Chapter 132: Origin

After resting for two or three hours, Huang Ze and the Red Dragon each grabbed a surviving Titan and flew toward the territory of the Xia Kingdom.

The Red Dragon had actually mentioned that she owned a piece of property nearby and had strongly invited the Black Dragon to come over for a visit. However, Huang Ze was in a hurry to return, report his findings, and recharge; he had no interest in touring her little den and brushed her off with a perfunctory "maybe next time." Furthermore, Huang Ze strongly suspected that her claim of owning over a hundred properties was a boastful exaggeration—nine times out of ten, it was mostly hot air. After all, what dragons called "property" was usually just finding a mountain, digging a hole, and tidying it up enough to keep the rain out; they were hardly worth much. Besides, outside the borders, where the law of the jungle prevailed and there was no legal protection, the concept of a deed didn't exist. Whoever had the biggest fist owned the den. So, while a hundred properties sounded impressive, it was likely just her marking a cave by taking a leak in it.

...

Academician Ding and his team were remarkably calm about the fact that the Black Dragon had brought back a Red Dragon. What else could they do? Throwing a grand welcoming ceremony with firecrackers and gongs would be too tacky and might frighten their draconic friend.

The Red Dragon remained inseparable from the Black Dragon, following him everywhere. Huang Ze couldn't really say anything about it; after all, to a young dragon, this was the land of the Xia people, and she naturally felt insecure and wanted to stick close to the Black Dragon.

"Since you’re not used to being here, you should go back," Huang Ze said, feeling that having her tag along constantly wasn't a sustainable arrangement. He decided to send her off to do some work for him. "I’ll have the Xia people pay you the gold later. Once you have it, get the formula for the Dragon Blood Potion from them as soon as possible, and then help me collect dragon eggs. I have an urgent need for them."

"Oh..."

The environment within the borders was indeed uncomfortable for the Red Dragon, and she had grasped enough of the Black Dragon’s temperament to know this wasn't the time to be coquettish. She obediently agreed. However, she did make one small request: the mental connection between them must not be severed. He had to communicate with her for at least an hour or two every day so she could report her progress.

Considering the time dilation in the mental world was one to thirty, two hours was only four minutes in reality. Moreover, those two hours wouldn't just be for idle chatter; they could be used for learning. Even though Huang Ze was a dragon, he didn't know much about many draconic secrets and could use the time to study and discuss things with the Red Dragon. Furthermore, since the little Red Dragon was so compliant and doing his bidding, he figured he should at least give her some sweetness and something to look forward to. Huang Ze agreed.

After sending the Red Dragon away, Academician Ding immediately contacted the high-level officials to hold an emergency meeting with Huang Ze. The discussion covered many topics: the Titans, the divine abominations, the Red Dragon, and even Huang Ze himself. Knowing that this meeting would directly influence the decisions of the leadership and the future of the nation, Huang Ze did not hold back and laid out everything he had encountered.

The group listened patiently to his account, then fell into a long silence, digesting the information.

"We severely underestimated the power of those deities!" a high-ranking military official suddenly said. "If what Mr. Huang says is true, then the reaction speed of the deities, or rather their perception of time, is far faster than ours!"

"A second as we define it can be utilized as a hundred or even a thousand seconds in their eyes. This is essentially a dimensionality-reduction strike!"

"Indeed... we were too optimistic before," another central leader added with a grim expression. "We thought our technological superiority was deterring those deities, but that is not the case. They were merely being cautious, fearing that we might cause the material plane to collapse along with them."

"Mr. Huang... do you really intend to open your mental world to us?" Academician Ding couldn't help but ask. "A time dilation of one to several dozen is incredibly precious to our researchers. Time is what we lack most right now; we would be willing to sacrifice even our physical lives for it!"

"That... I may need to study it further," Huang Ze said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "For one, my mental world isn't very stable yet; it needs time to accumulate and settle. Secondly... as Ms. Red said, maintaining the operation of the mental world consumes a vast amount of mental energy. Given my current state, I can't sustain it for long."

"I see... that is a pity."

Academician Ding felt a sense of regret. In truth, he knew that allowing the Black Dragon to open his mental world to host the consciousness of many Xia people would likely rapidly strengthen its soul, potentially causing it to evolve into a true deity—whether that would be a blessing or a curse remained to be seen. But the problem was that the Xia Kingdom desperately needed a mental space for research and even as a spiritual refuge.

"Have the Titans had any substantive conflicts with our country before?" Huang Ze suddenly asked.

"No," a central leader replied. "The Titans' territory is quite far from ours, about five or six thousand kilometers away, separated by a vast ocean. Although they have often expressed their hatred and hostility toward us without restraint, a direct attack like today's is a first."

"What are they after?" Huang Ze was deeply puzzled. "At a distance of five or six thousand kilometers, it is almost impossible for us to directly influence them under current conditions. Why are they in such a rush to jump out and oppose us?"

"Also... the outside world is so backward, the speed of information flow should be very slow. How did they find out about our situation so quickly from so far away, and why are they constantly shouting at us from across the distance?"

"Mr. Huang... don't forget that all kinds of churches exist outside our borders," Academician Ding replied. "While information flows slowly among the common people, for the high-level members of the churches who can communicate directly with deities, what happens in the material plane is not unfamiliar to them."

"The Titans have a strong presence in the material plane. Since they are willing to jump out as the vanguard against the Xia Kingdom, many deities are clearly happy to see it happen and will naturally help spread the word."

"So that's how it is..." Huang Ze realized with a start. It turned out that the deities in the heavens were, to some extent, acting as relay satellites, helping believers transmit information over long distances. In that case, the news of the bloody conflict between the Silver Moon Elves and the Night Elves reported by the Xia Kingdom so quickly likely used similar channels.

"Those Titans, like us, are outsiders. They are likely unwilling to be ignored and want to realize some conspiracy by provoking us," a central leader said.

"Actually, it's not just the Titans. Many researchers at the Xia Academy of Sciences suspect that the vast majority of extraordinary life forms in the material plane did not evolve naturally. Like the Titans, they were artificially created or transported here a very, very long time ago," Academician Ding said suddenly. "Although the microscopic realm outside the borders is locked and many technological methods are useless, our staff discovered through research that almost all intelligent beings do not follow the theory of evolution."

"Many intelligent beings seem to appear out of nowhere, very similar to the creationism preached by many churches, as if a benevolent creator had manufactured them."

"Moreover, reproductive isolation is not very apparent outside the borders. Inter-species breeding is not necessarily common, but it is certainly not rare."

"..."

Huang Ze was surprised; he hadn't paid much attention to the origin of species in the outside world and didn't expect such things to be hidden within. However, he quickly realized a problem and couldn't help but ask, "Academician Ding, if what you say is true, why do dragons and many other intelligent races consistently emphasize that the Titans are outsiders?"

"Perhaps it is because the Titan race is too powerful," Academician Ding pondered. "Generally speaking, most outsider races are assimilated by the material plane after arriving. But the Titans are different; they clearly want to assimilate the material plane and set their own rules of the game. This naturally met with widespread resistance and rejection, so the label of 'outsider' remained."

"That possibility cannot be excluded..." Huang Ze mused. He felt that those Titans were clearly arrogant; even after being taught a lesson in the material plane for so many years, they still acted like troublemakers, constantly looking for trouble.

"Academician Ding, how do you plan to deal with the two Titans you captured?" Huang Ze couldn't help but ask. "I feel their bloodline and their power are extremely dangerous and eerie. It would be best not to conduct any scientific research on them, but to destroy them directly."

"That is our plan as well," Academician Ding nodded gravely, then suddenly laughed. "We used to joke that if we had the chance, we would capture a deity for dissection and study... Now that I think about it, it was too naive, or rather, we were too weak, unable to do anything against even a mere Titan."

"Academician Ding, don't let others' ambition destroy your own prestige," a central leader couldn't help but say. "Our individual power is weak, but you must believe that the power of our collective is great!"

"Exactly!" Huang Ze quickly agreed. "It is precisely because I miss the power and advantages of our collective that I am so eager to return to our country."

"Individual power has many ways to be improved, but if the power of the collective declines, that would be serious."

"I apologize, it is my fault," Academician Ding quickly stood up and bowed to everyone to express his self-reflection. "If someone like me, who works on the front lines, loses confidence in myself and in the country, how can we reassure the people behind us?"

"Mr. Huang, we are currently relying on your power, so please make sure to protect your own safety," a military leader said. "We will also do everything in our power to help you improve your strength. Your priority will be at the highest level. If you have any needs or ideas, feel free to tell us, and we will find a way to solve them for you."

"You are too kind, leaders." Huang Ze felt a heavy burden. His mindset hadn't quite adjusted yet. With the leadership and Academician Ding considering various factors, they didn't want to put too much pressure on him, but suddenly realizing the weight of the expectations placed upon him, Huang Ze found it somewhat difficult to adapt.

Fortunately, Academician Ding knew Huang Ze's character and didn't dare to challenge his psychological threshold too much. He quickly said, "Mr. Huang, how do you intend to deal with the artifact you brought back?"

This was the first artifact the Xia Kingdom had ever encountered. Even with their vast resources, buying an artifact from an intelligent race outside the borders was a fantasy. In fact, according to the Xia Academy of Sciences, there were few existing artifacts in the material plane because the world's will was never friendly toward such overly powerful objects. If an artifact were left in the material plane for a long time, not only would its power continuously dissipate, but its divinity would fall into a slumber, eventually causing it to lose its status as an artifact.

Therefore, the method used by most intelligent races was: if an artifact was needed for battle, they would send prayers to their own deities in the heavens through the supplications of many devout followers, and the deity would then cast the artifact down for their lackeys to use.

"How to deal with it..." Huang Ze pondered. "I do have some ideas."

"Doesn't our artificial sun already reach temperatures of a hundred million degrees?"

"I was thinking, what would happen if we put this so-called artifact into the artificial sun's device to refine it?"

"..." Academician Ding was shocked. "Mr. Huang, wouldn't that be a bit too wasteful? This is an artifact. If it were destroyed at a hundred million degrees, what would we do?"

"That's not necessarily true," Huang Ze shook his head. "I feel this artifact likely has some kind of authentication and protection mechanism, making it almost impossible for us to use. It would be better to melt it down and reforge it."

"Moreover, if a temperature of a hundred million degrees can refine it, that almost implies that deities can also be refined."

"..." A central leader asked, "Mr. Huang, do you feel this artifact poses some kind of danger to you, which is why you want to destroy it?"

"Exactly!" Huang Ze said truthfully. "My consciousness was likely contaminated by its power earlier, and something like a Trojan horse was implanted. For the sake of safety, it is best to destroy it."

"I even feel that behind this golden bow, some great being of the Titan race is watching me, and they might launch a surprise attack on me or our Xia Kingdom at any time. It's better to just let them see what our Xia Kingdom is capable of."