Chapter 11: If You Don't Try

Chapter 11: If You Don't Try

The silence lasted only a very short time before Joshua himself broke it.

Under the white light of the Information Hall, the warrior exhaled and shook his head. "Forget it. Why bother caring about what they think? There will always be a war faction and a peace faction."

If there were no contradictions or conflicts between each other's thoughts, then they wouldn't be human anymore.

Muttering this to himself, he suddenly stood up. Joshua scanned the entire Information Hall, looking at the dense array of information storage units, and laughed. "It's impossible for everyone's thoughts to be the same. Getting tangled up over something like this is just a waste of mental energy."

"...Huh?"

Number 3, who had been standing behind Joshua, racking her brain for ways to comfort him, blinked and froze for a moment. After a long pause, she stammered, "W-Wait, Joshua, weren't you looking... really, really angry just now?"

Lost and at a loss? She had been holding back those words, unable to say them, because they had nothing to do with the current Joshua—calm, steady, showing no signs of defeat. The Artificial Intelligence Girl even began to suspect that her observation system was malfunctioning, causing even an AI to see hallucinations.

"Angry? Of course I'm angry. These people have never even seen the true form of an Evil God—they've only fought against a Black Mist Mother Entity—and yet they're already thinking about retreat methods so early. I know they're cautious, planning for defeat before victory, but I'm the only one among them who has actually seen an Evil God. I haven't even thought about running, so why are they so nervous?"

In response, Joshua waved his hand. Behind him, a silver halo emerged, from which shot out numerous translucent crystal fragments. These fragments flowed with dense data points, connecting to the entire Information Hall's storage units just like Number 3. As the warrior helped Number 3 transfer data, he leisurely paced through the hall and said, "But that's all there is to it. To be honest, I'm not angry because of their caution—I'm just annoyed."

"Annoyed?" Number 3 instinctively repeated, her tone filled with disbelief.

"Annoyed that they don't believe I can achieve the realm of a Sage."

At this, Joshua curled his lip and snorted. "I went from Silver-rank to Legendary in just a few years. Give me ten years, and I'll reach a level comparable to a deity. By then, there's at least twenty or more years—maybe even decades—before the Evil God invasion."

"By that time, I'll definitely be stronger than the Black Mist Mother Entity, maybe even stronger than an average Evil God. If I'm lucky and find an opportunity to become a Sage, it's not impossible. Look, didn't you just tell me about the 'Decay Evil God'? That's a valuable clue. If I can find even a trace of the Sage realm from it, then the future is still uncertain."

"Most importantly."

As he spoke, Joshua turned around and patted the head of Number 3, who had been following him and was now stunned into silence. The warrior smiled. "I'm a seasoned warrior who has seen the true form of an Evil God, witnessed the afterimage of a Sage, and chatted casually with deities. Why would I need you to comfort me?"

"I've saved worlds and destroyed worlds. I helped a star civilization defeat a Void Behemoth that devoured stars. I pulled a world twisted by time back onto the right track. Fate is something I can rewrite while doing morning push-ups. An Evil God invasion? Shouting 'It's over!' right now isn't my style."

As he spoke, the countless data streams flowing through the translucent crystals Joshua had spread out suddenly stopped. Noticing this, the warrior said casually, "Good. This hall's data transfer is complete. On to the next one."

"What?!"

Number 3's expression became even more incredulous. She scanned the information repository in shock and realized that Joshua had indeed transferred all the data from the entire Information Hall in just a few minutes. Staring at the progress bar that now showed '100% Transfer Complete,' she murmured, "My transfer speed is 144 times that of an average Ultimate-rank mage. How could..."

"Everyone is an artificial intelligence—it's just that one is born from parents, and the other is created by engineers and researchers. In my eyes, you're just an ordinary human, no different from me."

By now, Joshua was already walking toward the hall's exit. He waved at Number 3 behind him. "I still have some business to take care of at Winterfell, so I won't keep you company. But if you come across any more information about Sages, feel free to notify me anytime."

"O-Okay."

Number 3 nodded instinctively and watched Joshua's figure leave the hall. After a long pause, she suddenly snapped out of her daze and exclaimed in frustration, "Wait, who's a human?!"

Outside the hall.

Joshua's previously smiling expression quickly turned calm and cold.

"Sage."

He raised his right hand, staring at his palm, and whispered the word—this title—as if chewing on the endless meaning contained in those two simple syllables.

"Evil God."

He clenched his fist, lifted his gaze, and uttered the alias in a detached tone. No one could tell what emotions were churning in his heart.

Finally, all emotions condensed into two words that carried no discernible feeling at all.

"Interesting."

With that, his figure vanished. Almost at the same moment, a spatial rift appeared outside the Grand Database, quickly opening and then rapidly closing, as if it were merely an illusion.

...

"The pace of human evolution has already slowed to a crawl."

Moldavia, Winterfell Academy, year-end graduation speech.

In the trapezoidal hall, nearly a hundred senior students sat at the very front. Behind them, hundreds of students from lower grades also sat upright, staring solemnly at the stage—now the podium—in the center.

A middle-aged mage calmly bore the gaze of all the students. Under the lights, he used magical amplification to send his voice into the ears of everyone present, without a trace of nervousness or hesitation.

"As everyone knows, humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and even the extinct centaurs and orcs all share the same bloodline origin in a sense. Tens of millions of years ago, in the primeval barbaric era, the oldest human tribes had not yet diverged. At that time, there were many different races in this world, and many environments had yet to be explored. Our ancestors huddled in warm plains, not moving a single step for millions of years."

Nostradamus and Israel sat at the very top of the hall. Both concealed their auras, calmly watching the middle-aged mage deliver his speech. None of the students or instructors noticed that the two highest leaders of the Empire were right behind them. But then, a figure appeared and sat down without hesitation beside Israel, drawing their attention.

Joshua made a 'quiet, watch carefully' gesture to the two, then fell silent. This immediately stopped Nostradamus and Israel from asking questions, temporarily setting aside their curiosity about what Joshua had been doing earlier. They turned back to continue listening to the long-planned speech.

"But an abnormal climate shift—now understood to be the prelude to the First Ice Age—forced our ancient primitive ancestors to begin migrating from their homeland. Over hundreds or thousands of years of prolonged migration, some humans went south to the humid, jungle-filled regions, some went west to the dry, mountainous areas, and some chose to stay put... It could be said that for every human tribe at the time, there was a different choice. Our ancestors began to spread across the entire world for the first time."

"Those who went south became the elves of today. Those who entered the mountains became the ancestors of the dwarves. Those who stayed were the oldest cold-region barbarian races. Halflings and gnomes came from moving into narrow, warm underground tunnels. And the lucky ones who migrated to plains as warm as before became the ancestors of ordinary humans like you and me."

"Life forms evolve according to their environment—this is a fact we can observe from countless experiments and practices. Northern shark-lizards are all ice-attributed, while southern ones almost all master both water and earth elements. Fire dragons live near volcanoes, while thunder dragons always dwell in rainy mountain peaks. This is no coincidence."

The middle-aged mage on stage was a Western Mountain native. His voice was magnetic and deep, with a slight Western Mountain accent, but no one present minded. Over the past few years, he had won over all the students with his profound academic knowledge, earning the opportunity to give this speech. "While we transform the world, the world also transforms us. Life constantly adapts to different environments, growing stronger with each generation. Data shows that eight hundred years ago, the average adult human's strength was barely Black Iron-rank. Now, in Moldavia alone, a sixteen-year-old has an average strength of Mid-Black Iron-rank, and this rank is rising at an astonishing rate."

"But this is all an illusion." Suddenly, the speaker declared decisively. "This is not an elevation of our life form—it's merely an illusion created by better nutrition, everyone having meat to eat, and everyone being able to practice cultivation."

"The speed at which life adapts to the environment can no longer keep up with the speed at which life transforms the environment."

"Our evolution has actually long since stagnated."

These few words immediately stirred a low murmur throughout the hall. Although the scattered conversations and exclamations were calmed by the instructors present, it was clear that all the students' eyes showed obvious surprise and confusion.

The speaker on stage continued.

"With technological progress, the popularization of cultivation methods, and the deepening integration of supernatural power into our races—including elves, dwarves, halflings, and all other civilized life—among all Mycroft intelligent life forms, our bodies no longer need to adapt to the environment. We have warm clothing and houses, cultivation methods capable of resisting temperatures of minus one hundred degrees, and magic and battle qi that can enter and exit the void. Thousands of years ago, in the last era, life no longer needed to passively adapt to the environment. The progress of our ancestors' wisdom was enough to replace our bodies' adaptive evolution."

His voice was loud, clear even to the three Legendary experts at the very back of the hall. Israel's expression was calm, Nostradamus's was unreadable, and Joshua nodded with a smile.

"Our wisdom makes us unique. The pan-human civilization circle has become the overlord of the entire continent. Since then, apart from civil wars, our race has faced no challenges. Because of this, our evolution has completely stagnated—or rather, become extremely slow, no longer able to keep up with our pace."

The speaker was deeply invested. It was clear that this was his innermost thought. He scanned the hundreds of students and instructors in the hall and shouted loudly, "Now, our civilization is about to enter the void. Is there any race that can enter the void directly with their physical bodies, without relying on cultivation methods or magical equipment?!"

"No! Not even dragons can! Except for the legendary Ancient Dragons and Void Behemoths, no life form can survive in the void with just their physical bodies! We humans have gained the ability to enter and exit the void, but we lack the physical bodies to match it. This is the glory of our wisdom, but it doesn't mean we should accept this weakness! It's time for a change. Our wisdom should not passively accept this fragile vessel. Natural evolution takes tens of millions of years to achieve a major leap, but that was in the ancient barbaric era. Now, we should take the initiative to change!"

"Our ancestors spent hundreds of thousands of years going from eating raw meat and drinking blood to learning to cook with fire. They spent over a hundred thousand years evolving from scattered settlements to tribal societies. They used a hundred thousand years to play with stone tools, tens of thousands of years to build large houses. They only learned to forge metal eight thousand years ago, and reached the peak of civilization thirteen hundred years ago! The pace of civilization's progress simply cannot keep up with natural evolution. In some remote island tribes in the Far South, the physical fitness of their residents is even worse than that of our twelve-year-old boys. Natural evolution has lost its meaning. We cannot rely on mutation to adapt to the void, to the infinite worlds of this multiverse!"

"Only through wisdom, magic, battle qi—through our wisdom to transform our bodies—can 'humans,' can 'intelligent life,' adapt to this void era, to this vast and boundless multiverse. This is me."

As he spoke, the speaker pointed to himself, then extended his hand, pointing in turn to all the students in the hall. "And you."

"It is all of us—the entire civilization—who should strive toward this direction in the future."

The speaker on stage was still delivering his concluding remarks. The students on stage were clapping wildly, with thunderous applause echoing through the hall. But this was no longer important, because at the very back of the hall, a heated, low-voiced argument was taking place among the Legendary experts.

"Joshua!"

Nostradamus growled in a low voice. "Is this your plan? To promote the legitimacy and justification of 'human body modification' within Winterfell Academy, and then use these students as a base to spread your theories to the outside world?!"

As he spoke, the old mage thought of the Fourth Practice Room of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, with its dense, spine-chilling 'Human Perfect Prototype Experiment Subjects' and the bizarre Void Behemoths that should only appear in nightmares. He couldn't help but exhale. "You really intend to modify all of humanity... You're not joking."

"I never joke. At most, I tell a few cold jokes. Nostradamus, you should have realized this at least eight years ago."

In response to the old mage's accusation, Joshua was unperturbed. He calmly watched the speaker, who was flushed with excitement and waving to the cheering students, and said in a low voice, "Current humans are still primitive species stuck at least a million years in the past. Our wisdom has stagnated their evolution, so it should be our wisdom that elevates them again. This is the first step for our civilization to become a true void civilization."

"Who do you think you are? A god, or a Sage? Can you be sure that the modifications you want to make are truly suitable for humans?"

Nostradamus rubbed his temples. He had calmed down and spoke seriously. "Current humans may indeed be fragile, but at least they are stable. Our civilization and society are built on this fragile body. If one day everyone suddenly learns to fly, our architectural styles and society will undergo massive changes. And what you want to do now is not just make humans fly, but turn all humans into Transcendent Beings."

"Such a change is enough to cause massive upheaval in our society and civilization. Humans will no longer be human. Most importantly, you still can't be sure if this modification is safe! Even so, you still want to go through with it!"

"Otherwise?" Joshua replied coldly. "How do you know if it's suitable if you don't try? Do you think battle qi cultivation and magic cultivation aren't modifications? Then what are you and I, these Legendary experts? Lich transformation, elementalization, soul transformation, runic mages—warriors stronger than dragons, faster than birds, able to enter and exit the void with their physical bodies. Isn't that a special, non-universal form of modification?"

"I just want to make this modification universal for everyone. It's strange that you can't understand me. I'm not planning to force modifications, but to gradually and subtly influence our civilization to adapt to this behavior, to let them take the initiative to modify themselves."

"Besides, I am human." As he spoke, Joshua pointed to himself, then to Nostradamus and Israel. "You are too. Even we are humans. Why should they stop being human after modification?"

Nostradamus seemed about to retort, but Israel, sitting between them, made a helpless gesture, signaling for both to stop. "Enough. What's there to argue about such a trivial matter? Teacher, you think this modification will cause social upheaval, even trigger a collapse of 'human self-identity.' And Lord Radcliffe is thinking about the future. What he says is indeed correct—our civilization is entering the boundless void, and the fragile body has indeed become a burden holding us back."

"You already argued once over the Evil God issue. Why argue again? This kind of problem isn't..." The Emperor paused for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, we can decide this matter."

"I know, Master Nostradamus, you don't completely reject my idea."

At that moment, Joshua spoke again. He turned to look at the old mage, who had a pained expression, and said calmly, "You just feel that such a major matter needs careful consideration, planned over decades, and then implemented steadily and stably—only then can the entire civilization be smoothly pushed into that new era without chaos."

"But we don't have time. We're already thinking about whether to turn people into souls and store them in coordination arrays to take away. So what's modifying humans compared to that?"

The warrior said in a low voice, "If we don't try, we'll never have another chance. Resistance and counterattack are the same—and so am I."

With that, Joshua stood up and left the hall, leaving only Nostradamus and Israel sitting in their seats.

"...Haha."

After confirming that Joshua's life reaction had completely disappeared amid spatial fluctuations, Nostradamus, who had been looking tense and gloomy, suddenly changed his expression and let out a soft laugh. He exhaled, whether in relief or satisfaction, and said, "He finally has the desire to 'become stronger.'"

Beside him, Israel's avatar nodded slightly. He sighed. "I never thought we would play this role."

Nostradamus closed his eyes and said in a tired voice, "Joshua... he is the fastest-advancing person in the entire Mycroft World, including the data from the Era of Radiance, and the one closest to a Sage. I said this years ago, but I'll say it again now."

"If anyone is most likely to achieve the 'realm of a Sage,' then in this entire world, besides him and Eagle, there is no third person. And Eagle is already an old man. He has excellent talent, but his perspective is limited to Mycroft civilization. Only he, Joshua, can surpass that. Only he—young as he is, having roamed the multiverse and walked through many worlds—has the chance."

"But this guy only has the belief in 'challenging powerful enemies,' without the determination to 'become stronger.' Strength is just a ticket to challenge for him. No matter how you put it, it's just a tool. His talent is too good; even without caring, he can still grow stronger rapidly, which only makes him even more indifferent to this concept."

Israel nodded in agreement. "And now, he wants to become stronger. For the first time, he's not thinking 'one day I will challenge a Sage,' but 'I want to achieve the Sage realm as soon as possible.' It may seem the same—after all, without the Sage realm, how can you challenge a Sage? But the former focuses on 'finding a Sage,' while the latter focuses on 'becoming as strong as a Sage.' Finally, we've managed to turn his thinking around."

"Wait."

Suddenly, Nostradamus frowned. "Do you think Joshua might have already seen through our purpose?"

"Who cares."

Israel shook his head indifferently. "Even if he has, so what? This is his own idea. We just provided an opportunity. It's not a lie. After all, if he can't achieve the Sage realm, there's no way we're going to lead a bunch of ignorant, unenlightened feudal subjects to fight a decisive battle against an Evil God."

"Just as Joshua said—if we don't try, we'll never have another chance."