# Chapter 6: The Gradually Unfolding World
"Warships are already being mobilized? Are those nobles really planning to rebel?"
Joshua felt somewhat puzzled after hearing Israel's murderous words. He furrowed his brow and said to the person on the other end of the light screen: "It's merely the dissemination of transcendent knowledge, the popularization of magic, battle qi, and rune knowledge. Even the most radical nobles wouldn't rebel over something like this."
"You think I'm on high alert just to deal with specific groups of people?"
Israel shook his head: "Setting strength aside, I am still an emperor after all. Although I don't have absolute jurisdiction over the enfeoffed regional nobles, they wouldn't raise the banner of rebellion against me over such matters. The orc and dragon calamities have just passed, and both the military and civilian anti-war sentiment is strong. They couldn't even gather an army if they wanted to."
"What I'm worried about are those who have been stripped of their right to speak and their authority to interpret transcendent power engaging in covert sabotage. The new floating warships serve merely as a deterrent force to maintain order amidst potential chaos."
Joshua nodded at this explanation. Now he understood.
The so-called right to speak and right of interpretation were, in a sense, power itself. The core strength of religion lay in its right to speak and interpret matters concerning gods, the afterlife, the future, and miracles. Those who amassed wealth by teaching transcendent powers among the common people and gathered their own forces to act like local tyrants were profiting through their right to speak and interpret transcendent power. Great nobles might fear the power of three legendary figures like Israel, Nostradamus, and Joshua—enough to level the land—but these small-time figures were not afraid. After all, they wouldn't engage in direct combat; they would only use deception, incitement, and various schemes to disrupt the situation and cause trouble for everyone.
But once floating warships appeared, any chaos and trouble would be resolved—under the absolute violence suspended above the cities, no one would dare to have any ulterior motives. Even if someone bold enough existed, they wouldn't find any accomplices.
—He just needed to remind Israel that such extreme authoritarian violent rule couldn't last long.
Joshua initially thought this method was too harsh, but upon reflection, the Northern Empire was originally a feudal autocratic empire, and its mainstream worshipped deity was the God of Might and Justice—from this perspective, such methods were probably quite ordinary for the empire's citizens.
Israel's business was mostly concluded. He had contacted Joshua merely to inquire about his recent whereabouts and inform him of the recent unusual movements in the Abyss. Now that he knew the reason, the Emperor had many other matters to attend to.
"Adrian seems to still be in your territory. Those Fae Cards he's been working on lately have become exceptionally popular among the nobility. Yesterday, Baron Derriman sent me a limited deluxe collector's edition card table... It's not easy for young people to accomplish something. Joshua, next time you meet Adrian, tell him not to rush back. I sent him out precisely so he could build his own career."
Before leaving, Israel said this to Joshua. As a father, he seemed quite concerned about the Sixth Prince's whereabouts.
"I'll pass that along." Joshua replied seriously. As for Fae Cards... he only remembered the embarrassing sight of two legendary mages cheating while playing cards, nothing else.
After Israel, the next person to appear on the other end of the light screen was Master Nostradamus. The old mage, who had originally returned to a middle-aged appearance in the Starry World, had once again grown pale hair, though the wrinkles on his face hadn't returned. A slight smile hung at the corner of his mouth. After seeing Joshua, he spoke in a relaxed tone: "Joshua, you've talked so much with Israel, so I, an old man, won't waste words. The two best mage academies under the Sky-Piercing White Tower recently expressed a desire to send a group of students here for exchange studies, to mutually exchange magic and various technical research. After all, this concerns your territory, so if it's to happen, we need your approval."
"As long as they're not spies, everything is negotiable."
Joshua agreed straightforwardly. He had always held a positive attitude toward technical exchange. Working in isolation had no future—even species were better when hybridized, and the same naturally applied to thoughts, inspiration, and technology.
After briefly discussing the exchange plan with the Sky-Piercing White Tower's academies, Joshua closed the light screen as the old mage took his leave.
"Business is mostly done."
He let out a long sigh and thought calmly: "The Ancient Dragon Blood was also handed over to Number 3 earlier. She'll deliver it to Hill and Fina. I can finally rest for a while, settle down, and digest my recent gains."
Joshua recalled the extremely fulfilling five years since he arrived on the Mycroft Continent in the Year 831 of the Falling Stars Era. He couldn't help but sigh deeply: "I've been fighting almost nonstop for five years without any rest. Although it was enjoyable, to ensure a completely flawless state without any hidden injuries or blind spots, I must conduct a thorough overhaul and self-check."
After all, the dragon calamity had been eradicated, the cultists had vanished, the Earth God Church had collapsed, the flame had been rekindled, the Abyss demons were now preoccupied with their own problems, the Evil God was still decades away from the Mycroft World, and with the appearance of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground... there were almost no major events left for the warrior to handle. Everyone was looking forward to future exploration, which had calmed the entire world considerably.
Thanks to Joshua's five years of all-out combat and struggle, the Mycroft Continent—known for its endless conflicts—had actually entered a rare period of peace. It remained to be seen how long this precious peace would last.
"In any case, as long as I don't stir up any big incidents, I can just be an ordinary count and manage my territory."
Having made this plan for the foreseeable future, Joshua settled the matter.
Then, two months later.
A certain giant humanoid steel statue, bearing a striking resemblance to a certain lord, abruptly appeared overnight in the southern outer district of New Moldavia City, shocking the entire world.
This colossal statue depicted a certain armored warrior standing with his hand resting on a sword. The base alone measured over one hundred and twenty meters in length and eighty meters in width, with a height reaching an astonishing two hundred and eighty meters. Even more terrifying was that this statue, which appeared overnight, was constructed from some heavy alloy and had an absolutely smooth surface without any patterns... Not to mention the sheer amount of material used, this technical craftsmanship was leading even by global standards.
The local residents were naturally both shocked and overjoyed. They sighed with emotion that the northern lord had finally remembered that his territory needed a landmark building, and they praised every detail of the magnificent statue. As an emerging major city, Moldavia had lacked some heritage and reputation compared to other traditional metropolises. Now, this suddenly appeared giant statue of the lord undoubtedly filled that gap, giving local residents bragging rights when they went out.
Meanwhile, a certain lord was currently in his Lord's Manor hall, rubbing his forehead in distress.
"Damn it, it's all Number 3 and Ying's fault for egging me on. I accidentally made it too big—just a slight stray thought caused such a deviation."
He looked worriedly at the Steel Force mist in his hand: "It seems I still have a long way to go before I can create a Fusion Core Heart with a single thought."
The warrior's rest and cultivation continued in the Lord's Manor. Meanwhile, far to the north of Winterfell Academy, in the Sea of Bewilderment, a small camp stood.
The cold mournful wind repeatedly battered the leather walls of the tent. Freezing frost particles slipped through the gaps and fell into the woodpile within the tent. The already dim fire began to flicker and crackle. Five solemn-faced young people sat around the fire, staring at the dying flames.
They wore black Winterfell Academy standard windproof cloaks, with longswords, staffs, quivers, and longbows hanging from their waists and backs. The runes on the iron plates at their cuffs flickered, seemingly transmitting information to a distant location.
These five were Joshua's previously accepted five nominal disciples: the human siblings Ivan and Amira with their Hundred Dragons, the dwarf Nick, the knight's daughter Karin, and the recently joined Imperial Seventh Prince Alva. All five were senior students at Winterfell Academy. Compared to the heavy theoretical courses of previous years, they now had much more free time. Many teachers no longer taught basic knowledge but instead assigned numerous practical tasks and projects, allowing these students to personally experience the power of transcendent forces through combat and natural threats.
Now, the five-person team had accepted a task from a certain dragon-taming instructor to come to the Sea of Bewilderment at the world's end, searching for the precise location of the gradually shifting south magnetic pole.
Because the flame had been rekindled and the world was reviving, the previously stagnant world magnetic field had begun to gradually change. The shifting magnetic poles were one such change. Originally, auroras couldn't be seen in Moldavia, but now, as long as the city lights weren't too bright, one could often see blue-green or golden auroras swaying in the sky. This was undoubtedly a major event affecting the entire world, and for mages studying the world's structure, it was exceptionally important information.
Although both deans of Winterfell Academy could calculate the exact position of the magnetic pole in an instant using their own power, they chose not to intervene, instead issuing tasks for the students to complete themselves, to temper them and let them experience it firsthand.
"Calling it the Sea of Bewilderment, but almost everywhere is ice fields, with only a tiny bit of unfrozen water."
Before the fire, the dwarf Nick muttered to himself: "Icebergs everywhere, and who knows when the ice beneath our feet will break. Searching for some magnetic pole in a place like this—we've definitely gone mad."
Since dwarves lived in high-temperature lava zones or dark underground areas, Nick absolutely detested this place of extreme cold with half a year of daylight. Having spent nearly twenty days in the Sea of Bewilderment, he was truly going mad. No matter how tough he was, he couldn't withstand this dual physical and psychological torment.
"Mad or not, we have to continue!"
But on the other side, Ivan, the team leader, shook his head firmly. This hunter youth with platinum-blonde hair casually added fuel to the fire, then looked around at his four teammates and said resolutely: "Just an ice field, searching for a magnetic pole... We've killed quite a few Primordial Realm Dragon Beasts already. Are we going to be defeated by wind and snow?"
"Most importantly, are you willing to lose to a little girl just over ten years old?"
At the mention of this little girl, an inexplicable motivation erupted throughout the team.
"Yeah... how can we lose to this latecomer!"
"Damn it, we were here first!"
Amira and Karin both gritted their teeth, their eyes burning with fierce competitiveness. Although Alva on the side didn't speak, his heart was equally filled with unwillingness and frustration.
Lisa Chronos—this was the common opponent and competitive target for the five-person team.
This mysterious little girl, brought back two months ago by everyone's master, the legendary warrior Joshua van Radcliffe, had entered Winterfell Academy under the warrior's recommendation. Initially, the five members of the First Squad, being close to Joshua, took good care of this little girl with dragon horns and tail—clearly not an ordinary human. They even helped Lisa with basic transcendent knowledge tutoring and assisted her in learning various magical techniques.
The result... was that they were quickly surpassed and thoroughly beaten.
It wasn't that Lisa was particularly strong—although the dragon girl's talent and cultivation techniques were top-notch, the five members of the First Squad, who had also passed the Divine Calamity Mist test and learned the techniques Joshua taught, were no pushovers either. In fact, due to the different worlds, Lisa's slightly reduced strength put her at a comprehensive disadvantage against the more experienced and older First Squad. Basically, everyone in the team, including Alva who had only recently joined, could easily handle the dragon girl's simple attacks... but that was only when she fought alone.
But how could Lisa fight alone? Behind her stood the guidance of the former Flame Demon Syndicate!
As a former Ultimate-rank Greater Demon, Syndicate, though impressed by the considerable strength of Joshua's other disciples, could still accurately identify each person's weakness in the five-person team. Under this old man's guidance, Lisa repeatedly challenged higher-level opponents and, after arduous battles, successfully defeated all five seniors! Following Syndicate's rather mischievous suggestion, the somewhat naive Lisa also told them that she was Joshua's only formal disciple.
"Big brothers and sisters, keep it up! One day, you'll become Master Joshua's true disciples too!"
Lisa was just sincerely cheering them on, but to Ivan and the others, it felt like being stabbed hundreds of times—they had worked so hard for so long and were still Joshua's nominal disciples, while this suddenly appeared little girl had abruptly become his formal disciple... It was too demoralizing!
"Could it be... that rumor is true? The lord's appreciation for young girls..."
Joshua, whose reputation was being unfairly damaged among his disciples, had actually simply forgotten to tell the First Squad that they had long since been promoted. He had always thought that Ivan, Amira, Karin, Nick, and Alva, who had achieved minor success in the techniques he taught, already had the awareness to become his true disciples. But the warrior had forgotten that sometimes, a simple acknowledgment was more inspiring than any words.
Now, Lisa had also accepted the same task as Ivan and the others—to determine the exact position of the Mycroft World's magnetic pole. They had become outright competitors. But if Joshua saw this healthy competition between Lisa and the First Squad, he might deliberately keep this information hidden to inject some vitality into the young people.
While everyone was working hard and improving themselves during this peaceful time, Joshua, who was standing at the entrance of New Moldavia City—the combined name for the original Moldavia main city and four new satellite cities—gazing at the giant metal statue he had accidentally created, suddenly sensed a series of fluctuations from afar that made his heart palpitate.
It wasn't the alert caused by an approaching powerful force, nor the excitement of burning battle intent, but a more ordinary, more common feeling—like resonance...
Joshua shifted his gaze toward the direction from which the fluctuations came.
"Is that Chu Hao's fluctuation?"