous Body, the Galewind Dragon King still felt an inexplicable tremor as it locked eyes with the white-haired youth’s green gaze, mumbling in disbelief: [But how is this possible...]
But at that very moment.
The Galewind Dragon King saw it.
In the youth’s eyes, who professed to be a Pioneer, there shone an endless, space-time-transcending, green light.
It was like the sun, yet like the Galaxy, layers flowing, infinitely steady water-like radiance!
And in the deepest part of this brilliance... flickered colors intermixed with a golden rainbow.
Its consciousness was drawn in, into a golden rainbow path snatching hope amidst the endless pale aurora...
It was drawn into the ’Prophet’s Omen’.
Drawn into ’Ian’s Path of the Dao’.
With the rotation of halos in its eyes, a series of visions appeared before the True Dragon King.
The green radiance led its will forward, pursuing and witnessing one past after another.
The Dragon King felt a hair-raising chill.
Because it saw that swarm blotting out the sky. On the vast wilderness, amidst one after another of warm snowfalls, the Crystal Carpet spread across the ground, while bloodthirsty Bug Beasts surged out mercilessly from corpses, jungles, breeding pools, and human cities and armies, devouring all creatures full of vitality.
From the sky to beneath the ground, from the deep sea to the Domain of Void, the relentlessly advancing swarm devouring all things and souls: it penetrated the Earth’s Core, flew into deep space, spread its nests in the deep sea, and forged a black Devourer in the Domain of Void...
To resist this swarm rising from the oceans and wilderness, seeking the stars, Wanbang’s armies gathered; they were forced to unite, forced into unanimous effort, forced to coalesce into a massive alliance, becoming members of a single civilization like their ancestors sixteen hundred years ago.
The Supreme Ruler governs all of this.
Light and shadow fragmented like a swift current, carrying the Dragon King towards another unimaginable future.
That was an era where countless flames ignited on the earth. The Divine Fire burned vigorously between heaven and earth, representing different beliefs and paths, shining in the era of the gods, illuminating the skies and earth, and every heart.
No longer confusion, no longer death, under the protection of the Deceased Monarch and gods, even traditional war vanished, replaced by ideological ’god wars’. Though physical annihilation god wars may indeed appear in the future, just in this period, humanity for the first time was entirely united under one system; a ’Civilization of the Gods’ surpassing the past Ascender System.
Seeing this, the Galewind Dragon King gradually calmed from initial disbelief... It vaguely perceived a possibility in this continually fluctuating light and shadow.
A possibility for the future.
No matter the appearance, these visions essentially are a ’attempt’—an attempt at unified effort, an attempt at cohesive thought, an attempt at amassed strength, and an attempt at a new civilization.
—Is this the future Ian sees? The future he... can reach?
Thinking of this, the Galewind Dragon King began to understand why Ian could utter such words without hesitation—yes, his future should indeed not be bound by the mere position of Dragon King, nor should it be solely about the Dragon Island Seal.
He indeed can find the future path of the Sublimation Path, the path of civilization, and the faraway starry path!
Even the path of the True Dragons... can be found!
But, it was at this moment.
Something beyond the Galewind Dragon King’s imagination occurred. Fresh chapters posted on novel⦿fire.net
The planet shattered before its eyes.
Terra was breaking apart—from the inside out, cracking like an eggshell.
And a gigantic Behemoth, using the planet as nourishment, and all beings as passengers, began climbing out from the abyss of the Earth’s Core, moving towards the vast void.
[What the hell is this?!]
The Thunder Dragon, like a malfunctioning object, flickered on and off in a current, akin to a large malfunctioning light bulb, even instinctively emitting an indescribable True Dragon screech: [Void Spawn?! Why... why is there Void Spawn here?!]
This question went unanswered, for the Deceased Monarch carrying all things and the Behemoth devouring deities had already set off.
The Dragon King was once more drawn into the green flowing light.
[Is this Ian’s future? The future this Prophet has seen?!]
At this moment, the Thunder Dragon was no longer startled, but frightened: [Swarm threatening the entire world, Void Spawn destroying the planet and all things...]
[Moreover, it’s not merely foreseeing calamities... those future perspectives...]
Being both the Pioneer and the End... to proceed to a farther future at the cost of destroying everything now... such a terrifying existence!
"...Dragon King, you were actually able to see the Prophet’s prophecy through me?"
It was at this moment that the Dragon King heard a voice.
It looked up, still somewhat immersed in the previous colossal future, and saw eyes full of curiosity and expectation.
"As expected from the creators of the Great Ether Stream, the creations of the Star Gods..."
"Join me, and witness the ’future’ I may tread."
"My fourth Path of the Dao."