Chapter 168
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Chapter 168: Title
"The environment here resembles Blue Star, though the gravity feels slightly heavier."
Ye Linlang flexed her limbs, finding the increased gravitational force easily manageable for a Practitioner. She was eager to meet the Atlanteans who’d fled Blue Star for this refuge.
The spaceship had conducted only preliminary scans of the planetary surface before landing – finer details remained for her to uncover personally.
Cultivation bestowed numerous advantages; even without Spiritual Energy, Practitioners didn’t revert to ordinary people. The transformative process fortified their bodies – muscles growing more robust, bones densifying into resilient frameworks.
For untrained individuals, mere adaptation to this gravity would require months of adjustment.
Clad in a button-down shirt and tailored pants beneath her black coat, Ye Linlang conjured sunglasses with theatrical flair. The twin suns’ radiance demanded such precautions. With hands buried in coat pockets, she ambled forward, imagining how any Blue Star native might mistake this for some fantastical crossing over.
Her deceptively casual strides devoured two meters apiece, the jungle swallowing her silhouette as she penetrated deeper into the verdant maze.
This eastern jungle kissed the sea’s edge, its central wilderness sheltering intelligent beings – both arboreal and aquatic, according to the spaceship’s initial scans. Her current mission: assess the Atlanteans’ jungle settlement.
*
While Ye Linlang reveled in extraterrestrial exploration, Blue Star continued spinning despite her absence. The "surprises" she’d left behind, however, thoroughly unsettled the planet’s intelligent inhabitants.
Though not hosting "countless races" yet, Blue Star now teemed with two dozen sentient species. Eastern non-humans organized into spirit cultivators and ghost clans, while Western regions adopted terms like "non-human" and mythical beings.
Beyond familiar elven races, dragon races, and dwarf races lurked more ominous entities: wailing banshees, hellspawn, and the blood clan. Through Ye Linlang’s meticulous designs, Blue Star blossomed into extraordinary diversity.
Post-expansion nations grappled with expanded territories, mapping new frontiers while purging residual monstrosities. Resource surveys revealed more than land – subterranean veins of spiritual stone mines and magic crystal mines comprised 30-50% of new mineral deposits, with nascent veins promising future wealth.
Major powers, having stabilized domestically, extended aid through America-led initiatives demanding steep payment – territories, mineral rights, or indentured labor.
The catastrophe toppled numerous governments, revealing an unexpected development during subsequent chaos: African third-world nations had coalesced into a fledgling alliance. This imperfect union, spearheaded by forty-three totem deities and millions of devotees, promised to end continental strife.
None dared challenge these totem deities, divine entities despite their lesser status compared to imperial sovereigns.
Ye Linlang observed these developments without surprise. Neither mortal nor divine desired impoverished domains. Her strategic placement of totem deity chess pieces in Africa had anticipated this outcome.
Third-world stagnation stemmed not only from missed technological revolutions, but from colonial powers’ enduring legacy of disruption. Those exploiters had cemented poverty through "indelible contributions."
Now? Only fools would provoke deity-protected regions – particularly when forty-three divine guardians stood united. In this new paradigm where wonder spawned prosperity, Australia’s Commonwealth fared worse than Africa itself.
Though Africa’s primordial deities had perished, their ancient city-state civilizations left foundations predating colonial invasions – a heritage far richer than Australia’s barren legacy.
With the Awakening of Spiritual Energy, many new totem deities emerged, making the gains and losses balanced each other out. But what about Australia? Their occupation of the continent was achieved through the eradication of indigenous populations.
Not only were the native civilizations of Australia relatively primitive with no tangible divine presence, but they also lacked substantial heritage after the Awakening of Spiritual Energy. Now they can do nothing but desperately cling to the coattails of the Holy Alliance and the master of the Demon Web.
"Why are diplomatic documents from Africa routed to us?" Tang Tong scanned the papers before turning to Lin Jing. "Is this under our jurisdiction now?"
"That correspondence comes from the African Alliance established by forty-three totem deities," Lin Jing replied nonchalantly. "Where else would such documents go if not to us? Though we needn’t concern ourselves overly – the Foreign Ministry bears primary responsibility. We’re merely providing supplementary support."
The term "Africa" originated as an abbreviation for the continent. Since the African Alliance’s formation during the global ascension event, this once backwardness-associated name became destined for historical obscurity.
Every nation across Southern and Northern Africa joined the Alliance except Egypt, which maintains its devotion to the God of Death. Under divine guardianship, the continent finally embarks on stable development.
The Alliance’s nomenclature traces back to ancient lore about a guardian goddess named Africa who protected the land in primordial times.
"This missive is absurdly verbose," Tang Tong remarked, flipping through pages. "All this talk of ‘assistance’ ultimately translates to workloads for Divisions 1 and 5."
"Their proposals are staggering – requests for modern civilization infrastructure, technology transfers, and foreign investments… All offered at premium rates with single demand for expedited timelines." She tapped the document meaningfully. "Everyone knows Zhongxia’s infrastructure prowess – renowned for completing projects on time with exceptional quality."
Lin Jing nodded. "Their aspirations run deep."
Africa’s chronic underdevelopment spans generations. Even with divine aid, bridging the gap with modern society remains daunting. Yet success could grant the continent significant influence on Blue Star.
"Post-cataclysm, no unaligned nation dares stand alone," Liang An interjected, rolling his eyes. "Look at our neighboring states – most have collapsed."
Zhongxia’s territory expanded rapidly as surrounding governments crumbled, populations decimated beyond two-thirds. Predictably, future Asian powers will be Zhongxia, Bear Country, and Fusang – each backed by at least one major deity.
With three major deities, including the Ghostly Emperor of the underworld and Fusang’s supreme deity Amaterasu, Zhongxia’s top position remains unchallenged. Bear Country claims second place through its Dark Council alliance, rumored connected to entire hell dimensions – effectively part of the dark camp.
Hell’s hierarchy features the Demon King, near-equal to the God of Light, commanding six underworld monarchs – a power structure overshadowing Fusang’s capabilities.
The Kingdom of England thrives through diverse forces, primarily worshipping the God of Light and the master of the Demon Web. Their wizard population grows daily through demon web connections.
America, lacking divine patronage, pivoted entirely to genetic and Spiritual Energy Technology research. Their "Superpower Potion" reportedly reaches tier two maturity, awaiting human trials. Post-Atlantean knowledge acquisition accelerated their biomechanical breakthroughs.
The Special Bureau operates round-the-clock, overwhelmed by Zhongxia’s mythological resurgence. While sites like Kunlun and Penglai Mountains manifest visibly, countless hidden anomalies require systematic sweeps by regional branches.
Lin Jing massaged his temples while reviewing incoming data. "Division 6 verified America’s transmission from last week."
Liang An’s eyebrow twitched. "That ancient civilization’s signal? Preposterous! How could relics from millennia past still transmit?"
