187: Immortal Heroes

The process of absorbing the second divinity crystal was much smoother than the first.

Perhaps it was because the stability of the divine personality had increased from "extremely low" to "low," and the repair of the main crack played a crucial "anchoring" role; or perhaps it was because of the continuous supply of pure faith crystal from the top scholar reward, which enriched the overall "soil" of the divine personality space, making it less barren and depleted; or perhaps Lin Zhou's own control had improved slightly through practical experience and the first repair.

In any case, when that wisp of Origin will, carrying faint golden rule threads, once again cautiously probed into another deeper crack in the core of the divine personality, although he could still feel the Soul-piercing sting and numbness from the rule level, the entire process was much "smoother," and the efficiency of rule power penetration and Fusion subtly increased.

Lin Zhou was immersed in the microscopic world of repair, his mind completely absorbed. External time seemed to lose its meaning; there was only the slow but steady process of the divine personality cracks mending under the weaving of rule threads, bit by bit.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

When the light inside the second divinity crystal completely dimmed, turning into an ordinary crystal-like substance (the rule power within had been fully absorbed), Lin Zhou slowly withdrew from his deep meditation.

Opening his eyes, the room was still quiet, and the sky outside the window was almost noon. This repair seemed to take slightly less time than the first, but the effect was more pronounced.

He immediately delved into the divine personality space to inspect it.

Divine Personality Status Panel:

Integrity: 16.1% (+1.8%, slightly higher increase than last time)

Stability: Low (trending towards "lower")

Divine Power Conversion/Storage Function: Still inactive

Rule Processing Capability: Weak recovery (can perform extremely low-load rule analysis, slightly improved)

Divine Fire: Extinguished (embers remain in the deepest core, still faintly perceptible)

Divine Office Germination (Education/Law): Still dormant, but seems slightly more "active" due to divine personality repair, no longer as dead silent as before.

Nearly a 2% increase in integrity! And stability is also improving. Although a complete repair is still distant, at this rate, using all ten divinity crystals should allow him to reach the target of around 30% integrity. At that time, the divine personality will initially escape the category of "severely damaged," recover some basic functions, and at least be able to slowly convert and store some Divine Power, which is crucial for future actions.

"Very good." Lin Zhou felt a little more at ease. Two consecutive successful repairs gave him more confidence in this path of recovery.

He did not rush into the third absorption. The use of divinity crystals required intervals to allow the divine personality to fully adapt and consolidate the absorbed rule power, otherwise, it could leave hidden dangers. According to his estimate, he needed to wait at least five or six more days.

Temporarily putting aside the matter of divine personality repair, Lin Zhou directed his consciousness to the Temple of Civilization.

With the injection of a million civilization points and the daily nourishment of fixed faith crystal, the overall state of the Sanctuary had visibly improved. The faint light emanating from the damaged areas was brighter, and the speed of self-repair seemed to have accelerated. More importantly, the "civilization aura" flowing within the Sanctuary—that indescribable, unique atmosphere that gathered wisdom, history, Legacy, and a sense of Order—had become richer and more vibrant.

His consciousness body entered the main hall of the Sanctuary. On the towering dome, the previously dim star-like points symbolizing the Hundred Schools of Thought now had more than a dozen clearly lit up. Although far from their prime, they were stably emitting their unique lights: the benevolent white of Confucianism, the Legalist Edicts' green, the Mohist School's Ingenuity blue, the Tao Follows Nature's profound black, the School of Military's crimson red... In the center of the main hall, the Monument of Civilization (a phantom, not a physical Civilization Wonder) that recorded Lin Zhou's path of civilization, glowed with a faint golden light. Especially the descriptions of "principles of civilization · Judgment" and the record of Elwin's sacrifice, their light was exceptionally solid, as if bearing a heavy weight.

Lin Zhou's gaze involuntarily turned to the newly opened portal on one side of the main hall, leading to the Hall of Heroes.

A warm, milky white light flowed out from within the door, like a tangible substance, carrying a peculiar power that soothed the Soul and conveyed remembrance. Just standing at the entrance, Lin Zhou's mind, slightly fatigued from repairing the divine personality, felt a wave of tranquility.

He stepped inside.

The space inside the Hall of Heroes was much vaster than it appeared from the outside. It seemed to employ some rule of spatial expansion. The overall style was solemn and dignified, with walls made of a jade-like white stone material and a floor as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the soft white light cast from the dome.

The interior of the hall was not entirely empty. Near the entrance, rows of milky white stone structures, like bookshelves or steles, stood. But instead of words, they were engraved with hazy, humanoid outlines glowing with different colored faint lights. Most of these phantoms were very dim, almost transparent, as if they could dissipate at any moment. Only a very few had relatively clearer outlines and slightly brighter light.

Lin Zhou immediately understood that these were the "heroes" information recorded or sensed by the Sanctuary, possibly related to the Hundred Schools of Thought civilization. But most of them were in an extremely incomplete or dormant state, far from being able to be summoned or even communicated with. They were more like imprints left by a splash in the river of civilization.

His gaze immediately locked onto a position in the center of the hall, closest to the main seat in the depths (where a huge white jade throne hung empty, but no one was on it).

There, a humanoid outline, much more solid than the other phantoms and emanating a faint golden and milky white interwoven halo, floated quietly. The outline vaguely showed the slender figure of an elf and the style of a scholar's robe. Although the face was still blurry, it was much clearer than three days ago, at least showing the distribution of facial features. Inside the outline, tiny golden characters slowly flowed like swimming fish, which were the Confucian classics Elwin had diligently studied in her lifetime.

Below the outline, a similar milky white stone stele rose from the ground. On its surface, two lines of text were carved in ancient seal script:

Heroic Spirit · Elwin (True Spirit Nurturing)

Contribution: In the War for Civilization's Survival, she practiced "sacrificing one's life for righteousness," burning the Fire of Civilization with her Divine Soul, severely injuring evil, and sacrificing herself to protect the Dao.

Beside the stele was a translucent data panel made of light and shadow:

Heroic Spirit: Elwin

Status: True Spirit Remnant Nurturing

Integrity: 13.5% (increased by 0.6% compared to three days ago, including 0.2% from natural nurturing and 0.4% from civilization points acceleration)

Current Nurturing Efficiency:

Natural Nurturing: 0.021%/day (slowly increasing, influenced by Sanctuary civilization aura concentration)

civilization points Acceleration: Daily limit of 10,000 points, can temporarily increase daily efficiency (currently no additional input)

Comprehensive Estimate: Approximately 0.025%/day

True Spirit Characteristics:

Confucian Scholar (Profound): +50% comprehension of Confucian classics, +30% enlightenment effect

Subtle Influence (Talent Skill, Incomplete): Can consume Soul Power/civilization points to imbue words with weak rule efficacy, effect is positively correlated with consumption (currently unusable)

seed of civilization (Mark): Once carried the Fire of Civilization with her Divine Soul, +100% affinity for civilization-type powers, +50% resistance to evil/chaos

Current Operable Items:

View detailed status (expand)

Invest civilization points to accelerate nurturing (requires civilization points)

Inject pure faith/Soul Power for nourishment (requires corresponding resources, low efficiency)

Integrate Civilization Wonder/Sacred Object fragments (requires corresponding items, can greatly increase nurturing speed or integrity)

Attempt weak communication (requires integrity > 20%, high consumption, may interfere with nurturing)

Estimated full Awakening time (at current comprehensive efficiency): Approximately 3460 days ≈ 9.48 years (significantly shortened from the initial estimate of 173.5 years!)

Remarks: True Spirit Nurturing requires a stable environment, avoiding severe interference. Integrity increasing to 30% allows for initial stable form, 50% for clear communication, above 80% for attempting brief manifestation/assistance in heroic spirit form, and 100% integrity with specific conditions allows for full recall.

Nine and a half years!

Lin Zhou's spirits lifted! From the initial estimate of over three hundred years, to over one hundred seventy years, and now to less than ten years! This leap in speed was mainly due to the qualitative change in the Sanctuary's civilization aura concentration after the injection of a million civilization points, as well as his consistent daily investment of ten thousand civilization points for acceleration in recent days.

Although over nine years is still long for Mortals, for True Gods, it is a clearly foreseeable time scale. Moreover, as the divine realm recovers and develops, the Sanctuary continues to grow, civilization points are continuously acquired, and with potential Civilization Wonders or sacred objects found in the future, this time could be further shortened!

Hope, clearer and more real than ever before.

Lin Zhou did not hesitate, once again choosing "Invest civilization points to accelerate nurturing" and using up today's quota of ten thousand points.

The milky white civilization light points poured into Elwin's True Spirit outline. The outline's radiance visibly brightened slightly, and the flowing golden characters also seemed a little more active. On the data panel, [Completeness] jumped from 13.5% to 13.6%, and the [Comprehensive Estimate] efficiency also slightly increased.

Looking at the gradually solidifying True Spirit light, Lin Zhou couldn't help but recall every moment of his acquaintance with Elwin.

From the young elf who, in the Forest Elves tribe, was too weak to be anything but a record-keeper yet yearned for knowledge; to the scholar who, after receiving Confucian Civilization · Enlightenment, had the fire of wisdom ignite in his eyes, studying the analects and Mencius day and night, and attempting to combine them with the elves' Way of Nature to create a unique 'Heart of Literature' path; and then to becoming the first true 'Grand Confucian' in the divine domain, presiding over Jixia Academy, educating all beings, and spreading the Confucian ideas of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness to every corner of the divine domain... He was humble, wise, responsible, held infinite reverence and passion for knowledge, and was unswervingly loyal to Lin Zhou, his Dominator, always believing in the 'Hundred Schools of Civilization' path Lin Zhou had envisioned.

On the final battlefield, facing an invincible demigod lord, he didn't hesitate, burning everything he had just to exchange for that one 'Subtle Influence' that pierced through the enemy's Soul defense... "Elwin..." Lin Zhou murmured in his heart. The sadness still lingered, but it was no longer helpless despair; instead, it transformed into a heavy responsibility and firm expectation.

"Don't worry, the Fire of Civilization will not be extinguished. The Way of the Hundred Schools will surely be passed down. Your sacrifice will never be in vain. I will make this divine domain the way you dreamed it would be. And you... will definitely return to witness it with your own eyes."

As if sensing Lin Zhou's firm resolve, the True Spirit light trembled slightly, and the frequency of the flowing golden characters flashing accelerated, emitting a gentle yet resilient responsive fluctuation.

This was not communication, but more like an instinctive resonance.

Lin Zhou lingered in the Hall of Heroes for a long time, deeply imprinting this hope and responsibility in his heart.

Afterward, he exited the Hall of Heroes and began to carefully study the other changes in the Sanctuary.

Besides the Hall of Heroes, the Sanctuary itself seemed to have unlocked more information. On a wall in the main hall, some new, blurry murals or inscriptions appeared, seemingly recording the deeper Origins and mission of the Temple of Civilization, but most were incomplete and difficult to decipher. Only a few scattered sentences could be understood:

"As long as civilization endures, the Sanctuary will not fall..."

"The torch passed on, benefiting all generations..."

"Gather the strengths of the Hundred Schools, trace the Origin of Civilization..."

At the same time, the basic functions of the Sanctuary were strengthened and refined.

[Temple of Civilization Core Function List (Currently Perceptible Parts)]:

Classical Text Unlocking and Legacy: Consume civilization points to unlock deeper classics of the Hundred Schools (currently unlockable up to the 'Essence of the Hundred Schools' level, some require prerequisites or specific event triggers).

Hall of Heroes: Nurture and recall the True Spirits of heroes who sacrificed for civilization (current function initially activated).

Civilization Exchange: Consume civilization points to exchange for special items, skills, knowledge fragments related to the Hundred Schools of Civilization, and even low-level items related to the Primordial World (requires civilization compatibility).

Civilization Deduction: Invest civilization points and faith to a certain extent deduce and optimize the development, Fusion, or skill creation of specific ideological Systems (success rate and effect are influenced by invested resources and personal comprehension).

Sanctuary Repair and Upgrade: Consume specific resources (including civilization points, faith, rare Materials, etc.) to repair Sanctuary damage and gradually unlock more Advanced functions (such as 'river of civilization Manifestation', 'Projection of Ancient Sages', etc.).

seed of civilization Sensing (not activated): Seems to be able to sense other seed of civilizations or related ruins in the Universe (insufficient conditions).

Each function stirred Lin Zhou's heart. This was not just an auxiliary System, but more like a core engine for the Legacy and development of civilization! Especially 'Civilization Deduction' and the future 'river of civilization Manifestation' held immeasurable value for him to perfect and deepen The Way of the Hundred Schools.

He checked the [Civilization Exchange] interface. It listed numerous redeemable items, but most were grayed out (unavailable for exchange), either due to insufficient civilization points, insufficient civilization compatibility, or requiring specific prerequisites.

Scanning through the grayed-out options, Lin Zhou saw many heart-pounding names:

[Incomplete Manual of the Dao De Jing (Innate Chapter)] - Requirement: 500,000 civilization points, Daoist compatibility 'initial glimpse', prerequisite event 'Tao Follows Nature Comprehension'.

["Non-Aggression" Mechanism Blueprint (Advanced)] - Requirement: 200,000 civilization points, Mohist compatibility 'Minor Achievement', prerequisite building Tiangong Workshop repaired to perfect condition.

[Legalist Edicts · Punishment Cauldron (Replica)] - Requirement: 150,000 civilization points, Legalist compatibility 'initial glimpse', prerequisite hero unit (Legalist) exists.

[Shennong's Materia Medica (Rubbing)] - Requirement: 80,000 civilization points, Agriculturalist compatibility 'Initial Understanding'.

[School of Military Battle Formation · Eight Trigrams Golden Lock (Incomplete)] - Requirement: 300,000 civilization points, Military School compatibility 'Minor Achievement', prerequisite troop quantity met.

[Innate Human Race Bloodline Awakening Potion (Diluted)] - Requirement: 1,000,000 civilization points, total civilization compatibility 'Thorough Mastery', prerequisite unknown (extremely high).

[Primordial World Low-Level Cultivation Technique 'Basic Breathing Technique'] - Requirement: 50,000 civilization points, total civilization compatibility 'initial glimpse', Spiritual Qi environment up to standard.

A dazzling array, from classics to blueprints, from artifacts to Bloodline, even involving the Primordial World! Although most were currently unavailable for exchange, this undoubtedly pointed to the future direction and gave him a deeper understanding of the value of civilization points—one million points seemed like a lot, but in front of these Advanced exchange items, it might just be the starting point.

Lin Zhou suppressed the urge to immediately try exchanging. The top priority was to repair the godhead, stabilize the divine domain, and fuse the World Stone. The use of civilization points must be carefully calculated, prioritizing the acceleration of hero nurturing and the Sanctuary's own repair. The matter of exchange needed long-term consideration.

He then looked at the [Civilization Deduction] function. This function allowed him to invest resources to optimize, fuse, or even deduce the possibility of new skills for existing ideological Systems or skills. However, the consumption was huge, and the success rate was not 100%.

"Perhaps... it could be used to try optimizing 'Confucian-Legalist Fusion', 'Dao-Mohist Integration' and other Collaboration effects? Or to deduce new skills more suitable for the current state of the divine domain?" Lin Zhou pondered, "However, let's wait until the divine domain recovers more and resources are more abundant."

After roughly understanding the new changes in the Sanctuary, Lin Zhou's consciousness returned to reality.

He walked to the window, looking at the crowds and media downstairs that had not completely dispersed, his expression calm.

Honor, resources, hope, responsibility... everything was in place.

Next, it was about working diligently, step by step, to achieve them.

He returned to the quiet room. Instead of continuing to Cultivate, he spread out paper and pen (an old habit that helped him clear his thoughts) and began to meticulously plan the development path for the coming period:

Godhead Repair: Use the remaining divinity crystal as planned, targeting 30%+ completeness, and initially restore Divine Power conversion ability. Estimated time: 20-30 days.

Divine Domain Reconstruction: Utilize the awarded faith crystal and resource packs to accelerate divine domain recovery and end the 'post-war weakness' state. Simultaneously carry out basic construction, population recovery, and Family training.

World Stone Fusion: After the godhead completeness meets the standard and the divine domain is basically stable, perform [world stone fragment] Fusion to enhance the divine domain's potential and carrying capacity. This is the top priority.

Hundred Schools Deepening: According to the divine domain's recovery, gradually deepen the spread of various schools of thought, Cultivate new heroes, and repair or rebuild Civilization Wonder buildings (Jixia Academy, Temple of Law, Tiangong Workshop, etc.).

Hero Acceleration: Persist in investing civilization points daily to accelerate Elwin's nurturing, and pay attention to possible Civilization Wonder/Holy Relics.

Enrollment Preparation: Handle invitations from various universities, confirm Xinghai University, and prepare for university life (including the possible establishment of a 'Hundred Schools Society').

Strength Improvement: While repairing and rebuilding, one must not relax one's own rule comprehension and practical combat ability improvement.

Clear objectives appeared one by one on the paper.

Putting down the pen, Lin Zhou's gaze was calm and firm.

Elwin's sacrifice made him understand the weight and meaning of this path even more. Civilization is not empty talk; it needs to be forged with blood and seed of civilization, and even more, it needs an unyielding will to pass it on.

Heroes are immortal, civilization never dies.

He will move forward, bearing the heavy burden.