Apotheosis

Zen followed the handsome man's gaze and read the name engraved below the statue.

"Is King Manard your master?" Zen asked.

"Yes!"

Both the handsome and the charming nodded, their faces displaying awe and respect at the mention of their master.

Just from the man's words, Zen had obtained some valuable information.

There was a time when the human race had prospered in the chaos. But like the other past civilizations, they had failed to complete the Finale Way. In the end, they had no choice but to hide on the Other Shore.

The ancient humans of the Other Shore remained off the grid for countless years — Zen surmised that they had gone into hiding like the Regal Jade Civilization.

From that, Zen suspected that the birth of the human race in this round of chaos was no coincidence. Perhaps, the human race on the Other Shore had used some kind of special method to revive the human civilization in the chaos through the flourishing of the Nine Li race, the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the Oneness Sky Palace.

Zen was well aware that the man and woman had just been waiting for a human, not specifically him.

His appearance signaled the beginning of the ancient human civilization's plan.

"Do you agree with my conjecture?" Through his consciousness, Zen asked No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit.

Both of them were figures of wisdom and insight, and they found Zen's speculations to be convincing. But No. 9527 then added, "But humans are not united as they should be. If your speculations are right, all humans born in this round of chaos should be created by the ancient human civilization. The problem is, the Bearing race, the Oneness Sky Palace, and Fuxi from the Pear Hill are on bad terms."

The thought bewildered Zen. If the ancient humans wanted to achieve a certain goal, the new human race they had created must unite toward a single mission. Why then did they split into several branches, holding different positions and following different paths?

"Something unnatural must have happened," remarked the Regal Jade Spirit. "The creatures on the Other Shore can't visit the chaos freely due to the Other Shore's special nature. They have to choose spokespersons to fig

rse. Master told us that if a human was exiled to this place, we could report it to him."

At that, Zen's eyes lit up. "Can you inform him right now?"

After a moment of thought, the man nodded. "Alright. Follow me."

An ancient gate lay behind the palace. Once they entered the gate with Zen, they arrived at the edge of this world — a wall covered with black fluff.

The wall seemed to go on endlessly. They couldn't see its end from either direction.

All creatures, regardless of size, would feel powerless and insignificant in the face of this enormous wall.

Nearby was a small round cave.

"No words can be sent out in this place. We have to leave the place to inform Master. This is the passageway that leads outside," the man explained.

Looking curiously at the cave, Zen asked, "Did your master dig this cave out?"

"Yes. Master started to dig this even before we were born. He spent about eight million units of time before reaching the other end and outside the chaos. Master is a persistent man!"

Eight million units of time… that meant eighty billion years. 'That's a terribly long time, ' Zen thought.

"I can't believe someone actually managed to dig through the chaos…" the Regal Jade Spirit muttered in astonishment in Zen's mind.

"I can't believe it either…" remarked No. 9527.

The two had a far greater understanding of the chaos than Zen did and yet even they agreed that digging all the way out of the chaos was something unheard of.